Lighting setup?

spiffypix

Edit:  Just realized I posted in wrong category and I can’t figure out how to change it.  🤦🏻‍♀️. Sorry.

Hi everyone - I’m really struggling with lighting.   Do we think these items would work for a lighting setup?  I have 8’ ceilings.   One four-bulb fixture, a plug so I can wire it, and four 150w LED dimmable bulbs, 2500 LM each (which I can dim).  Thanks

heartofengland

Hi spiffypix.
4 x 2600 lumens = 10,400 lumens.
That's a lot of light. I would expect the dimmer would come in handy.

May I make 2 points.

1. The bulbs you have are globes. They spray the light out in all directions. Only some of it in the direction of your painting. I would suggest using spotlights instead as they would direct the light where you want it OR  once you've got your lights set up you might consider some form of reflector (home made or professional) behind the bulbs to direct more of the light where you want it.

2. Light intensity falls away quickly as you increase the distance. This means you need very powerful ceiling lamps OR less powerful lamps closer to your workspace. This is the principle behind desk lights.

Both of these points are illustrated in the photo @tassieguy posted of his studio in another thread:

https://forum.drawmixpaint.com/discussion/14373/studio-wall-color#latest



This may or may not work for your own home / studio. 

@dewald made a lighting rig similar to yours but with less power. Perhaps he might tell you how he's got on. Here's his thread:
 https://forum.drawmixpaint.com/discussion/14445/i-can-see#latest

Fingers crossed I've not made things worse. I'd hate to leave you in the dark 😖

spiffypix

Thank you so much !  Great advice.  I can easily make a reflector, as photography is my specialty and I have tons of stuff just waiting to be used for reflective purposes.  😉 

And i will check out the thread you mentioned.  So, you’re suggesting that I also have an overhead ceiling light?

heartofengland

Hi spiffypix

"So, you’re suggesting that I also have an overhead ceiling light?"
I misunderstood your post. I thought the 4 bulb fitting was going to be mounted on / near your 8' ceiling. How are you planning to use it?

Also, have you watched Mark's video about lighting setups? It covers most things and is quite short.

spiffypix

I have a 7.5 foot cabinet that I was going to attach the fixture to at a 35° angle (I have seen Mark’s video - thanks!).  I also saw the post about building an inverted U frame to attach the fixture to, and I realized I could also attach my black curtain to it.   Thanks!

heartofengland

"I have a 7.5 foot cabinet that I was going to attach the fixture to"

Ah ok. No, you wouldn't need a ceiling light as well. The fixture will be plenty and close enough to your canvas.

It may turn out too bright on full power but at least you can add a dimmer or just remove one or two bulbs. 

Have fun.

Ps. Have you got any more paintings to post? I loved your bottle and berries. Very stylish.

Suez

@spiffypix, For shadow box lighting I picked up a pair of used Neewer 660 adjustable LED light lamps with stands and soft boxes from Amazon for $125. They are perfect. Just had to buy a pair of elbow extenders for the stands so the lights can tilt in any direction. I was not able to fit the soft boxes over the lights without removing the barn doors but those are easy to remove. You probably already have this type of lighting but if you don’t have soft boxes you will probably need them for good still life shadows.

I’m using an adjustable keyboard stand for my shadow box base for flexibility of height and size of boards.

For studio lighting I went with Zero flicker LED bulbs.

dewald

Hi @spiffypix. @dencal made a valuable post on this topic on a previous thread of mine. It helped me to determine if I have adequate lighting or not. Needless to say I didn't. Not even close.



You need about 1000LM on your painting where you are working. 

EDIT:  Removed some calculation here on full 8’ distance. Obviously you are not working ‘on the floor’ 😂 Thanks @GTO

Here's the link to the original thread:
https://forum.drawmixpaint.com/discussion/14445/i-can-see

GTO

If the lights are mounted on the ceiling at 8’ at a 35 deg angle, given the canvas will be on the easel about half way up from the floor at your seated height you may have around 850 lumens on the canvas if 4 2500 lumen bulbs are used.

spiffypix

heartofengland said:

Ah ok. No, you wouldn't need a ceiling light as well. The fixture will be plenty and close enough to your canvas.

Ps. Have you got any more paintings to post? I loved your bottle and berries. Very stylish.

Thanks for that info re: the lights.   And, I do have one other painting to post, but I haven’t varnished it yet.  the one I did in 2019 was the best result I had, but it was also one of the last paintings I did.  “Life got in the way” .   SInce then, I’ve one  other painting using Mark’s method and I trashed it. It was a portrait and after i got almost done with the face, I realized the eyes were too far apart, got frustrated and then started painting over the entire thing, a la abstract lol.  I have a very big problem staying on topic and following the rules.  I get lazy and I start mixing colors on the fly, instead of up front, like I’m supposed to.   I’m going to start another one in a couple of days though.  I’ll post my other painting in a little bit.  And thanks for the kind words about my other painting.  😊 

spiffypix

dewald said:

Hi @spiffypix. @dencal made a valuable post on this topic on a previous thread of mine. It helped me to determine if I have adequate lighting or not. Needless to say I didn't. Not even close.

You need about 1000LM on your painting where you are working. 

EDIT:  Removed some calculation here on full 8’ distance. Obviously you are not working ‘on the floor’ 😂 Thanks @GTO

Thank you for that!   Ugggggggh Inverse square law.  I’m a much better photographer than I am a painter and the ISL makes me want to stick pins in my eyes.   My brain doesn’t work on that level.   I’m that meme of the woman with all of the calculations  lol

spiffypix

Suez said:

@spiffypix, For shadow box lighting I picked up a pair of used Neewer 660 adjustable LED light lamps with stands and soft boxes from Amazon for $125. They are perfect. Just had to buy a pair of elbow extenders for the stands so the lights can tilt in any direction. I was not able to fit the soft boxes over the lights without removing the barn doors but those are easy to remove. You probably already have this type of lighting but if you don’t have soft boxes you will probably need them for good still life shadows.

I’m using an adjustable keyboard stand for my shadow box base for flexibility of height and size of boards.
 

great Suggestions!   I do have so many lighting set ups.  I find myself working from photographs.  I have thousands of photos to work from and I got an industrial laminator for $10 on marketplace so…. 😂 

Desertsky

@spiffypix - you have received some great advice here. I have a few additional thoughts - feel free to ignore

Lux are not lumens.

I regularly take my painting out of the studio and place it in different parts of the house, to see the normal viewing lighting on it. This way, I can see if the painting is too dark or light. The studio lighting is usually much more intense than the normal viewing light in a home. MY GOAL is to produce a painting which displays well in a normally lit home. So, if a painting looks good with a full range of values in the studio, but seems to dark or dull in a non-studio room, then I know I have to adjust something: the light intensity, etc. 

spiffypix

@Desertsky - thanks for that great advice!

I did wire up my light fixture today.   I think it’s going to work out okay, but won’t know for sure until I put paint to canvas.  I wired the fixture to a cord and then mounted it to a board that I covered with an old wescott photography reflective scrim (I rubberbanded it to the board so that I can re-use in the future for actual photography purposes lol).   This setup is VERY bright.  I’ll have to see if it’s too bright by checking my blacks to see if they are grey.  Fortunately, these bulbs are dimmable and the dimmer on the cord works great.  Thanks to everyone for their help.  I’ll let you know how it works out.  😊 tt