Photoshop Insider

Using Westcott SpiderLites for my Adobe Lightroom Tour

By Scott on Friday, April 20th, 2007 at 7:58 am | updates.

At my Lightroom Live Tour (which kicks off in LA next Wednesday), I’m going to be doing three live studio shoots in the classroom, so I needed a full studio set-up (softboxes, stands, background, etc.) for those shoots.

I usually use strobes for my studio work, but last month (when I did that two-day hands-on Lightroom workshop at the Digital Technology Centre in Sarasota, Florida), I got a chance to try a continuous light source, because they had Westcott SpiderLites, and I was so impressed that when I put this tour together, I called B&H Photo to buy a SpiderLite system for the tour. Well, they put me in touch with David Piazza over at Westcott, and with their help we put together a three-light system to my specs, with three different size softboxes, stands, two TD-5 SpiderLites and a smaller TD-3 SpiderLite, along with a pop-up Westcott Illuminator background.

In preparation for the tour Matt, Dave, Corey and I set up the entire SpiderLite kit in NAPP Headquarters yesterday, and I have to tell you, we were all blown away. Once you work with continuous light, and can clearly see the shadows and light patterns as you reposition the lights, you just fall in love. Plus, the quality of the light (it looks like daylight), is just amazing, and best of all; they’re not “hot” lights. They’re absolutely cool (since they’re based on specially designed banks of flourescent lights). Really just amazing.

For me, another bonus of using SpiderLites is; you don’t have to sync with strobes, so there’s no wireless remotes necessary, or sync speed issues, or adjustments to make in the camera to work with flash, becuase…it’s not a flash (you shoot just light you would in natural light). So, on the breaks between sessions I can let any of my students who brought their camera to the seminar, just walk up and take shots, because the lighting is just “on.” No flash issues, no syncing issues, they can just walk up and shoot. If you’re coming to my tour on Wednesday, you’ll see what I mean, and then you’ll want this link to Westcott’s site, or to B&H Photo to pick up one of their TD-5 SpiderLite kits (they’ve got two light kits, three light kits, or individual TD-5 units which are only around $365 for the light itself, plus you need the five blubs (around $95) and a Westcott softbox, which attach directly to the light without having to buy a speedring, and a stand. B&H has a full kit like that for $499, but I think the softbox is too small—get the next size softbox up—like a 2′ by 3′).

Anyway, I’m delighted to announce that Westcott has now come on as an official sponsor of my Lightroom Live Tour, and I just couldn’t be more tickled to have them be a part of this new tour, and to be using their lighting in my seminar. (My thanks to Dave and everyone at Westcott for their support).

Comment form for this post

^#1

Wow - those Westcotts look freakin’ sweet. But Scott, where do you buy bLubs? I know I’ve seen bulbs around for years, but did Westcott go in a totally new direction with their bLubs?

I kid, I kid… thanks for the review; hope to see a set in action sometime soon.

-Mike

Mike on April 20th, 2007 at 9:26 am

^#2

Scott, you look like you have lost weight in the past few months. Good for you. If not, you have a good optical illusion going there.

Pat Flanakin on April 20th, 2007 at 10:54 am

^#3

Scott,
Those spiderlights look nice. Compared to strobes, how much light do these things put out. What f stop, iso, shudder speed do you normally shoot at with them?
Thanks
–Jon

Jon Adams on April 20th, 2007 at 12:36 pm

^#4

Scott are there any pros to using strobes instead of these new spiderlights?
Thanks
- Robert

Robert Payne on April 20th, 2007 at 5:29 pm

^#5

I just saw these in action at a Norman Phillips seminar and they did just what you did- everyone brought their camera up and shot! It was cool. My dilemma though- I want these, but I also want something more “Strobist” - portable, lightweight. I am struggling with which to buy! Any insights?

Jon Arvin on April 20th, 2007 at 7:18 pm

^#6

Looking forward to seeing this on Wednesday! Had this day schedule off from work the day you set the date for the Los Angeles show!

Duane on April 21st, 2007 at 11:36 am

^#7

To Mike:
That was a good one—I almost responded back on where to buy blubs. I must be sleepy or something.

To Pat:
Thanks for your kind words. I’ve lost 86.4 lbs. so far. My goal is to lose 115, but it will be the first week of July before I hit it, but no worries; I’m in “the zone” (whatever that means)

To Jon:
They don’t put out as much light as a high-powered Strobe, but I usually shoot on a tripod so it’s not a problem for me. I did a bridal shoot on Friday in a very dimly lit church, and I took one SpiderLite with me, and it did a bang-up job (and I shot at 100 ISO the whole time). After the shoot, I called my buddy Dave and told him, “Shooting with continuous light from these SpiderLites is like cheating—-it’s just too easy!”

To Robert:
The pros of using Strobes are probably the power (you can some really high powered strobe, which work shooting great outdoors, especially when you need to “overpower the sun”, and these SpiderLites are really better for indoor studio or location use). They don’t produce any heat, so the they’ll cool for your subjects, and even the subjects seem to like them better, because there’s no flashing in their eyes. I’m pretty psyched about them (as you can tell).

To Jon:
If you want something more portable, try a wireless dedicated flash (like a Nikon SB-800 or Canon Speedlight 580), and then add some kind of diffusion. I’d sent you to my Location Kit at B&H Photo, but I heard from a reader yesterday that they’re sold out again (by the way—I don’t get any kickback from B&H on those kits—they did it as a courtesy to my students—not as a money-making venture for me. Sadly).

To Duane:
See you in LA my friend!

-Scott

Scott on April 23rd, 2007 at 10:31 am

^#8

Scott, how’s the control with the SpiderLites (intensity, output, etc.)? Ever since I went digital I’ve considered using hotlights, or something similar, because of the control possibilities. I WANT CONTROL!! (LOL)
Also, please tell me that the Lightroom tour will be coming to Atlanta. I’ve caught Deke and Ben’s gig there and am looking forward to seeing you there.
Have a good one!
-Chris

Chris Westcott on April 23rd, 2007 at 1:23 pm

^#9

And oh, I meant to ask about the life of the bulbs, I’m mean bLubs. Uh…
-Chris

Chris Westcott on April 23rd, 2007 at 1:35 pm

^#10

Scott–
Will you be bringing any books with you to the Lightroom tour in L.A.? I’d like to purchase a copy of the New Lightroom book and the Digital Photography book. I’m hoping to get them signed. Any chance? BTW, I have Martin Evening’s Lightroom book and so far love it. I’m looking forward to the workshop.

Veronica Lynne

Veronica Lynne on April 24th, 2007 at 10:43 am

^#11

Hi Scott,

Saw your Lightroom seminar today…awesome! Loved those spider lights. You menitoned that your settings at the shoot today were 2.8 at 1/25 at 100 ISO. The pictures were great. When I shoot at a setting like that the whole photo is not in focus. Your whole photos was in focus. Any suggestions?

Julie on April 25th, 2007 at 11:44 pm

^#12

Question

Julie on April 25th, 2007 at 11:46 pm

^#13

Scott -

Everybody at the Lightroom Tour LA Launch wants to know, aside from pucker and liquify, what is your diet seceret ?

The topics covered were right on target, even the GPS demo… well, at least sort of… would enjoy seeing more of the the capture, tweak, output… maybe you might shoot some images the day before ( as you did w/ the Disney ), then pick ‘em, process ‘em, print ‘em…

All in all, a great event… but then you knew that ! Scott, I attend every event you lead, and have never been disappointed… lots of tools, tricks and humor…

Thank Debbie, too… She added immeasurably to the event…

Boyd Krueger on April 26th, 2007 at 1:32 pm

^#14

Scott,

Outstanding Lightroom Tour launch. Possibly the best $100.00 I’ve spent. Well… maybe last nights date… Just kiddin’.

Great job. Thanks for all the information

Ron

Ron Maxwell on April 26th, 2007 at 3:38 pm

^#15

Scott,

Thank you for a truly great day of learning Lightroom in LA!

I would love to try the nice print templates you mentioned we could find here on this site– but where do I find them? So far, no luck.

Thank you!

Roxanne

Roxanne on April 26th, 2007 at 4:23 pm

^#16

Great seminar in LA. But, no luck with the web address with .com/la… Is there another address for the added tips from the class?

Thanks for a great day.

Vince Maher on April 27th, 2007 at 4:29 pm

^#17

Scott,

Many thanks for an informative seminar in LA.

What was the background equipment you used in the protrait shoots (stand and background?

Thank you.

Carl on April 30th, 2007 at 3:11 pm

^#18

Scott: your seminar in LA was great as always. I cannot locate the scottkelby.com/la address you mentioned, did you put it up? If so where can I find it? Thanks again for a great learning experience.
JC ( the “I wanna be just like you when I grow up” guy)

JC on May 2nd, 2007 at 11:55 pm

^#19

Scott,
The spiderlites look quite interesting. For those of us that can’t make it to the Lightroom seminar is there any chance you can put together a video to show us how you set them up? One like you did for your B&H light kit would be great!!

Thanks.

Trina on May 8th, 2007 at 7:07 pm

^#20

I also enjoyed the day, great jump start for Lightroom. I finally located the extra notes, somewhere, somehow, but when I tried to find it for my friend who also attended, I couldn’t (as with others above, the.com/LA site did not work for me either. will you be updating the tour with additions for the other stops on your tour? I’d love to follow along. IF so, where will the notes be??

Susan Baribault on May 10th, 2007 at 2:17 pm

^#21

Hi Scott,
I attended your seminar in Atlanta. I stood in line, but never got to ask my Question. I bought you book,The Photoshop Cs2 book. Question: I’m trying to restore some photos of Friends last picture of his Son and Daughter before they passed away. They are two partial pictures that have been cut from 35mm photos. He doesn’t have negatives. I will have to build from both prints, like the lower part of his shirt, with stripes and part of her hair, as well as background. What I would like to know is what book do you think would be the most help. I’m familiar with clone stamp, but doesn’t seem to be good enough. Would like to move part of shirt.
Thanks,
James Bryan

James Bryan on June 4th, 2007 at 2:00 pm

^#22

Hello

Good work, webmaster! Nice site!

lokimikoj on September 21st, 2007 at 3:05 pm

^#23

Hey Scott,

I am just starting out in photography and want to start doing portraiture. I’ve done a little with natural light to some success, but still have much to learn about light. Is the three light Spiderlite kit a good place to start for a kit I could take to along to do portrait shoots on location? Is it powerful enough to do groups of four to eight? I love the idea of continuous lite. I’m just not smart enough to figure out all of the flash settings etc. I have a Nikon SB 800 and that thing is crazy with all of the stuff it does but that’s another story.

On another note. You are probably the best Photoshop educator in the world and that’s no joke. Love the books, writing style, videos, etc. Your seminars are great. NAPP is a fine organization. You are doing a great thing for all of us. Is there a group you would recommend that is as dedicated to improving peoples camera skills? You guys go into that a little but I was wondering if anyone goes that in-depth with exposure, lighting, and other technical aspects of photography. I want to go beyond the “cookbook” with my shooting skills.

Thanks!
Rick Gutierrez

Rick Gutierrez on November 30th, 2007 at 12:30 pm

^#24

scott

so whats the weight loss secret?

also, do you know anything about ascend training in chicago? looking for some kick ass flash training

loyal napp member for 5-6 years

mike w on February 2nd, 2008 at 2:11 pm

^#25

Scott,

I recently got the TD5 along with a reflector.
It seems that it is way too dark to shoot with my Canon EFS 17-85 IS (1:4-5.6) lens. In order to make it work I have to shoot at 5.6, 1/15 which are not “tact” sharp with my kids, tripod or not.
So I am forced to shoot with my 50mm 1.8 lens. I have been shooting with an f stop of 1.8 and a shutter speed of 1/125 at ISO 400. This turns out some pretty good shots but obviously I am very limited in how much I can get in focus.
Any tips on what I can do. I have been shooting with the TD5 a couple feet forward of the subjects on the left side, and the reflector on the right side.
By the way, I loved both of the Digital Photography books.
Thanks,

Craig Leonard on March 3rd, 2008 at 11:54 pm