Let There Be Light - Assembling PhotoSEL LS-21E52 Soft Box Kit

[1973jaydey]

thanks for the video, are theese softboxes good for portraits and what sort of camera settings would i use

jason

[iseetigers]

Excellent, thanks.

[georgew0304]

Watched this before, can't remember if I commented or not. Thanks so much for posting this video, pretty much professional and good quality. Really helped me and I wanted to let you know how much uploading this is appreciated. Thanks again =)

[starfedrogue]

@georgew0304 Thanks, always nice to know your videos are helping people!

[georgew0304]

@starfedrogue Haha, just got mine and assembling it right now watching your video ^_^

[InfosecCynic]

Ta mate, this video was a life-saver!

[starfedrogue]

@InfosecCynic You're welcome!

[eagletrainingltd]

Thank you for this - it has really helped me a lot.

[starfedrogue]

@eagletrainingltd No problem!

[LeeKitchenerPhoto]

Excellent video. I have just received these lightboxes. Personally I found everything intuitive to put together except the rods - they seemed too long and considering the overall build quality, I did not want to force anything. I have watched the entire video - it has rescued me and taught me about the umbrella brackets. Thanks very much.

[NickSBolton]

Brilliant! I opened the package and was dismayed to see no instructions (well, midly put out anyway) so your video was fantastic! Thanks, you have a new subscriber for life!

[starfedrogue]

@NickSBolton Thanks! Glad it helped :)

[ozmond2600]

Great helpful vid, unfortunately for me on the 2nd light the 3rd rod which is the hardest to get in broke the hole so now i have only 3 rods holding it together ;-(

[starfedrogue]

@ozmond2600 Get in touch with Photosel, I'm sure they'll be able to replace it for you!

[ozmond2600]

@starfedrogue I've emailed them asking if they have the square bracket thingy as a spare. If not I think I can get away with just 3 rods and can't be bothered to send it all back. I use sony vegas 10 but also have adobe premiere 5.5 but that looks a bit of a handful.

[starfedrogue]

@ozmond2600 I also use both of those; Vegas 10 is just right for Youtube videos, I think PP is overkill myself. But for stuff with multiple shots where you want to keep a big project organised you can't beat PP with OnLocation!

[dpchages]

Thank you for taking the time to create this video! With no instructions it made assembly soooo much easier.

[cmelville]

people like you make youtube worthwhile..thanks for taking the time..it really helped. Appreciated

[starfedrogue]

@cmelville Thanks very much, it's always nice to hear that a video is helping people!

[petertatt]

Thanks Starfed, you're a real star. Very very helpful. Especially your help with those bendy little bars. Would never have had the confidence to bend them without your guidance. Much appreciated.

[starfedrogue]

@petertatt No problem! Have to admit I was a bit reluctant, especially without safety goggles ;)

[t3chz0rz]

Didn't even look at the original video I just bypassed it actually found your video after doing some research on the kit to see if it was any good before buying....it just arrived and i built it in next to no time. Great work mate, thanks!

[thethoughtoutmedia]

Great review, thanks for making. Can I ask about noise from the lights. In another review, the dreaded 'hum' was mentioned, and because I would use these to light greenscreen interviews, the subject would be between and just in front (as per smick's tutorial on greenscreen lighting). I wonder if this purported noise would interfere with shotgun or lavalier?

[starfedrogue]

@thethoughtoutmedia I have to say I've not noticed any hum, either from the lights or on recordings. No more than usual anyway. I usually use a shotgun and/or lavalier.

[ocubex]

Just set up my PhotoSel following your tutorial... thanks.

[Threeflyingpiglets]

These lights arrived an hour ago with a shoot later this evening... and complete confusion as to how they go together. So, you've saved our bacon. Thanks!

[starfedrogue]

@Threeflyingpiglets Glad I could help!

[plabrow]

Well done and thanks for doing this. (I've just bought x2 of these sets (x4 lights) - for the price they are great. Assembly is a bit of a faff compared to more expensive sets but you can't have everything.) The official video for assembly is pretty poor - this is excellent.

[starfedrogue]

@plabrow Thanks, glad you found it useful! I couldn't believe the state of the official vid either.

[AcaciaMovies]

Hey, great video! Was really helpful, thank you. Is there an easy way to pack them up for transport or do you literally have to take them apart and reassemble them piece by piece? Many thanks.

[starfedrogue]

@AcaciaMovies There's no quick and easy way to collapse them really, you pretty much have to take the bulbs out then the best thing to do is detach the heads from the stands. If you want to collapse the boxes you really need to take them apart completely!

[AcaciaMovies]

@starfedrogue Aaah, I thought that was probably the case. Thanks for your help, and thanks again for the video.

[gabevolution]

thank you very much!

[successplanonline]

I just want to say that I have recently purchased this product and I found you video which mad the assembly process an absolute breeze. Thanks very much.

[andyh2o2jazz]

Thanks for doing this, it made the process of assembly straightforward.

[PoisonEgyptianCobra]

oh my god!!!! thank you so, so much!!!! in this very moment, you are my star!

[starfedrogue]

@PoisonEgyptianCobra Haha, you're welcome!

[CottonWoolWorld]

thanks so much for this video! I've got the lights as a christmas present and it really helped when putting them up!

[starfedrogue]

@CottonWoolWorld Wish I got them as a present! Hope you get some good use out of them.

[jessiebrickley]

'Do-hickey' is a wonderful description. Some good tips - even though I've spent the majority of my professional life putting up lights, I've always found softboxes annoyingly fiddly, so cheers!

[ShotDeadxX]

Something I couldn't find on Amazon. It says these lights are used for portraiture, do the lights themselves Flash? Or are they just a constant light when you're shooting?x

[starfedrogue]

@ShotDeadxX They're a constant light source, not strobes.

[SelfHelpCollective]

Cheers Starfed - watched your video now and put my light together without a hitch. I would have been scratching my head for sure without your assistance. Now just gotta work out the best way to use these guys lol

Steve

[Blade376]

Thanks for the tutorial dude! At last I can vlog with decent lighting! =D

[GeorgeBlack30]

Really really helpful - thankyou! I won't look such a fool in front of my Media students now!

[BisaNation]

Thanks so much for this!!

[scandimatt]

Good work Starfed, your video was extremely helpful and done with absolutely no

time wasting bo***cks! Well done!!

[robot9876]

Thank you for making this video. I got my light kit today and spent an hour trying to work out how to put it together before I saw your video. Your video would have saved me at least 50 mins. Looking forward to testing out my green screen and I will be starting my new video chanel soon.

[nixlyn1]

What can I say superb & simple! Even I managed it which is just as well as I am for my first 'shoot' tomorrow!! I will be back to see more of your videos asap.

[bighillys]

WHAT a star!!!! Many thanks indeed for taking the time to do this - you just saved my bacon!!!

[joshkurt69]

This is a brilliant video and saved a sleepless night. Thank you very much.

[LineOut]

Excellent! Thank you.

[psuedocreatura]

This video was fantastic , I just bought the photosel light kit and was suprised by the lack of instuctions. So straight to you tube and found this excellent video and followed along ;)

Great work and thank you

[KCPhotography2010]

Thank you this has helped me make a decision on weather i should purchase this or not! so thank you!

[GeekLikeMe1988]

Are these lights any good for lighting an interview in a small space? The video was very interesting and easy to follow.

[starfedrogue]

@GeekLikeMe1988 They should be okay, but bear in mind there is no way to change the light intensity other than adding or removing layers of diffusion.

[GeekLikeMe1988]

@starfedrogue - Thanks for your help :)

[JOeboFul]

thankyou for this so much! I just bought some softboxes identical to these and smashed BOTH bulbs trying to assemble them with the terribly bad instructions D: thanks again!

[BrilliantFutureMedia]

Thanks very much for making and uploading this video. Your presentation style is friendly and simple. Well done!

[13caesars]

Thank you for making this video. I have no photographic experience but bought this set of soft boxes for my wife's birthday present (I know, such a romantic guy).

Your instructions are easy to follow and I have now a functioning soft box. One down, one to go. Good job mate!

[screamstation]

Good man. Cheers!

[worldoftheorange]

This was a brilliant video - Thanks for making it! Green screen here we come!! - Liam

[laRosson]

Thanks for the help!

[xDet3rmin4tionx]

I couldn't know less about lighting if I tried lol, would you recommend this lighting kit? Is it good? Thank you for making this video, I'm sure many people have found it very useful.

[starfedrogue]

@xDet3rmin4tionx It's obviously budget, but it's not bad. I certainly can't afford the lights I'd like to have at the moment and these let me do pretty much the same stuff at a much lower price. I'd say if you have the cash and you will definitely use them a lot buy something better, but if you're on a budget and buying them to learn then these are a good place to start.

[xDet3rmin4tionx]

@starfedrogue Brilliant, I've just bought them :). Thanks. I have to say, I wouldn't buy them based on the lighting in some of your videos though lol!!! :) hehe. Just kiddin :). Hope to see more videos soon.

[jcreaser]

THANK YOU for posting this!! Really very useful!!

[gasgas270]

Just bought these, read your review on amazon and realised I watch your stuff on you tube, small world.

[starfedrogue]

@gasgas270 Small world indeed! Hope you get good use out of them, I've used mine quite a lot for videos and some portrait shoots.

[love1you2tube3]

Thanks very much for your help i really appreciate it :)

[love1you2tube3]

Are the kind of lights that flash a lot more expensive. Have you found these continuous ones do a good job? Thanks so much for your help

[starfedrogue]

@love1you2tube3 It is more expensive to put together a flash set, but you will get more consistent results with them. For example constant lighting often has a cyclical shift in the colour temperature of the light, which flashes don't.

[love1you2tube3]

Lol thanks very much sorry kinda new at this

[love1you2tube3]

Hi, i want to buy some lighting but i want to be able to link it to wireless transmitter and recievers to trigger the flash. Is this possuble with these lights? If so which one would you recommend? I cant find the information on amazon anywhere id be so gratefulnif you could help. Thanks for the great video too :)

[starfedrogue]

@love1you2tube3 You can't find any information on triggering these because they are continuous lighting. You plug them into the wall and turn them on!

[happyrichie]

yes thank you, took me about 4 hours 2 get the rods in but it was worth it! the stitching is surprisingly strong

[tbase26]

Great help. Thank-you.

[geordierhino]

Thanks for the video. I was able to erect the softbox without too much difficulty. Unfortunately one of the bulbs was smashed on receipt of item. But the one intact seems to work fine. Look forwar dto watching some more of your posts.

[SparkyGravesy88]

This was brill, thank you so much for this! Although those rods are an absolute nightmare. My box is slightly wonky...

[starfedrogue]

@JJesssii No idea. I'd try PhotoSEL in the first instance.

[BebopVoxTV]

Thanks m8 just bought 2

[starfedrogue]

@bustaproduktion Annoying aren't they? They do get less stiff though as time goes by.

[lexyhope]

Must admit I really had given up out of frustration until I found your video. Many thanks for your time putting it together.

Do you dismantle the whole lot after every location shoot?

[starfedrogue]

@lexyhope Only enough to take the soft-box off the stand!

[TimsThoughts]

I just bought these and your tutorial really helped. Thanks for sharing!

If you click on my site from my channel and go to photography and then maternity, you will see the results that I got from using both lights - nice and soft light :-)

BTW, which umbrella would you recommend - reflective silver?

Thanks again!

[starfedrogue]

@TimsThoughts Yeah I agree, you got some great low key results! I've only really used a silver umbrella so far; I've not come across any situation yet where I wanted to use the gold one.

[jeanniethegrinch]

Struggled for ages then found your video - really useful - Thanks for spending the time.

[twish1999]

I got these soft boxes for Xmas and easily assembled them with the help of your video, thank you so much :-)

Just a question though...how far back from the greenscreen is optimum for both the lights and for me to stand?

Happy New Year!

[starfedrogue]

@twish1999 Hi Trish, glad you found the video useful! I unfortunately am very restricted with space when I am using my green screen so I haven't been able to experiment with distances really. I find though that with the softbox covers on, light fall-off is very rapid. This means you can use one stand with a silver umbrella off to the side to light the screen and use a softbox "over the camera's shoulder" to light the subject without casting much of a shadow on the green screen.

[Thedocsquid]

Just wanted to say thank you for this video. I was left holding a load of pieces and wondering how they all fitted together. No instructions or indication of what to do. Googled your video and it was easy!

[NotTheMusicMan]

Hey! I'm looking at buying this kit with some Christmas money as I get more serious about my portrait photography and filmmaking.. Thanks for the informative video!

I was just wondering, where would you get replacement bulbs from and are they expensive? This is the one thing concerning me.

[starfedrogue]

@NotTheMusicMan Hey, spare bulbs can be bought from PhotoSel via Amazon and they cost £29 each. I've PM'd you a link.

[hertfordnet]

Would you say that these lights are suitable for family portraits?

[starfedrogue]

@hertfordnet Really depends how big your family is. For two adults and a couple of kids they should be okay, but I'd use umbrellas rather than the softboxes.

[twish1999]

Thank you so much for this 'how to' as i found the link to this video on Amazon as i was researching lightboxes... you explained things perfectly, so i'm subscribing to you as i'm sure your channel will be very helpful to me

:-)

[starfedrogue]

@twish1999 Thanks, I'm glad it was helpful!

[electriktricks]

great video- just 2 questions, can you adapt the softboxes for use with off camera speedlights?

and do the lights get hot during use?

thanks

[starfedrogue]

@electriktricks hi, sorry for the wait.

The softboxes have an elasticated aperture so I don't see why they shouldn't be used with Speedlights. They do get quite warm, yeah.

[MiniMutang]

Saved me a tonne of time.

[davidkeithbecket]

thanks so much!

[tearecords]

Thanks for doing this, I was a bit shocked when there were no instructions with the light and very relieved when I found your video.

[mrteknologik]

great, i also want to do portrait photography. i am talented on the photoshop aspect also so that will be an extra if people want it :)

[glamfaceuk]

I'm so glad I came across your video- so helpful- thanks

[starfedrogue]

@glamfaceuk You're welcome!

[starfedrogue]

@neilrsmith Thanks! Glad it was useful. It's always nice to hear from the people who benefit from seeing these videos :)

[Apsny10]

Brilliant! Many thanks!

[jamaicanpaleface]

@starfedrogue BLESSINGS & THANKS for your response. this video was like a BREDDRIN had come round my house and offered GUIDANCE as i assembled my brand new light kit. 1Love & Respect.

[jamaicanpaleface]

are these light boxes good for video as well as still photogrpahy?

[starfedrogue]

@jamaicanpaleface Yes, I use them for many of my videos now. They give a consistent light source at a useful colour temperature.

[HatchetJobdotcom]

I found your video through your Amazon review. Do you think these lights would be good for doing boardgame reviews? Showing what's in the box etc, while the game is on a table. At the moment I'm having to use desk lamps dotted around the place. Many thanks.

[starfedrogue]

@HatchetJobdotcom yeah, I think they will do well for that application. They give very even light and it's a fairly simple matter to set the stand up to give the spread that you want. I can think of better lighting solutions but none as cheap as this, and I know from bitter experience that it sure beats lamps!

[HatchetJobdotcom]

@starfedrogue Thanks for quick and detailed reply.

[fatgraphics]

Excellent job - thanks very much.

[kagatos]

great video tutorial! im thinkin about getting one but, do you know if there is a portable external battery pack for this?

[starfedrogue]

@kagatos There isn't one that Photosel supply, but any portable power should work as long as it can supply a 240v circuit. These lamps have normal fitted UK plugs.

[kagatos]

@starfedrogue Ah that's good. i dunno much about the studio lighting and i was thinking of using it outdoors and at conventions/expos etc. Thanks for the help!

[rockthediscotheque]

Super, thank you! My kit came with no instructions whatsoever!

[Maxsdiscos]

You can't dim the standard energy saving bulbs, only special ones, that's probably why diffusers are included.

[abakarabrar]

mate i was stuck and you came to the rescue UR A GOOD MAN!!

[starfedrogue]

@abakarabrar I knew someone would find it handy! ;)

[deveshdarshan]

thanks. very helpful.

[SergioDoBrasil]

Thanks for the info!

[boylan00013]

I use these light myself i didn't even get the video i was just look for more things to buy :) and i saw my lights and whated the check the video the thing i would say is i srew thing down pretty hard and i never even see the pastily bend.

also i would have the head on the stand with every before putting the bleu in

[royrhodes]

I bought this very lighting kit,..( it arrived yesterday ).It comes as a twin pack,so this is very much a value for money purchase.Like yourself,I bought this kit to give additional lighting to a green screen project I'm just about to start.I thought your setting up procedure was excellent,..( wish I'd watched it before I did it myself )..would've saved me a lot of time. I'd be very interested to view your "green screen" results.I'll keep my eyes open for it.Many thanks.

[johnleighdesigns]

Hi great video and I wonder if this kit is good/powerful enough to light a person or several persons from head to foot for both video and photo work including green screen? Do like the idea of cool lights in a small front room rather than halogen due to heat concerns but if you think halogen is likely to give more light I would value your feedback!

many thanks john leigh London UK

[starfedrogue]

@johnleighdesigns For lighting someone head to foot or lighting a small group of people, the ight bulbs give out plenty of light. However I would suggest using reflective umbrellas instead of softboxes, as they spread the light more. These softboxes are quite directional!

[VideoEffectsPlus]

Smaller than I thought, (except for the bulb!) worried a little about the fragile plastic, but I hope it will do the job as part of a portable studio kit.

[TLVspotter]

Very helpful video mate, keep them going!

[stulogic]

Very useful video, thanks!

[starfedrogue]

Glad it helped! I was wondering if any of my subscribers would care one iota about this one ^_^

[nishbrown]

It probably won't be long before they point people to this video!

Excellent job!

So many "technical" terms, like "doo-hickey".

Lol.

[starfedrogue]

@nishbrown Cheers! =)

I checked and waddaya know, doohickey is the proper name!

[CanadienAtheist]

That was really interesting.

It seems like it was an easy thing to put together anyway, but it is always nice to get tips from someone with the experience. The notes on the structural strength and the umbrella hole being good examples.

Funny when you mentioned you got it for portrait photography, I immediately wondered about the green screen. That is going to be real sweet for that. One of those on either side and you have it made.

[starfedrogue]

@CanadienAtheist Thanks, glad you liked it =)

Yes, it was pretty easy, but I think watching a 15min video then assembling it will take less time than trying to muddle through. Probably.

The umbrella holes are great, because umbrellas spread the light wider than softboxes. I can now use an umbrella in one stand to light the screen, and use the other stand to point a softbox at myself. Woohoo!