Does the size of a room make a difference in the watt. total of home studio lighting?
Justwondering asked:
example. I am setting up in a spare room that is 11×10. Could i use a light kit that was 135 watts-second? Does it matter the size of the room?
example. I am setting up in a spare room that is 11×10. Could i use a light kit that was 135 watts-second? Does it matter the size of the room?
Technically, no – it only depends on the area you are lighting. But if you are going to use reflected lighting off the walls and or ceiling, then it makes a lot of difference. [who] mike1942f
That is a pretty small light source.
Since most lighting is aimed at the subject, where through an umbrella, soft-box or just head-on, the size of the room will only matter if you get too much reflection from the room which will cause unwanted shadows, filled or unfilled.
You can get much more bang for your buck if you spend the same money on “hot” lights, backgrounds and stands and other studio items like scrims, snoots, flags and the like. [who] fhotoace
no because unless you are trying to light up the whole room, youre only going to be lighting a small portion…where the model is. 135WS is really small…. are you useing on camera speed lights on stands with umbrellas? be care full with these so called “pro” kits on ebay, a good part of them are junk and the rest are just small, underpowered kits. have a look at the Strobist group on flickr… really good site for using small, on camera flashes for portable studio lighting…. check it out. [who] craig z
Size of the light source matters on the size of the subject. If you’re lighting a big banquet room for example.
Generally you’re subject area will be the size of the muslin BG. 135 W seems a bit small. You could move it closer to your subject for using a silver umbrella to bounce the light brighter and bigger to help.
Check out They have good info on all photography things. [who] Michael M