LED Continuous lighting

[geoffsta]

I'm thinking about using continuous LED lighting for portrait photography.
The reason being that the strobe set that I have is fairly bulky when used in peoples homes with limited area to setup.
how effective are they? and do they give as much light as my normal strobe?
Does color range make any difference when used in this setting? I've been asked to do some family portraits and babies lately. And need something more vesatile.

Geoff.

[Rattus79]

Our wedding tog pulled out a set, I was quite suprised how bright it was.
They will never compare to your strobes for output but are more versatile as they can be used for video and are great for having instant gratification as you move the light.

[JM Tran]

I have been using them to great success for weddings, portraiture, commercial and fashion use - either as LEDs only or combined with strobes as well.

They do not give out the same intensity as a strobe because they are continuous lighting obviously, so you will need to bump up the ISO a bit to compensate, and faster aperture.

I DO NOT recommend the Yongnuo ones, which a few of my colleagues use, and which we all hate - they do not have the same intensity as mine (another chinese brand) and the YN tend to spread the light out a bit too much and not as focused.

Re. the white balance, the YN gives off a much warmer colour cast, whereas mine is a cooler cast, which I prefer and is easier to correct in PP while shooting RAW.

But really, you really should be using strobes and diffusers more if you are into portrait photography - LEDs give a different effect but it will be limiting if you simply switch to that.

[geoffsta]

Thanks JM and Rattus for taking the time to answer.
I have read your thread JM on wedding photography and LED lighting, and found it quite enlightening. (Excuse the pun) But I was thinking on the lines of amount of room one has when in a home.
With the size of the softboxes in some smaller houses gives limited room for creativity. The softboxes need about 5 feet (2 and a 1/2 either side) whereas say a 500 LED would take up a lot less.
I'm also concerned about a bright flash when photographing a baby. (I'm no expert on whether it's a good thing or a bad thing) And this is the reason I ask.

Geoff.

[flame70]

If you're using them in daylight- don't bother because you won't see them and you need to get real close with them because output is low. If size is a problem then use 3 flashes with small softboxes

[jjphoto]

Thanks JM and Rattus for taking the time to answer.
I have read your thread JM on wedding photography and LED lighting, and found it quite enlightening. (Excuse the pun) But I was thinking on the lines of amount of room one has when in a home.
With the size of the softboxes in some smaller houses gives limited room for creativity. The softboxes need about 5 feet (2 and a 1/2 either side) whereas say a 500 LED would take up a lot less.
I'm also concerned about a bright flash when photographing a baby. (I'm no expert on whether it's a good thing or a bad thing) And this is the reason I ask.

Geoff.

LED's are not really close to the power you get from strobes. There's no question that you could use them, if you where willing to make compromises re ISO and aperture, but this is potentially a big sacrifice.

There are pro video/cine hire places where you could probably hire that kind of thing, or Flouro lighting which is a similar form factor to the LED's. If they work for you then great, but there is a good reason strobes are still used, they are simply more powerfull.

JJ

[conscuba]

Kirk Tuck has just published a book on LED lighting. might want to check that out as well.

[TotalPanic]

If size is a problem why not test out the Quadras? only 400W, but extremely light, small and have all the usual modifiers for them.

[johndom]

I find Led needs something to soften it, direct it is very ugly. Depending on the brand , the colour rendition can be odd as well.
You get what you pay for- cheap ones are rubbish.
To solve the problem- you don't want to disturb small children, a continuous light will be less distracting.
I would get a small tungsten fresnel. 650 or 1000w. They keep the room warm, can be used directly or softened. The fresnel makes a beautiful light.
For bubs, bouncing off the ceiling or a reflector will give good results.
Cons- 3200k, you will need to reduce daylight to avoid a strange magenta mixed light look. If you put a full or half blue gel on it, you lose a lot of light.

A lot of photographers in that business use natural light.

[johndom]

I just reread the op. You could also get ranger quadras, very quick and compact, I love mine.

[jjphoto]

I just reread the op. You could also get ranger quadras, very quick and compact, I love mine.

I'm qurious about the Quadras. Have you compared the light output (F stop, GN) to any modern hot shoe flash, 580 EXII, SB-900 etc?

[Mick]

I cant say I've used LED's before but I'm keen to try em for auto photography. There was a guy I used to follow a little some time back that had it down pat. Tangla I think is his name. Not that that'll help you with weddings but it'll give you something to look at ;-)

[johndom]

I have compared them to my sb800s,
Figures gn? Um I did put my meter over them, the sb at full power is equivalent to... a lot less than full power on the quadra.
Recycle power and spread are obviously superior. You can put it through a lot of modifiers or soft box with internal baffle and still have stop to spare. That being said, it is only 400w and it can't do everything.