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Question: What kind of lighting could I use to take pics inside my garage!?
I sell vintage clothing on line and use a model!. All my pictures are taken inside the garage with the garage door open during the day time!. I use a canon powershot A630 camera!. I purchased a pair of Smith Victor lights for about $120 but those are not strong enough and overheat really fast!. The flash is not enough to really do much and adjusting each individual picture would take too much time since I do a few hundred a day!. If anybody knows what else I can use that would be incredible apprecciated!. All I could spend is probably less than $500!. Thanks so much!!
Here is the link to an example
http://img!.auctiva!.com/imgdata/6/6/3/8/4!.!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
If you're shooting only to sell clothing, not really into photography as a hobby, I'd strongly suggest a photo editor such as Picasa or Gimp before buying more photo equip!.
A good photo edit can work miracles!.
Just to see what you can do, download http://picasa!.google!.com/
And try to add some light, contrast, etc to your shot!.
You'll probably find that you don't need to spend any money!.
Now, if you have an extra 500 bucks lying around, forget the peripherals for now and buy yourself a nice camera!. Nikon's D40 fits your budget and it's really many steps above the Canon you're using, it'll make a difference in terms of getting the picture you want!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
Using your garage door open & Smith Victors will most likely lead to different color casts -- unless you have put a gel over the lights (or purchase daylight balanced bulbs)!.
For $500, you'll need to make a commitment either way -- tungsten, or flash/strobe!. Tungsten (or "hot lights") are good because you can see the lighting real time, but get VERY hot!. Strobes are much more powerful, but a little more difficult for beginners to work with!. I'm not sure if the A630 has a PC (not related to computers) cord connection to trigger the flash!. If not, you will also have to budget in a "slave" to trigger the strobe -- & most likely a flashmeter!. A photo equipment store should be able to help you find the proper accessories (ex: maybe a "peanut" slave)!. Either way, painting the inside of your garage white should help you with your lighting evenness & intensity!.
Here's a good strobe that is entry level price & very dependable:
http://www!.calumetphoto!.com/item/CE1100/
If you paint your garage walls & ceiling white, you can "bounce" the light from the strobe off of the walls to light your model!. It may take you a little trial-&-error, but you can get professional results with this strobe!. And best of all, the garage & lights will not get unbearably hot!. Good luck! Www@QuestionHome@Com
