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Permalink Reply by Scott Slusher on May 21, 2008 at 7:15pm

Not trying to be a dick but... why would you take a commercial job that requires a knowledge of studio lighting when you lack that knowledge in the first place? Have you ever used studio lights and if so have you ever shot on location with them? This is such an open ended question that any answer you get still will not inform you as to how to shoot with the rental equipment. If you're asking what to rent... rent a couple of Speedotron packs and heads, an assortment of grids, umbrellas, softboxes and you'll also need plenty of stands. Or you could just take your speedlight and bounce it into the ceiling.

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Permalink Reply by Elizabeth Wright on May 21, 2008 at 7:28pm

understandable question. to answer the first one, why did i take the job, because my sister asked me to do it, i am photographing kitchens that she designed. and yes i have used studio lights, i work in a portrait studio, so i shoot with them nearly everyday. I just have not done it on location before, to know to what or how many i will need.

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Permalink Reply by Scott Slusher on May 21, 2008 at 7:39pm

How big is the space you're shooting? How much ambient light will you have to contend with? Are there any highly reflective surfaces to deal with? There are a lot of questions to be answered when considering location lighting.

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Permalink Reply by Shane E. on May 21, 2008 at 9:47pm

I wouldn't sweat it too much. If these are residential house kitchens, I would just bring a couple lights and stands and just work it out. If you try it and don't get good results, go get some more gear. You have to start somewhere. It's better if you have friends with gear that you can borrow because that saves you $$$ and they can usually tell you what its best for. But I wouldn't over-think it so much. I'm sure you'll do fine.

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Permalink Reply by Elizabeth Wright on May 22, 2008 at 12:36pm

thats kinda what i was thinking. they are all residential kitchens, some large, some small, i was thinking just a few lights and some stands, and go from there, but its good to here that someone else believes that should be all i need as well.

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Permalink Reply by Jack Heazlitt on May 22, 2008 at 7:03pm

Scott Hargis http://www.flickr.com/photos/scotthargis/ has a ton of interior shots, including kitchens, done with sb80 flashes. You don't absolutely have to have studio lights for good results on interiors.

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Permalink Reply by Elizabeth Wright on May 22, 2008 at 11:45pm

i dont really know yet. it depends on the kitchen. some of them are very small, some of them are large, went to take one tonight, it was a must had to be done tonight kinda thing, lacking the natural light i would have hoped for, but all in all i made it work, well enough for what it was for anyway. it met the approval.

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Permalink Reply by Elizabeth Wright on May 22, 2008 at 11:46pm

wow those look great. exactly what i am looking for, and thank you for the info!!

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Permalink Reply by Jacob Zimmer on May 24, 2008 at 2:10pm

Two answers:

1. Rent lights from me. I have three AB400's with stands, umbrellas and softboxes, cables and everything all nicely packaged in a Pelican 1650 with wheels. As long as I am not using them that day, I'll give you a good deal. Call me at 5o2-3o1-o387.

2. For stills like this, assuming the kitchen has plenty of it's own light (which new ones do) I would use a tripod and slow your shutter way down using almost 100% ambient light. Play with different apertures, but you will probably want something small to get an even focus. This would result in the same thing we see with our eyes. This is what I have done for tradeshow booths (including the Kohler booth at the Kitchen and Bath Show in Vegas last year) and nightclubs. Maybe use one bounce flash off a white ceiling to fill in shadows.

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Permalink Reply by Ryan Armbrust on May 26, 2008 at 5:01pm

I shoot a 3-5 shot hdr at about F8. Then I tone map to make it look "Real" and not so dreamy.

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Permalink Reply by Alice Thompson on August 19, 2008 at 1:02pm

I've had good luck with just my Canon speedlight (580EXII) - I bounce it off the ceiling or a wall. I've had several occasions to do interior shots at the hospital where I work and I've been very happy with the results.

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