Lighting Setup

Exercises drill the foundational lighting decisions every PhotoRobot operator faces: continuous vs strobe, where to place lights, how Freemask works, when to use presets vs. ad-hoc adjustments. Exercise 5 is a small kit-design scenario for hardware specialists.

Exercise 1 — Continuous or strobe?

For each studio scenario, decide: Continuous LED, Strobe, or Both side-by-side.

Tip: Section 2 of textbook.

Exercise 2 — 4-light template

A new operator asks you to label the four standard light positions in a PhotoRobot stills setup. Match each light to its role:

Roles (use each letter):

• A) Reduces shadow contrast without overpowering the dominant light
• B) Creates a bright edge that separates the subject from the backdrop
• C) Drives the studio backdrop to white / gray / a chosen color
• D) The primary, dominant illumination — defines the lighting direction

Tip: Section 3 of textbook.

Exercise 3 — Freemask workflow

For each statement about Freemask, decide if it is TRUE or FALSE.

Tip: Section 4 of textbook.

Exercise 4 — Light placement vs. light power

A new operator complains: “My photos have weird hard shadows on the side of the product. I tried raising the power of the key light from 50% to 80% but it just made the shadow darker.”

What advice do you give? (Pick the most accurate answer.)

• A) Raise the power further to 100% — the brighter the key light, the softer the shadow
• B) Add a third light at 100% to overpower the shadow
• C) Reposition the lights. The fill light is too low or too far away — move it 30-50 cm closer to the subject, and verify it’s roughly opposite the key. Power is a secondary lever once placement is right.
• D) Switch from strobe to continuous lighting — continuous LEDs don’t produce hard shadows

Tip: Section 3 of textbook (“Why placement matters more than power”).

Exercise 5 — Hardware-specialist kit design

Scenario: You’re specifying the lighting kit for a new PhotoRobot studio. The customer will photograph apparel + accessories (handbags, shoes), 100-200 SKUs / day, mix of stills (production) + occasional product videos for marketing.

Studio dimensions: 5m × 5m, ceiling height 3m. The customer asks: “What lighting hardware do we need?”

List your recommended kit. For each item, write 1 line of justification:

5.1 Ceiling rail system:

Component: Why:

5.2 Strobe units (for daily stills):

Component: Quantity: Why:

5.3 Continuous LED units (for occasional video):

Component: Quantity: Why:

5.4 Wireless trigger:

Component: Where mounted:

5.5 Network configuration consideration:

What needs to be set up:

Tip: Sections 5, 6, and “Recommended Cameras” / “Broncolor Lights Management” manuals.

Exercise 6 — CAPP scopes & presets

A studio runs the same lighting layout for two different workflows:

• Workflow A (Apparel stills, standard): Front lights = 70% power, Back lights = OFF, Background light = OFF
• Workflow B (Apparel stills, Freemask): Front lights = 70% power, Back lights = 100% power, Background light = OFF

The operator currently manually changes each light’s power between the two workflows, taking ~90 seconds per switch. They run 12 switches per day.

6.1 — What CAPP feature should they use to eliminate this manual work?

Answer:

6.2 — How many minutes per day would the solution save the operator?

Answer:

6.3 — Where in CAPP is this feature configured?

Answer:

Tip: Section 7 of textbook + m06 Section 14 (Scopes & Presets).

Exercise 7 — Pre-flight checklist

Before your first hands-on session or before specifying lighting hardware for a customer:

• I can explain the difference between continuous and strobe lighting + when each is appropriate.
• I know that strobes can’t light video; video needs continuous lighting.
• I can name the 4 light positions (Key / Fill / Back/rim / Background) and what each does.
• I understand Freemask requires 2 physically separate light banks (front + back).
• I know the FOMEI ceiling rail system is the recommended mount (vs. floor stands).
• I know Broncolor Siros 400/800 series is the recommended strobe + RFS 2.1 transceiver.
• I understand that lights are configured in CAPP, not via a separate Broncolor utility (after initial pairing).
• I can list 3 common lighting mistakes (poor placement → trying to fix with power, mixing color temps, fixing lighting in post).
• I know that lighting presets (scopes) save operator time vs. manual per-light adjustments.

If you can’t tick all nine, re-read the relevant section of textbook.md before moving on.

Solutions

Don’t look here until you’ve finished the exercises.

Exercise 1 — Continuous or strobe?

• 1.1 — Strobe. High-volume non-stop spin requires fast recharge between flashes. Broncolor Siros series is designed exactly for this.
• 1.2 — Continuous. Video requires constant light; strobes only fire briefly.
• 1.3 — Both side-by-side. Two separate workspaces (m05) — one with strobe scope/preset for stills, one with continuous LED scope/preset for video. Don’t run both technologies simultaneously (unpredictable exposure).
• 1.4 — Continuous. iPhone via Touch doesn’t reliably trigger external strobes; constant light is the supported workflow.
• 1.5 — Strobe. Color accuracy is best with high-end strobes (5500K daylight, tight color temp control). Broncolor Siros for archive-grade work.
• 1.6 — Strobe. Carpet centerless table = fast non-stop spin = strobe.

Exercise 2 — 4-light template

• 2.1 Key → D (primary dominant illumination)
• 2.2 Fill → A (shadow softening, opposite of key)
• 2.3 Back / rim → B (edge separation from backdrop)
• 2.4 Background → C (illuminates backdrop, not subject)

Exercise 3 — Freemask workflow

• 3.1 — TRUE. Freemask requires front + back banks as physically separate fixtures.
• 3.2 — FALSE. Front and back lights are different fixtures in different positions. Same lights can’t be “swung around.”
• 3.3 — TRUE. Output is an alpha-channel PNG with subject extracted on transparent background.
• 3.4 — FALSE. Freemask is 2-frame capture — one with front lights, one with back lights — and CAPP combines them. It’s not color-based algorithmic extraction.
• 3.5 — FALSE. CAPP automatically orchestrates the light switching when the operator clicks “Capture with mask.” Manual toggling defeats the workflow.
• 3.6 — TRUE. Back lights spilling onto the front of the subject ruins the mask (creates a halo). Flag back lights with cardboard / black foam blockers on the front-facing side.

Exercise 4 — Light placement vs. light power

C is correct. Lighting placement is the dominant factor; power is a secondary lever after placement is right. Raising key light power (A) just makes the shadow more contrasty. Adding a third light (B) is a complication, not a solution. Switching to continuous (D) doesn’t change the shadow direction — only placement does.

Exercise 5 — Hardware-specialist kit design

Reference answer (one valid recommended kit):

5.1 Ceiling rail system: FOMEI Ceiling System Kit 3 (5×5m) — matches the studio dimensions; the 5×5 kit gives full coverage with margin for adjustments. Cheaper kits (3×3, 3×5) would force lights into too-restricted positions.

5.2 Strobe units (daily stills): Broncolor Siros 400 WiFi/RFS2 series. Quantity: 4-6 units (key + fill + 2 back + 1-2 background). Why: PhotoRobot-recommended hardware, integrates with CAPP directly, fast recharge for non-stop spin, color-calibrated, user-replaceable tubes.

5.3 Continuous LED units (occasional video): Fomei DMX-LED 300B or 600B. Quantity: 2-3 units on movable stands or pantographs. Why: PhotoRobot-vetted, DMX-controllable (so they can be paired into scope/preset later), CRI sufficient for video work. The 300B/600B sizing matches the studio dimensions.

5.4 Wireless trigger: Broncolor RFS 2.1 transceiver (2.4 GHz). Mounted on the camera hot-shoe. Triggers strobes wirelessly when shutter fires.

5.5 Network configuration: Separate subnet for Broncolor lights (Wi-Fi management) to avoid interference with corporate / production Wi-Fi. Mikrotik RB1100AHx4 router + TP-Link TLWR802N access point per the Broncolor Lights Management manual. This is m03 (Network setup) territory.

Alternate valid answers: lighter studios (low-volume) may go with 3 strobes instead of 6; pure video studios may skip strobes entirely. The point is the reasoning, not the exact count.

Exercise 6 — CAPP scopes & presets

6.1 — Scopes + Presets. Save Workflow A as preset Apparel-Stills-Standard, save Workflow B as preset Apparel-Stills-Freemask. Operator selects the preset; CAPP snaps all lights to the saved configuration.

6.2 — ~18 minutes / day. 12 switches × 90 seconds = 1080 seconds = 18 minutes manually. Preset switch is 1-2 seconds, so saving is ~17-18 minutes / day. Over a working year (~250 days) that’s ~75 hours, almost two work weeks per operator per year.

6.3 — In CAPP Capture interface → Hardware Configuration → Scopes section, or via the Sequence Control’s preset dropdown. Operators create scopes by adjusting lights manually once, then “Save scope” / “Save preset” to lock in the configuration with a name.

Exercise 7 — Pre-flight checklist

If you ticked all 9, you’re ready for the module knowledge check.

Done?

When you’ve worked through all exercises and reviewed the solutions, ask your instructor (or self-administer) the module knowledge check: 5 questions drawn from a pool of 12.

Knowledge check is not graded for certification — it’s diagnostic. If you score low, re-read the relevant textbook section and try again. Then proceed to module m10 — Lighting Hardware (deep dive on Fomei + Broncolor units), or m11 — Editing images (next stage after capture), or m17 — Synchrobox (multi-camera lighting orchestration).