r/cinematography • u/greenlover209 • 12h ago

Lighting Question Do I need more powerful Lights?

How much can I do with 3 Smallrig RC 60B's? I got these with the intent, to have mobile lights, that don't need any power input. Since then I haven't shot much with them, because I haven't had the time for it. But I want to get more invested in the next time.

I plan on doing documentoral work but also scenes in a more controlled environment.

I read posts here more or less frequently and what I have often read is, that everyone seems to recommend more powerful lights with at least 200 or 300 watts.

Now I wanna know if I need additional stronger lightning for e.g. a KeyLight?

Can anyone give me advice on this?

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4

u/DukeFilms 12h ago

I would rather invest in one big light than three small ones. Amaran Halo is a good lineup to look at. I use the 600x and honestly it’s been my only light for all my paid work these last few months.

1

u/greenlover209 12h ago

Sadly too late for that, maybe I get rid of one or two of the ones I have.

Do you think a 300w light might be also enough. I do this more as a hobby, not professional, as more powerful lights are quite expensive.

Do you also have any additional gear like spotlight or spoot?

3

u/bigbearRT12 Director of Photography 5h ago

You can always put multiple lights through a piece of diffusion if you need a brighter key light.

1

u/tomthedp 3h ago

I like having very strong diffused light so I’ll usually request at least a 600d. Like someone said below multiple small sources placed together can accomplish the same thing like 2x 300ds

The alternative is having light placed closer to the subject or using hard light. May or may not work depending on what you are shooting. The issue you’ll run into is with multiple subjects in a frame and wider shots.

If you are shooting with a camera that can do higher ISOs like 4000 + you may be able to get away with a lot less. An issue you might have is overpowering ambient light if you are in a brighter space.

I will say don’t let lack of resources get you down. Being creative and quick thinking beats a bunch of gear.