Lighting lamp and costume?

[Artfix]

Hey guys. I come here first when I'm stumped because I can always depend on you guys.

I want to get more sophisticated with my ref for paintings. I want to own my own fancy lamp. I want one which will reach up high pointing down , and also go down very low pointing up. I also hope to find one which comes attached with a light-focusing ummm...aperture. So I can make it a broad light, or a spot light. I can't find anything with all of these traits online. Can anyone help me out??

I also found a site called modelmayhem.com which I plan to use to hire a model if I ever have any money. If anyone can make recommendations for finding models, please do.

And finally, costume. Does anyone have any advice on renting costume? I've been to plenty of thrift stores and halloween stores. Its just not working anymore. I want authentic costume. I could never afford to buy anything unless its something I use constantly like maybe a wizard's robe or chainmail. Everything else I would need to rent. Any ideas?

Thanks so much!

[JeffX99]

Best solution for your light is going to be a photography light stand...one with adjustable "barn doors" - I don't think there are any types of lights with a focusing aperture kind of thing. [Edit: I take that back...there are probably spotlights and things that can focus the light from broad to narrow...but they aren't really set up for photo work]
Did you try B&H Photo? A really inexpensive option would be a set of "construction lights" - they usually come with one or two that sit on the ground and tehn the set that is on a stand.

For costumes I would recommend cozying up to a local theater group or college theater dept. If there is a community theater in your area they might be a great resource. Any decent sized city will have a good, professional costume shop or two as well.

ModelMayhem is great but mostly photography models - but if you're doing photo shoots that works. Might even find models with some costumes.

Sci-Fi cons are full of high level costume geeks these days too...they have Costumer's Guilds and teh works. Also of course the Ren Faire folk - actually really authentic costumes and gear can be found there.

[Artfix]

Thanks Jeff,

What I meant was barn doors too but I didn't know what to call it. I'm looking at B&H now--I'm sooo ignorant about all this stuff! I found what I was describing is called a boom lol. I'm looking at this cheapest one here http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...or_Holder.html

Now what the hell light do I put on the end? How do I know barn doors I buy will be compatible?

Yeah I think model mayhem will work because I just need photo ref. Some of the models have 'cosplay' in their profile too. That would be awesome if they had costume of their own!

Is authentic-ish stuff for sale at ren fairs? I never even thought of that. I would expect them to be very expensive tho because they are artisan costumes, not factory made ya know. And I'm broke.

[Shorinji_Knight]

I've thought about doing the modelmayham thing also. The only thing holding me back is the expense of the costuming. There are a lot models that only want their expenses covered and some quality tearsheets from their work.

You could avoid the lights issue for a while by setting up your first photoshoot outside somewhere. Then you could see how well the other aspects work out. I think Jeff is right construction lights would be the cheapest and easist thing to adapt to your needs.

I wish you luck and hope you update us as to how it works out for you with the whole lights, costumes, and modelmayham thing.

[blogmatix]

Is authentic-ish stuff for sale at ren fairs? I never even thought of that. I would expect them to be very expensive tho because they are artisan costumes, not factory made ya know. And I'm broke.

It occurs to me you could perhaps team up with fashion design students. They get to design and make interesting costumes, you get costumes to paint, and you repay them with drawings or paintings in which their costumes appear. If you ever get famous, those works will be worth a fortune, but if not, they'll still have nice original art works.

[Artfix]

I appreciate you thinking outside the box blog. But I don't think any fashion design students create tunics, armor, cowls, etc lol.

[pixel cheetah]

I appreciate you thinking outside the box blog. But I don't think any fashion design students create tunics, armor, cowls, etc lol.

You will be surprised to find out what fashion students create. They can use anything as inspiration. Of course they might not create an authentic armour but might create something which looks the same or even better, or more interesting. Also, if you want to study authentic costume why do not you go to cotume/fashion museums?

[dpaint]

Look up the Society for Creative Anachronism in your area. I have hired them for shoots and they not only have full armor, costumes and weapons, they know how to fight in them and are happy to stage a fight scene for you. Some of them even have horses with armor too. They usually have monthly or weekend demonstrations.

[vineris]

There are costume stores which will rent better-quality stuff than you can find in thrift or Hallowe'en stores (which are bottom-of-the-barrel cheap stuff, for the most part). Theatrical companies and drama departments will also sometimes rent costumes. If you go talk to the drama people at some local colleges, you might be able to find costumes and people willing to pose in them. They also have lighting technicians who might be able to help you with sources for lights.

The SCA is also a really good suggestion if you're looking for stuff from that period. There's also other historical re-enactment societies, cultural societies and LARP groups if you're looking for stuff outside of the medieval period. Plus there's costumes that are easy to make yourself -- stuff like togas and saris and traditional kilts are all basically long pieces of cloth wrapped a certain way.

[SkullClutter]

For costumes: You can try asking around any amateur theatre companies in your area. Depending on what type of shows they do, they should have a large stock of costumes they may be willing to rent for a small donation or security deposit.