Bicycle shooting advice??

[Drewcifer]

Hello, thanks in advance for any help. I am trying to get an idea of what kind of lighting I should purchase to shoot bicycle frames and whole bikes with a SLR digital camera. I am thinking that 2 Speedotron 400 watt heads and some sort (more advice??) of power pack will get the job done. The biggest problem we have with on-camera flashes and hot lights is [COLOR="Red"]underexposure[/COLOR]. We are a small comapny and have a limited budget so any ideas that keep it around $800 would greatly help.

[Photo-John]

You don't need strobes to shoot still subjects. I do a lot of product photography and use Photoflex tungsten lights for all of it. Hot lights are less expensive and much easier to use.

Are you going to be shooting against a white backdrop? Do you want the background pure white? If so, a third light on the background will help a lot. Otherwise you either have to accept a somewhat gray background or do some serious Photoshop masking which ain't gonna be any fun with wheel spokes.

[MJS]

Where will you be shooting? How high and what color will the cieling be? If the cieling is 8-10 feet and white, you could bounce one strobe off the cieling for a BG/fill light and use the other as a main light with an umbrella or soft box. Make sure you set your white balance for the proper lighting to get proper colors.