Jun02
Studio Light and the Big Choice
For the most part I have not done photography under studio lighting conditions. I have been, for a long time, sort of a natural light advocate. And I still am.
But I have also been a serious admirer of artistic photographic portraiture, and although some may disagree with my conclusion here, I have decided that studio lighting can go a long way toward improving one’s work in this area.
So… I took the plunge and just purchased a new set of two Westcott TD5 Spiderlights. 
Working in television as I do, I have always been comfortable with the hotlight concept. And while I have, of course, shot with flash - a studio strobe system just didn’t seem quite as familiar to me. A set of hotlights, with their ability to allow for very rapid feedback when making subtle lighting adjustments, combined with the ability to preserve a sense of motion (blur) under studio lighting conditions - that’s what really sold me.
It’s not to say there is no place for strobes in my life eventually. Clearly there may be. But I think it’s interesting how digital camera technology has made hotlights so much more manageable than they were in the film days. This is especially true now given the fluorescent, daylight balanced bulbs you can purchase. Many of you may have read about Scott Kelby’s recent use of these lights, and it’s hard not to be impressed. I was also heavily influenced by a terrific article I read in a recent issue of Digital Photo Pro magazine, which did a fine job of spelling out the different advantages of hotlights relative to strobes.
As the article says, it’s not an either/or choice. But for now, given my background and own experience lighting for television, always-on lights like Westcott’s are clearly the way to go.
Unfortunately, when I ordered the package from Adorama, only half of it arrived and the other half appears not have been shipped. What’s more, a Westcott muslin background I ordered arrived damaged and stained. But I’ll have to wait until they open on Monday to sort it all out.
For now, I’m off to the local camera store to buy a new tripod head since my old one was irreparably damaged. My wallet is starting to hurt. 
Once I get this stuff up and running and get some practice with it, I’ll let you know how it goes. For now, have a great weekend.
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To Be Continuous: For Control and Certain Effects, Many Professionals Fine “Hot Light” To Be The Ideal Lighting Gear at Imaging Insider Jun 2nd 2007 at 12:30 pm 1
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Andrew Ferguson Jun 12th 2007 at 02:23 pm 2
I’d love to see your take on hotlights vs strobes in a future post, if you’re taking requests
I’ve tried ghetto DIY hotlights from home depot with daylight balanced bulbs and I’ve found them more frustrating than anything else. I haven’t got much more experience with strobes, but my limited experience so far has made them my preference to use.
Christopher Scholl Jun 12th 2007 at 02:34 pm 3
Funny you should ask! I hope to write up a post on my experience with a set of Westcott TD5 Spiderlites within a week or so. So definitely watch for it.
As for comparing them with strobes, I can make that comparison only loosely based on my knowledge of strobes - but it is mostly not first-hand. While I have worked with strobes in the past, I have far more experience with hotlights since I work in television. Then again, still photography with hotlights may be a different thing entirely. I’m doing some experiments now to find out and I’ll write it up soon.
Andrew Ferguson Jun 12th 2007 at 03:28 pm 4
Sweet! Thanks Chris, I’ll keep an eye out for it
Westcott TD5 Spiderlights: Are Hotlights Good Enough? Jun 18th 2007 at 09:19 am 5
[…] time ago, I was laboring over a big decision: strobes or hotlights? After a great deal of research, I came to the conclusion that, for me at least, hotlights are the […]