best way to approach a bad situation? at DVinfo.net

Greg Chisholm · February 27th, 2009, 04:55 PM

so tomorrow... i am shooting a property tour in a brownstowne with large windows during the day. I have 1 tota light with softbox, 1 rifa 44, 2 prolights, and a reflector. none of my lights are daylight color temperature. the property's windows are facing east and west.

shooting with an ex3

What would you do?

Greg

Battle Vaughan · February 27th, 2009, 05:14 PM

Get some daylight blue conversion gels and a package of clothespins to stick them on the barndoors? /Battle Vaughan /miamiherald.com video team

Greg Chisholm · February 27th, 2009, 05:23 PM

should i bounce the total with gel and forget about the the softboxes? use the pro lights as my key/fill? I definitely do NOT want to gel the windows! There are tons of them.

thanks for the quick response Ross!

Marshall Staton · February 27th, 2009, 05:40 PM

Do you have to shoot it in the daytime?

Greg Chisholm · February 27th, 2009, 05:52 PM

unfortunately the owners have made tomorrow available... the listing is going on the mls wednesday. it's looking like gelling the lights is the best case scenario.

most buyers want to see a property in the daytime.

thanks for responding

Greg

Marcus Marchesseault · February 27th, 2009, 06:12 PM

Since full CTB kills so much light I would probably use 1/2 CTB and white balance to about 4500K to make the daylight slightly blue and the gelled tungsten slightly amber. I don't think it looks so bad if colors are mixed as long as nothing goes too far from the camera's white.

The pro-lights are easy to gel but they are hard and not super powerful. I would use them where their hard shadows won't show or would look okay. The tota with soft box is going to be bulky to move around but the tota inside the box is probably easier to gel than the rifa 44. If I am mistaken, just gel whatever softbox is easiest and maybe use that to simulate daylight opposing the windows. Since you probably can't match the strength of the windows, you might want to pull the inner shades or partially close down any blinds so there isn't a giant blob of light overwhelming the picture on that side of the room. If I was shooting, I would let it blow out but keep some details that show off the nice window. If it is done right, it can actually look nicer than the view from the windows since it can make things look bright and ethereal.

February 27th, 2009, 04:55 PM	#1
Greg Chisholm Major Player Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Jersey City, NJ Posts: 244	best way to approach a bad situation? so tomorrow... i am shooting a property tour in a brownstowne with large windows during the day. I have 1 tota light with softbox, 1 rifa 44, 2 prolights, and a reflector. none of my lights are daylight color temperature. the property's windows are facing east and west. shooting with an ex3 What would you do? Greg

February 27th, 2009, 05:23 PM	#3
Greg Chisholm Major Player Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Jersey City, NJ Posts: 244	thanks ross should i bounce the total with gel and forget about the the softboxes? use the pro lights as my key/fill? I definitely do NOT want to gel the windows! There are tons of them. thanks for the quick response Ross!

February 27th, 2009, 05:52 PM	#5
Greg Chisholm Major Player Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Jersey City, NJ Posts: 244	yes i do... unfortunately the owners have made tomorrow available... the listing is going on the mls wednesday. it's looking like gelling the lights is the best case scenario. most buyers want to see a property in the daytime. thanks for responding Greg

February 27th, 2009, 05:14 PM	#2
Battle Vaughan Trustee Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Miami, FL USA Posts: 1,505	Get some daylight blue conversion gels and a package of clothespins to stick them on the barndoors? /Battle Vaughan /miamiherald.com video team

February 27th, 2009, 05:40 PM	#4
Marshall Staton Major Player Join Date: May 2004 Location: Myrtle Beach, SC Posts: 241	Do you have to shoot it in the daytime?

February 27th, 2009, 06:12 PM	#6
Marcus Marchesseault Trustee Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Honolulu, HI Posts: 1,961	Since full CTB kills so much light I would probably use 1/2 CTB and white balance to about 4500K to make the daylight slightly blue and the gelled tungsten slightly amber. I don't think it looks so bad if colors are mixed as long as nothing goes too far from the camera's white. The pro-lights are easy to gel but they are hard and not super powerful. I would use them where their hard shadows won't show or would look okay. The tota with soft box is going to be bulky to move around but the tota inside the box is probably easier to gel than the rifa 44. If I am mistaken, just gel whatever softbox is easiest and maybe use that to simulate daylight opposing the windows. Since you probably can't match the strength of the windows, you might want to pull the inner shades or partially close down any blinds so there isn't a giant blob of light overwhelming the picture on that side of the room. If I was shooting, I would let it blow out but keep some details that show off the nice window. If it is done right, it can actually look nicer than the view from the windows since it can make things look bright and ethereal.