Mixing Lights

Hello,

I've been shooting for a while with 2 Halogen lights and am considering upgrading my lights.

Has anyone tried mixing light sources ? 2 halogen and 2 HID's ? 2 low Watt HID's and 2 high Watt HID's ?

Has anyone found that they've got too much light ? I like to shoot critters (all sizes) by holding steady and letting them check me out - but I'm concerned that, with more light, they'll shy away.

Also, has anyone determined an optimal position of their lights ? High above, wide left and right, close to the camera or far apart, etc.

Thanks a lot,

Huntster

Well first of all, HIDs and halogens work at different color temps so your colors would be wacky at best.

With video, unless you want serious lighting, the aim is probably to illuminate up to 4 ft away tops esp in the day time. Obviously in the daylight the stronger the light the better, but most fish will swim away. That's why well lit subjects usually are too slow to get away or don't care. The white tips and silkies of cocos and malpelo are examples of the don't care variety.

Placement is an artistic thing. Playing with shadows, getting rid of green cast shadows etc. There's no one postion for all shots.

Enjoy.

Then again, if you properly white balanced, I don't see that the 2 different types of light would necessarily be a negative.-Steve

Steve,

if you white balance for 5500°K, then the portion of the pic that has 3300°K will look reddish/yellowish. White balance will shift the entire pic to one setting, ending to be an average of the scene, whereby the color will be sorta in between, which is not the correct color.

Guys,

Thanks for the responses and discussion.

Re Color Temperature: I would have thought the lights would have combined to something between 3300K and 6000K - at least at the distance I held my white balance card. But I suppose if I had the 3300K's lower (mounted below the camera) and the 6000K's above, the top of the image would be bluer than the bottom. To some degree, isn't that the way it is in the natural world anyway ?

Re Light Locations: Sometimes I want the light comming from the camera, sometimes I want it from above (like the sun), and sometimes I want it from below (when I'm shooting into an overhang or cavern). Just thought those with more experience might have suggestions as to what works and what doesn't.

Anybody had any experiece using 2 different manufacturer's HID's on the same shoot ?

I don't have a good answer to this, but maybe have a reasonable suggestion. Shine your HID and Halogen or Incandescent lights on a white wall in your house. White balance on that and shoot a little video, and that should give you a pretty good idea if it will work.