Workbench & Photo Lights

Lets start with the photobooth first...here is how I set up one of mine <Clicky>

As far as workbench lighting...as much of what ever type you can afford. I have a two bulb four foot fluorescent lamp over my bench, plus a fluorescent mag lamp and several other fluorescent lamps (2 & 4 bulb 4 foot) mounted on the ceiling to light up the shop.

Incadescent lamps produce heat...which is good if your workshop is in a colder area such as garage or basement.

Choose bulbs that offer as full spectrum as possible.

 

RTimmer wrote:

Hi All, I'm putting together a new workbench for modeling, and I wanted to solicit input on preferred/best type of light for such a beast.  LED? Incandescent? Fluorescent? Other? Also, putting together a photo booth, and I think the preferred type of light is incandescent, but looking for confirmation on this (and in particular, if a specialized type of incandescent bulb is required for best results). Thanks in advance for your inputs. Cheers, Rick

Not knowing your budget, etc. Allow  me to offer this:

www.strobist.com

It is possible to spend too much money on regular lights from home depot, fixtures, etc.(and still not have enough light), when by getting some good deals on used flash (or new) units, soft boxes for the flashes, one can do much better :)

Seven years ago I was lucky enough to be able to get a custom-built, detached workshop set up in my back yard.  I specified three windows for natural light, and three simple, screw-in light fixtures in the ceiling (which is 10' x 20'), in which I put 100-watt halogen bulbs.  The original bulbs are still working.

I needed some additional light directly over the workbench.  For that purpose I bought (at Lowe's) a cylindrical "workbench" fixture that hangs on two chains from the ceiling, and has two skinny, cylindrical glass halogen bulbs, one at each end.  One of those bulbs burnt out some months back, and I haven't been able to find a replacement that fits.  I'll probably have to give up and buy a new fixture.

One big consideration to keep in mind is the effect of light on the human eye's perception of paint colors.  In comparison with sunlight, incandescent light tends to emphasize the red/yellow end of the spectrum; flourescent light emphasizes blues and greens.  Halogen is similar to incandescent, but seems to be a little more "objective."  (Halogen bulbs also get really hot.  I haven't found that to be a problem, though.)  Ideally, it would be nice to be able to predict the light in which the model is going to be displayed, and built it under the same kind of light.  Practically speaking, I find the combination of halogen light with sunlight coming through the windows is more than acceptable.

My own preference for taking pictures of models is "constant lighting," as opposed to flash.  To take good flash pictures of models requires that you know considerably more about what you're doing than I do - and good strobe units aren't cheap.  The digital revolution has simplified things by making it possible to see your mistakes immediately, but for this particular form of photography I still prefer old-fashioned blue "photo bulbs."  They can be bought at any good camera store, or via the web.  (Two good, big suppliers:  www.adorama.com and www.bhphoto.com .)  They do get hot, and they don't last long - typically three to five hours.  When you're taking pictures of models, though, that's a long time.  I like to plug my light fixtures into a "power strip" with a switch built into it, and turn the lights on only for a minute or two at a time. 

One tip when using photo bulbs (I hope I don't insult anybody's intelligence here; if so I apologize):  don't rely on your camera's auto white balance setting.  Do a "custom" white balance setting, by taking a picture of a white sheet of paper under the photo bulbs.  The camera manual will show how to do it.  Otherwise you're likely to wonder how your models happened to turn orange (or green, or heaven knows what other color).

Hope that helps a little.  Good luck.   

jtilley wrote:

I still prefer old-fashioned blue "photo bulbs."

Jtilley, you are more old school than I am....

 

and I have a enlarger and ocassionally develop film

I use two gimble fixtures over my bench with incandecent 75w daylight bulbs installed. For photos I add an additional two fixtures with the same bulbs. I used to use a four foot flourecent fixture over the spray booth. Bad idea, that type of light really futzes with the appearance of the color of paint. I will change to incandecent fixtures once I set up the booth again.

Simplest way is to get a drafter's table lamp (one of theose desk lamps that have multiple joints so they can be faced anywhere) and a daylight bulb (simulates daylight temp range and doesn't add the funny colors that other bulb types do).  You can get the bulb from the supermarket for $2-$3.

For photography, you can just point the lamp at the model and you should have sufficient light.  You might consider adding a simple diffuser in front of the light to soften it up; something like a piece of material or the bottom of a plastic gallon milk container.  If you want to get fancy, you can get some compact spiral trumpet flourescents, which are designed for photography.  Or if you're really into photography and you have an add-on flash for your camera, point your flash at the ceiling and set your whte balance to flash.  The ceiling will act as a diffuser, giving you a nice, even light.

-Fred

 

 

For my close benchwork, I use a small Ott lamp that I borrowed (stole, I guess, 'cuz I haven't given it back) from the wife's sewing room.  It produces a nice natural light.  They're available in most craft stores.

Ken