Talkmicro - View Single Post - Bulb Talk

louoates · #9 (**permalink**) 03-04-2008, 12:11 AM

I use the new fluorescent bulbs a lot, especially when copying paintings for making resale prints. I still prefer to use the sun, in the shade of course as that gives me near zero glare, even with the semi-gloss sealer some artists use.

It's quite a battle to get the right color temps. I use 2 tri-bulb fixtures. When one bulb burns out it's impossible to match a new bulb. I may have to get three at a time from Home Depot. I'm not sure how accurate the color temp is from one bulb to the next, or how they degrade from specs over time.

The other challenge is to make sure the lights are on for some mysterious length of time before taking meter reading. I suspect they come up to full brightness slowly. At least the image has often looked overexposed in Photoshop for the first few shots.

I've used the fluorescents for background lighting but they just aren't strong enough, so I get out the strobes.