Hot lights as a portrait set up

[Christiaan Phleger]

Sooo hot.

 

[eddym]

Is it just me or do others out there find Helen's technical talk strangely arousing?

Oh god yesssss.....!!!!

 

[MattKing]

Matt's comments leave me a bit lost for words. I sure hope that I'm not too demanding to work with.

It isn't a term I hear much, but I also thought that 'hot light' referred to a light that got hot. I guess that it's just a vague term, to be interpreted in the context of its use.

Best,
Helen

Helen:

Sorry if that came across wrong.

By "demanding", I meant challenging, in a positive way.

I was reacting to your depth and breadth of knowledge as revealed by these and other posts, and thinking about the learning experience (and appreciation for detail) that someone apprenticed to you would enjoy.

Matt

 

[haris]

It isn't a term I hear much, but I also thought that 'hot light' referred to a light that got hot. I guess that it's just a vague term, to be interpreted in the context of its use.

Best,
Helen

Well, hot lights are lights with 3800 lower to 3200 (most usually) and lower Kelvin degrees temperature of colour of light (flashes for example have about 5000 Kelvins (considered as daylight colour of temperature of light), depend of manufacturer). And because those lights become hot (that is can cause burns when touched, and melt umbrellas or soft boxes which are suitable for flashes, but not for hot lights) no matter how you look at them, you can call them hot. Ask one of mine models who posed for my first nude attempt. She didn't want to hear for me from then untill I got flashes. Now we are friends again...

So, hot lights is term for lights with low temperature of colour of lights, for example when you shoot colour film suitable for daylight/flash lights under hot lights you get orange or red or yellow cast. Example is ordinary household bulb. So, lower temperature of colour of light, that light is considered as hotter. And those lights become hot when used, like said before can cause burns, melting, falmes in extreme siuations and explosion of bulbs (that is why lights with halogen bulbs have glass or steel net protection in front of bulbs...). Oposite, cold lights would be lights with colour of lights temperature above 5000 Kelvins, like and those lights give green/blue cast when daylight colour film is used with those lights.

In short, hot/cold lights are terms used for temperature of colour of light in Kelvins those lights give (lower themperature, hotter lights, more red/orange colour of light, higher temperature, cooler light, colour of light going to green/blue), not are they hot or cold by touching them. They are hot or cold when touched, but it is just coincidence.

 

[DBP]

The use of continuous lighting in photography did not include flourescent lights until fairly recently, so the term 'hot lights' was broad enough to cover all non-flash sources.

 

[Helen B]

I can hear whispering at the back.*

Matt,

Don't worry, I didn't misinterpret your post, I just get a bit tongue-tied.

Haris,

I'm beginning to wish that I'd never raised the issue. The whole 'warmer light from cooler sources' thing can cause confusion. I think that 'warm' is used to describe light of a low correlated colour temperature more often than 'hot' is used. If director who wasn't technically-minded (and there's nothing wrong with that) asked me for 'warmer light' I'd use light of a lower CCT. If he or she asked me for 'hotter light' I'd assume that referred to the brightness, in particular more highlights. It's all about context, I guess.

Best,
Helen


*It's a publicity photo for Institute Benjamenta, or This Dream People Call Human Life by the Brothers Quay. Alice Krige as Lisa Benjamenta.

 

[haris]

I can hear whispering at the back.*


Haris,

I'm beginning to wish that I'd never raised the issue. The whole 'warmer light from cooler sources' thing can cause confusion. I think that 'warm' is used to describe light of a low correlated colour temperature more often than 'hot' is used. If director who wasn't technically-minded (and there's nothing wrong with that) asked me for 'warmer light' I'd use light of a lower CCT. If he or she asked me for 'hotter light' I'd assume that referred to the brightness, in particular more highlights. It's all about context, I guess.

Best,
Helen

Yes, as English is not my native language, I use terms picked from reading British and USA photo literature, as well as other language literature which use English terms. In all of them (that is how I understand them) "hot" lights is term used for lights with 3800 Kelvin and lower temperature of colour of light.

So, if non technicaly minded director wants from me "warmer" light in photo I would use "hot" lights which will give me warmer light effect. If she or he wants "hot" light I would assume she or he wants more sexy effect, that is lighting setup which will make model to look sexy

Enjoy life,
Haris