Lighting with the Accessory Lampheads of Rifa eXchange

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FLO-X3 Head with 120V AC Screw-threaded Fluorescent Lamps 125-300w AC

Rifa eX Use: Rifa eX 66, AC Power, FLO-X3 lamphead, (3) 65w Daylight Fluorescent Lamps

The Job: A video compilation of 'thankyou messages' for an upcoming retirement party.

The Location: The subjects home living room, which is lit mostly by the indirect daylight from the front porch window, as well as a couple of small decorative lamps, including one behind her back.

Looking at our shot without added lighting, its a more dramatic & moody look than we desire for our production style. What we would like is some more daylight fill in the room, to lower the contrast ratio on her face, giving more of a bright mid-afternoon feel to the shot

We set both our exposure and white balance for the strongest light, the indirect daylight coming in the window. The fill light we will add also needs to be daylight color.

Note that, because of the differences in color temperature between the daylight window & the incandescent room lamps, choosing a daylight white balance causes the lamp behind our subject to appear even warmer.

We placed the Rifa eX 66 on the opposite side of her face from the window, to the left of our camera position. This will allow some soft frontal fill on her was well as a bit of shadowless ambient fill to open up the light levels in the room.

The FLO-X3 lamphead is physically the largest of the Rifa eXchange Systems Accessory Lampheads, housing 3 lamp sockets. Before plugging the light in, install the lamphead, without lamps for easier handling. Hold the head in the middle and line it up with the Rifa center post's side pins, then push in & twist to lock the lamphead.

Note: the side pins on all Rifas are 2 different sizes. Each head only fits on in one way, so be sure to orient the head to the post correctly. Also note that each socket has its own dedicated lamp switch, which allows you to vary the amount of light output from the Rifa eX.

Install the 3 65w fluorescent lamps carefully, one at a time, holding the lamps by the plastic base. Do not tighten by holding the glass section. When finished, plug in AC cord, switch power cord on and then switch the 3 individual lamp sockets on. Replace the diffuser.

Looking at our shot with the added lighting, its close but not quite there yet. The color of the daylight fluorescents in the Rifa eX matches well with the color of the daylight coming in the window, but the balance is a little off. We would like a bit less of the Rifa daylight and a bit more of the window daylight in our contrast ratio.

We could back the light a bit further away, which would decrease the output on her face, but its easier to just open the diffuser on the Rifa eX, switch off one of the 3 lamps, and close it. Doing so increases the emphasis on the daylight from the window-side while still keeping enough fill on her face & in the room to see detail clearly.

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