Barbra,
Studio lighting is not that hard of a concept. You are controlling exposure and controlling shadows. Once you know what the exposure is for your lighting setup, then put your camera on MANUAL to keep the exposure the same. With hot lights, your white balance should be somewhere between 2700K and 3600K. I can't tell you which because I am not there to test your set up. Using hot lights, the bulbs are on all the time so that you can see where the shadows are falling. Even at night, the light coming from that window is poluting your scene. If you don't want to block off that window, then buy studio strobes (Alien Bees, White Lightning, Pro Foto, Photogenics, etc.). At least then, the window won't be polluting your light scene with a different white balance.

To measure the exposure, you should have a light meter.

Are all your lights the same manufacturer? Are your bulbs all the same manufacturer? If they aren't, then each light could be putting out a different white balance.

Do you know the difference between a main light, hair light, fill light, background light? Do you know what the job of each of those lights are?

I use studio strobes (White Lightning). I also use camera flash when I need to. I also have a set of hot lights. My hot lights are nothing more than clamp on shop lights that takes a screw in incandescent bulb. I have bulbs from 15 watts to 100 watts. I use GE soft white bulbs. I have 6 hot lights bought at the same time, all the same brand. My bulbs are all the same age. As incandescent bulbs age, their white balance changes. This is why I keep all my bulbs the same age. I probably have spent less than $100.00 for my hot light set up.

To fix your problem we have to identify the variables and eliminate them. It is the only way to have consistent light.


David Ramey Photography