ALZO 2000 PORTRAIT STUDIO SETUP & USAGE

Check out other light configurations

 Comparison of continuous vs. flash

IMAGE 2

IMAGE 3

3 Lights including:

• 1 - ALZO 2000 softbox Key light
• 1 - ALZO 2000 Fill light with
•      ALZO  5-in-1 Reflector kit
       diffuser in front of barndoor light
• 1 - Mini-Spot  Hair Light

Because we were shooting 1/2 to 3/4 upper body shots with this lighting setup, we used a black paper background for a contemporary image.

The softbox "key" light (to the right) is about 5 feet from the model and set to just above head height. The hair light on the left is also about 5 feet away from the subject and raised to about 7 feet. The hair light effect is controlled by positioning.

The second ALZO 2000 on the left is used as our fill light with the barndoors as light intensity adjusters. Our fill light was cast through the ALZO 5-in-1 Reflector/Diffuser Kit configured as a diffuser. We adjusted the amount of fill light by adjusting the barndoors and the distance between the light source and the diffuser. The diffuser was moved between 3-6 feet from the model for different effects.

We had the Key light on full power and the fill light was set to 1/3 power. We used a light meter to measure the ratio of the Key to Fill light and used a 1:3 ratio on image 1 to 1:4 ratio on Image 2 and 3. The final fine adjustment was made by setting the barndoors to crop the light on the diffuser panel.

The wonderful thing about using continuous lights was that we were able to judge exactly how the ratios would look on the final image without taking any "test" shots, as we would have with flash lights. In addition, as we moved the lights and the model, we never needed additional test shots because we could visualize the lighting as we repositioned.

Image 3 was softened with JASC Paint Shop Pro 9 "Soft Lens" filter. No other adjustments were made other than minor cropping.

Typical exposure settings for these shots were within a range of f 4.0 @ 1/250 second, ISO set to 200. The camera was the FUJI S7000.

We feel that the ALZO 2000 portrait studio light kit is superior to flash lighting for 2 important reasons. The digital camera sophisticated light meter can manage perfect exposure, and it is easy to visualize the perfect light ratios and other light placement effects. Read more about the continuous vs. flash debate.

See a 2-light configuration.