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DIY Photography Lighting Work Lights

Lighting is one of the most crucial elements to photography. Having an expansive studio light setup can make the difference between excellent photographs and mediocre ones, but the cost of studio lighting can be very expensive and may not fit everyone̵7;s budget. One way to light up your studio space without having to make a huge investment in lights is to use work lights. These lights can be purchased at most hardware stores for a fraction of the price of photography-specific lights. In some cases, you may already have work lights or know someone you can borrow them from. Once you have acquired your work lights, set the lights up with the proper bulbs and diffusers to produce the finest grade lighting you can.

Things You'll Need

Halogen work light
Barn doors
Light gels
Compact fluorescent bulbs
Light stands
ECA color balanced bulbs
Dish clamp light
Fluorescent overhead lights
Tissue paper
Tape

Instructions

- 1
  Diffuse the light from a classic halogen work light with "barn doors." Barn doors are small sheets of metal that extend past the face of the light and give you more control over the direction in which the light will be cast. Halogen work lights offer very high light wattage, usually 500 watts or higher per lamp. Sometimes, this can be overkill and it may be necessary to further diffuse them. Use basic lighting gels to soften the lights or add color to them.
- 2
  
  Add compact fluorescent bulbs and barn doors to your work lights.
  
  Replace the hot halogen bulbs in your work lights with compact fluorescent light bulbs. A downfall of halogen work lights is the high amount of heat they throw off. Swapping out the hot bulbs with cold bulbs can help to eliminate potential fire hazards. In some cases this may require modifications to your light stands. Plans showing you how to do this are readily found online.
- 3
  
  Use tungsten-balanced bulbs in your dish work lights.
  
  Insert a color-balanced ECA light bulb into your reflector dish clamp light instead of a standard light bulb. The ECA lights are tungsten-balanced which will give you color that is truer than a regular light bulb. ECA bulbs can be found online for prices similar to those of regular light bulbs.
- 4
  Unmount your overhead fluorescent work lights from the ceiling and have an assistant hold them to better direct the light in the direction in which it is needed. Because the lights are generally very long, they need little to no diffusing; however it is possible to temporarily tape a sheet of tissue paper over the front to further soften the glow from the light. Anytime you are diffusing light in this manner, closely monitor the light for overheating. Unplug the light immediately to prevent fires if it gets too warm.
- 5
  Set up multiple lights of the same style and bulb. Mixing lights can create uneven color temperature which can deteriorate the quality of your photograph. Incorporate more natural light, such as sunlight, into your photograph if you do not have enough work lights.
- 6
  Plug in just one or two high-wattage work lights at a time. Because many work lights are high voltage, it is easy to overload your power outlets. Know how many watts you are working with and what your electrical supply is capable of handling to prevent blown fuses.

Photography