Small home studio, 3 by 4 metres, white ceiling and walls, one 60W COB with a 65cm softbox. Budget is about 250. I shoot seated interviews and product close-ups. Everyone says a second light fixes separation, but in a room this small I wonder whether a big bounce and a flag would do more. Where would you put the money?
Second light, but on the background rather than as a second key. Nothing you do to the face fixes a subject glued to a wall.
For product close-ups specifically the bounce wins — you often want a big soft wrap and a card is more controllable than another fixture. So it depends which half of your work matters more to you.
For products a sheet of foam board plus a diffusion panel covers it for under 30, which leaves the rest of the budget for the flags.
In a 3 by 4 metre room you will never get good separation, honestly. Rent a space.
@goldenhour_glen · last yr. · 3 replies
Flags first, then a small second light, and skip the giant bounce entirely. In a small white room your problem is not too little light, it is too much bounce — the walls are already filling your shadow side whether you want them to or not. A couple of black flags, or even a moving blanket on a stand, gives you contrast you currently cannot buy at any price. Once you can control the spill, a cheap second light on a shoulder or the background does the separation job.
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@goldenhour_glen · last yr.
White walls in a 3 by 4 are basically a giant softbox you did not ask for. Negative fill is the cheapest upgrade in the whole hobby.
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@spark_plug_pete · last yr.
I never thought of the room itself as fill. That explains a lot.
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