Lighting Recommendations?

[darkstarmedia]

Hey, guys! I'd really love your assistance here.

My main issue with recording videos is sound and lighting - now, I'm learning how to use my microphone, but I am currently without any artificial lighting. My budget is looking at £50 ($70ish) or so for the time being, so I understand that it won't buy a whole lot right now, but it's a start, right?

Are there any in that price range (a few extra quid is alright if you think it's worth it) that you would personally recommend? If you can't share links in this thread, feel free to message them to me. Any personal experience of any of these is also greatly appreciated.

Thanks a million! <3

 

[Carlos Ruelas]

Maybe you could build your own reflector with a reasonable size can and a light bulb, some cables and if you need something to hold it maybe a broom stick or welding a metallic handle... Or in the last case, screwing it up to the wall....

I`m not pretty sure if it would work, I`ve been thinking of it because you know how expensive are professional reflectors, but I haven´t tried it yet because I`m literally in zeros.

 

[ItsJustJames]

The cheapest 'light setup' goes for around £100 these days. It consists of two photography soft boxes. Amazon would be a place to start for a first time cheap purchase.

Having had a look at a recent video of yours, where is the strong light on your face coming from? Is this from a window? That's a fantastic source you've already got; better than any soft box you can buy. If you were to consider buying lights you would perhaps use one as backlight. You could then bring your exposure down a bit so there's less contrast between the brightness of your face and background.

Good luck!
James.

 

[darkstarmedia]

The cheapest 'light setup' goes for around £100 these days. It consists of two photography soft boxes. Amazon would be a place to start for a first time cheap purchase.

Having had a look at a recent video of yours, where is the strong light on your face coming from? Is this from a window? That's a fantastic source you've already got; better than any soft box you can buy. If you were to consider buying lights you would perhaps use one as backlight. You could then bring your exposure down a bit so there's less contrast between the brightness of your face and background.

Good luck!
James.

The main issue with recording in front of the window is the background noise (I live on a ground-floor flat on a busy road) and the light, while great, is very inconsistent. I can't guarantee the same intensity of lighting and my camera doesn't have a flip screen so I can't monitor it regularly, which is why I'm looking for a lighting source I can count on.

 

[ItsJustJames]

The main issue with recording in front of the window is the background noise (I live on a ground-floor flat on a busy road) and the light, while great, is very inconsistent. I can't guarantee the same intensity of lighting and my camera doesn't have a flip screen so I can't monitor it regularly, which is why I'm looking for a lighting source I can count on.

Then I'd suggest soft boxes would be a good buy to restore some consistency in your lighting setup. If you want to upgrade your audio equipment you could consider a shotgun microphone. They're heavily directional so only pick up sound from the direction they're pointing in. This would help reduce noise from outside the window providing you point the mic in a sensible direction.

Again, it's all money sadly but you could invest in a field monitor. You can pick up cheap ones for £100 ish that connect often via HDMI. This would let you monitor what you're shooting.

James.

 

[SonicR360]

The main issue with recording in front of the window is the background noise (I live on a ground-floor flat on a busy road) and the light, while great, is very inconsistent. I can't guarantee the same intensity of lighting and my camera doesn't have a flip screen so I can't monitor it regularly, which is why I'm looking for a lighting source I can count on.

I do videos behind a window. In many cases I use two photography soft boxes on tripods - I got them for £50 on Amazon!! Well worth it. But it may or may not help you. Just a suggestion.