# Studio lighting set up help!



## ctsai89 (Apr 18, 2017)

Not sure if studio lighting is appropriate for "gear talk"

But lately I've been having really bad eye strains and I suspect it's the light positioning/brightness I've been using. My eyes just can't adjust correctly.

I find it especially hard because I have studio monitors on the left and right of the my screen with me in front of the screen forming a triangle for good stereo image. So if I put a lamp right in between the studio monitor then I won't be able to monitor the sound correctly. But if I don't put a lamp in between, then the light is either going to be in the way of my eye, too far, or reflecting off the screen etc. I also wonder if it's the black foams behind my screen that makes it hard for my eyes to contrast back and forth.

Anyways, I would like to know how everybody else lights up their studio (preferably the one's that aren't getting an eye strain. And what lamps/computer screens are you guys using?

I am also sitting symmetrically in the room with my desk right in the middle and 38% close to the front wall.

Any help would be appreciated thanks.


----------



## mverta (Apr 18, 2017)

Position a light behind the main computer screen pointing at the wall so you don't get the direct hit in your eyes, and your monitors are slightly framed by ambient. This, plus an otherwise entirely dark room is what we do in color correction suites and it is specifically designed to be non-fatiguing while allowing the overall ambient light level to be low. If you want to add in other lights, then what you're looking to do is minimize contrast between the darkest and brightest spots in your direct line-of sight. This is why looking at a person backlit against a sunny window is so annoying. I often reduce the brightness of my main monitor in my music room as well to help aid this.


----------



## ctsai89 (Apr 18, 2017)

mverta said:


> Position a light behind the main computer screen pointing at the wall so you don't get the direct hit in your eyes, and your monitors are slightly framed by ambient. This, plus an otherwise entirely dark room is what we do in color correction suites and it is specifically designed to be non-fatiguing while allowing the overall ambient light level to be low. If you want to add in other lights, then what you're looking to do is minimize contrast between the darkest and brightest spots in your direct line-of sight. This is why looking at a person backlit against a sunny window is so annoying. I often reduce the brightness of my main monitor in my music room as well to help aid this.



Thanks I have a better idea now after your response. I want to go for something that's not completely dark but ambient thats going to allow me to work for as long as I need to. Should I be choosing halogen lights led or fluorescent? Or does that not matter, but the amount of the general brightness?


----------



## mverta (Apr 18, 2017)

Halogen over fluorescent. Fluorescents "vibrate" in a way that if your eyes don't see, your brain does. They're horrible.


----------



## SchnookyPants (Apr 18, 2017)

Overhead track-lighting on a dimmer. Track is mounted directly above keyboard, at the mid-point between my primary monitor (2560 x 1440) and my eyeballs.







No glare, no muss, no fuss.


----------



## ctsai89 (Apr 18, 2017)

SchnookyPants said:


> Overhead track-lighting on a dimmer. Track is mounted directly above keyboard, at the mid-point between my primary monitor (2560 x 1440) and my eyeballs.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



your screen is soooo bright compared to the surrounding though..

Let me message you what i'm working with.


----------



## Gerhard Westphalen (Apr 18, 2017)

I also suggest putting up something behind the monitors to light up the back wall.

The thing that fix my eye strain (even though I do have lamps along the wall behind my screen) are Gunnar glasses. I'm using the clear ones that are less effective than the yellow tinted ones. I don't normally wear glasses so these are just without any sort of prescription. I sit in front of my 40" monitor all day and it's fine. When I take off the glasses I can instantly feel whatever it is that bothers our eyes. It was especially bad when I was starring at a fixed point on the screen for hours on Skype calls and my eyes would get really watery but now it's fine.


----------



## ctsai89 (Apr 18, 2017)

Gerhard Westphalen said:


> I also suggest putting up something behind the monitors to light up the back wall.
> 
> The thing that fix my eye strain (even though I do have lamps along the wall behind my screen) are Gunnar glasses. I'm using the clear ones that are less effective than the yellow tinted ones. I don't normally wear glasses so these are just without any sort of prescription. I sit in front of my 40" monitor all day and it's fine. When I take off the glasses I can instantly feel whatever it is that bothers our eyes. It was especially bad when I was starring at a fixed point on the screen for hours on Skype calls and my eyes would get really watery but now it's fine.



may I get a picture of what your studio looks like?


----------



## ctsai89 (Apr 18, 2017)

ctsai89 said:


> may I get a picture of what your studio looks like?



nvm i went to your website and saw it. I've tried that before but the lamps like those are too brightly exposed directly at my eye if I put them in the front.


----------



## Gerhard Westphalen (Apr 18, 2017)

Have you tried lighting strips mounted on behind you monitor (screen) point to the back wall with adjustable dimming? It has to be fairly close to the back wall though. I think IKEA has some really cheap options. 

The picture on my website makes those look really bright but they're very soft. When I watch films I often leave them on.

But again, even with those lights it wasn't great and it was the glasses that fixed the strain. I don't find it to be an issue with smaller monitors so when I travel with my laptop I don't wear my glasses.


----------



## ctsai89 (Apr 18, 2017)

Gerhard Westphalen said:


> Have you tried lighting strips mounted on behind you monitor (screen) point to the back wall with adjustable dimming? It has to be fairly close to the back wall though. I think IKEA has some really cheap options.
> 
> The picture on my website makes those look really bright but they're very soft. When I watch films I often leave them on.
> 
> But again, even with those lights it wasn't great and it was the glasses that fixed the strain. I don't find it to be an issue with smaller monitors so when I travel with my laptop I don't wear my glasses.



which glasses are they? I've also looked at a few but I need to know the one that at least a musician says works


----------



## Gerhard Westphalen (Apr 18, 2017)

I'm using the Gunnar glasses with the crystalline lens. According to their website it blocks 10% of the blue light while their amber lenses block 65%. I just didn't want the yellow tint. They have a lot of info on their website.

It was cheaper for me to order it through a local store than from their website so I suggest you shop around to try to get better prices.


----------



## SchnookyPants (Apr 19, 2017)

ctsai89 said:


> your screen is soooo bright compared to the surrounding though..
> 
> Let me message you what i'm working with.



That's what the _*dimmer's*_ for - depends on one's mood...


----------



## rvb (Apr 19, 2017)

You could check out the application 'flux' it's initially designed to dimm the screen more and more before bed time, so you don't feel too awake. But I feel like it helped me with 'painful' eyes as well! Hope that helps


----------



## SchnookyPants (Apr 19, 2017)

rvb said:


> You could check out the application 'flux' it's initially designed to dimm the screen more and more before bed time, so you don't feel too awake. But I feel like it helped me with 'painful' eyes as well! Hope that helps



+1 on f.lux:

https://justgetflux.com/


----------



## ctsai89 (Apr 19, 2017)

rvb said:


> You could check out the application 'flux' it's initially designed to dimm the screen more and more before bed time, so you don't feel too awake. But I feel like it helped me with 'painful' eyes as well! Hope that helps



Yep I have it and been using it. Barely helping


----------



## ctsai89 (Apr 19, 2017)

SchnookyPants said:


> That's what the _*dimmer's*_ for - depends on one's mood...



That's looks a whole lot better


----------



## synthpunk (Apr 19, 2017)

OT Schnooky is that raw uncovered insulation on your walls btw ? Loose fibers can a health hazard.

Re lighting, try and stay away from energy saver bulbs. They're horrible and make your eyes strain.


----------



## ctsai89 (Apr 19, 2017)

SchnookyPants said:


> That's what the _*dimmer's*_ for - depends on one's mood...



I know you have lights coming from the top but seems like you're also lighting up the panels from the bottom, I believe that might be the key to solving my eye strain issues. Do you mind explaining how exactly you've spotted those lights and which light did you purchase to give such an ambient feel?


----------



## SchnookyPants (Apr 19, 2017)

synthpunk said:


> OT Schnooky is that raw uncovered insulation on your walls btw ? Loose fibers can a health hazard......



Yup. Uncovered OC-703. 

A.) This is pretty stout stuff. Unless you're 'bouncing off the walls', it's not going to become airborne. B.) Plans are to cover panels with fabric, simply for aesthetics, but I wanted to 'try them out' first. C.) Hazardous? At my age, I'd be _reeeal_ surprised if there weren't already quite an assortment of much more detrimental items already circulating-around.


----------



## SchnookyPants (Apr 19, 2017)

ctsai89 said:


> I know you have lights coming from the top but seems like you're also lighting up the panels from the bottom, I believe that might be the key to solving my eye strain issues. Do you mind explaining how exactly you've spotted those lights and which light did you purchase to give such an ambient feel?



ctsai89 - First-off, ceiling track-lighting is the only lighting turned-on when pictures were taken. However, in the brightest of these three photos, there _may_ be some ambient light from a window to the left-rear, having semi-opague, light-colored drapes ('can't remember if taken during daylight hours, or not). There is nothing lighting anything 'from below'.

Currently, I am using a mix of PAR 20, 50w halogen floods and spots - two of each... because that's what I had on hand. You'll also notice that, although I have six(6) track fixtures, I am only using four, because that's bright enough (maybe all six were on in the brightest of the three pics?).

Finally, between the fact that the fixtures are totally moveable and aimable, pointing just about anywhere you desire, and also the availability of newer LED bulbs, available in any color 'temperature' you prefer, I don't think you could go wrong with a setup similar to this. You will be able to 'tune it' to your version of perfection. The only item I thought critical was the EXACT placement of the 'strip', so as not to cast undesireable shadows on my primary work zone. In my case, this is straight above my midi and pc keyboards, and it was the right choice.

Good luck.


----------



## ctsai89 (Apr 19, 2017)

SchnookyPants said:


> +1 on f.lux:
> 
> https://justgetflux.com/



at what setting of f.lux do you use? I find that I can handle my screen turning from black all the way to white all of a sudden at less than 3000k, but obviously that's really dark and I'm afraid having to dilate my pupils just to see things will eventually damage my eyes. My grandmother who used to do things in the dark all the time to save electricity caught glaucoma when she tried to look for things in her room during a blackout at night.


----------



## Tiko (Apr 20, 2017)

Definitely light the back wall. Also the light coming from above in SchnookyPants's picture is all hard light. I strongly suggest soft lighting. Here's a pic of my little room:







Nothing but soft light with the back wall strongly lit behind the monitor.


----------



## Gerhard Westphalen (Apr 20, 2017)

Tiko said:


> Definitely light the back wall. Also the light coming from above in SchnookyPants's picture is all hard light. I strongly suggest soft lighting. Here's a pic of my little room:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



That's quite the picture perfect studio  Where are those tube traps from?


----------



## Tiko (Apr 20, 2017)

Gerhard Westphalen said:


> That's quite the picture perfect studio  Where are those tube traps from?


Thanks! I should take new pictures when I get my FADERCTRL, then it'll be finished! Those are made by Hofa and I bought them from Thomann.de.


----------



## SchnookyPants (Apr 20, 2017)

Too bright and Cheerful; antithetical to my dour countenance.


----------



## Nick Batzdorf (Apr 20, 2017)

I have the same lamps Tiko has, and they produce a really nice light. Mine come from Ikea, and they're ridiculously cheap - like $10 for the small one. You can even use CF bulbs with those shades and the light doesn't get cold, although I use LED bulbs.

For me the main thing is warm lighting, which mainly comes down to avoiding direct light from the bulb - always have it behind a shade or bounced off walls.

I prefer to light my rooms - studio or any other one - all around. Dark areas don't appeal to me.

The other thing is that I keep my monitor at the dimmest setting. Screens annoy me when they're too bright.


----------



## Tiko (Apr 20, 2017)

SchnookyPants said:


> Too bright and Cheerful; antithetical to my dour countenance.


You can turn everything else but the back wall light off by clicking that button in front of my left monitor, and all that cheerfulness is gone  Still good on the eyes because the back wall is lit.


----------



## Tiko (Apr 20, 2017)

Nick Batzdorf said:


> For me the main thing is warm lighting, which mainly comes down to avoiding direct light from the bulb - always have it behind a shade or bounced off walls.



Sounds like you're describing soft light and not color temperature, but I totally agree (I also use warm, orange-ish led bulbs for my main lighting).


----------



## OleJoergensen (Apr 21, 2017)

SchnookyPants said:


> That's what the _*dimmer's*_ for - depends on one's mood...


It is a nice studio. A photograph of a screen always looks bright depending on where the camera are focusing.
Can I ask, the rockwool bats you are using, should they not have been wrapped in some fabric to avoid dust/ fibers from the rockwool?


----------



## OleJoergensen (Apr 21, 2017)

Tiko said:


> Definitely light the back wall. Also the light coming from above in SchnookyPants's picture is all hard light. I strongly suggest soft lighting. Here's a pic of my little room:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That's a beautiful setup! It looks very pleasent to work there. But is blue light not consider to be "hard" light?


----------



## OleJoergensen (Apr 21, 2017)

I also had troubles with my eyes watching a screen. A friend of mine is a photographer. I noticed that he adjust the brightness on his screen very low. Mu screen was very bright. It definite helped to turn the brightness down. I also put some light behind the screen. Doing evening when its dark, I also need some light to my left and right. In the mean time I had my eyes tested and it turned out I needed glasses for daily use. I also had special screen glasses build which is a great help, especially with a 4K screen.


----------



## muk (Apr 21, 2017)

If you listen to consultants for an ergonomic workspace, they usually advise to have the light coming from the sides. If it comes from behind you, it reflects on your monitor. Even worse if it is in front of you. Then you are looking directly at it all the time. Both can lead to eye strain, and you'll have to turn up the brightness of your monitor. If there is a window in your room, place your desk so that the window is on your side, if you can. That's what the specialists for ergonomics advise, anyway. For me that works nicely.
If you need a specialist setup for color accuracy or similar, other rules might apply. Mike Verta gave the specifics for that. Lights from the sides is the gospel for the average office workspace.


----------



## samphony (Apr 21, 2017)

I couldn't live without ambient light. I just picked up these 

https://nanoleaf.me/en/


----------



## ctsai89 (Apr 21, 2017)

OleJoergensen said:


> That's a beautiful setup! It looks very pleasent to work there. But is blue light not consider to be "hard" light?



quite a nice studio you have. But I have tried exactly what you did. The lamps are too bright and direct to my eyes even if they're on the side. If they were right above my head it would've been ok because it wouldn't have been in the way of my eyes. I am planning to get lots of floor and reading lamps that are covered with 1 opening and direct them all at the walls. I have a relatively bigger room than an average one. Going to need a lot of light i just realized.


----------



## Tiko (Apr 21, 2017)

OleJoergensen said:


> That's a beautiful setup! It looks very pleasent to work there. But is blue light not consider to be "hard" light?


Thanks! No it's not... hard light is a light source without diffusion, for example a bare bulb. If you put any object in between a hard light and a surface the shadow will be hard & sharp. Soft light is a diffused or bounced light. Think about shadows on a sunny day vs an overcast day... In my pic the lights on the sides are diffused by the paper, and the light behind the screen is indirect and bounced from the rear curtains. I can also switch the color of the back wall lights to any RGB value 



ctsai89 said:


> But I have tried exactly what you did. The lamps are too bright and direct to my eyes even if they're on the side.


Softer light will remedy that as it's not hard on the eyes at all. If you want to take it a step further you can use less powerful lights through diffusion.


----------



## ctsai89 (Apr 21, 2017)

Does anyone know of a pair of decent monitors that isn't either white or black? I feel like my JBL305 is too dark for my eyes to handle against the screen


----------



## toddkedwards (Apr 21, 2017)

Tiko said:


> Definitely light the back wall. Also the light coming from above in SchnookyPants's picture is all hard light. I strongly suggest soft lighting. Here's a pic of my little room:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


What's the name of your desk? Nice setup by the way!


----------



## SchnookyPants (Apr 21, 2017)

OleJoergensen said:


> It is a nice studio. A photograph of a screen always looks bright depending on where the camera are focusing.
> Can I ask, the rockwool bats you are using, should they not have been wrapped in some fabric to avoid dust/ fibers from the rockwool?



OleJorgensen -

That's not rock-wool material. it's Owens-Corning 703; rigid, compressed fiberglas - fibers are not prone to flying around in the air. Having said that, they must definitely be covered, if for no other reason than simple aesthetics - it looks like a damned warehouse, now.

Initial panel-installation was a proof of concept endeavour, since I believe that I have (at least to the best of my knowledge) invented an original method of mounting, so as not to cover an excessive amount of absorptive surface area. This may seem like no big deal, but for anyone interested, read on...

All of the 'minimalist' mounting techniques I've seen involve the use of 1 1/4" drywall corner-bead. Surprisingly, this amounts to a total absorptive surface-loss of 576 sq in. With a panel total surface area (front, rear + four sides) of 2,576 sq in., this is 27% of total surface area! That means for every four(4) panels installed, you get just three(3) panels-worth of absorption. Using my method, the loss is just 21 sq in. - less than 1/10 of 1%!

However, once the panel is fabric-covered, there no longer is access to the mounting bolt-head. So... I wanted to try it out, first. As an added bonus, they can be easily lifted off the walls & ceiling anytime.

Now for the hard part... beige or dark blue? _Looks like a damned warehouse._


----------



## Nick Batzdorf (Apr 21, 2017)

Tiko:



> Sounds like you're describing soft light and not color temperature



The two are overlapping circles, but soft light is by far the bigger one. Just using "soft white" incandescent bulbs (for example) doesn't solve any problems, nor does changing the color of the lights.

I should have added that spot lighting is often fine when you have the rest of the room lit well. The problem is when you have bare bulbs on their own.


----------



## ctsai89 (Apr 21, 2017)

My iMac screen ( which is on target display mode to my mac pro) is on only about 10% brightness now and my eyes seems to feel better this way. But because of this, I have to shut all the lights that supposedly brightens my desk and keyboard because the lights to they reflect will reflect back at the screen back to me. I do have a good ambience for the wall behind my screen now.I am afraid this is a bit too dark and would force my eyes to dilate. Will I have a glaucoma problem later in life if I keep this up? Anyone familiar how our eyes work..?


----------



## tack (Apr 21, 2017)

Here's my cozy room. I also primarily light behind the displays, with the exception of a lamp at the piano (not in frame), and like to work in a fairly dim room. Lighting is Philips Hue, and I have a variety of lighting scenes set up for different occasions and moods.


----------



## ctsai89 (Apr 21, 2017)

tack said:


> Here's my cozy room. I also primarily light behind the displays, with the exception of a lamp at the piano (not in frame), and like to work in a fairly dim room. Lighting is Philips Hue, and I have a variety of lighting scenes set up for different occasions and moods.



yep in terms of lighting the wall behind the screen, I finally have something similar to it now and that seems to help a lot to just have my desk remain dark and keep the screen really really dim as well.

REALLY nice studio by the way.


----------



## Tiko (Apr 22, 2017)

toddkedwards said:


> What's the name of your desk? Nice setup by the way!


Thanks! It's a kitchen countertop from Ikea with a DIY keyboard platform.



Nick Batzdorf said:


> Just using "soft white" incandescent bulbs (for example) doesn't solve any problems


Yeah don't let that name fool you, those are definitely not soft light until you diffuse them, no matter what the box says!


----------



## SchnookyPants (Apr 22, 2017)

tack said:


> Here's my cozy room. I also primarily light behind the displays, with the exception of a lamp at the piano (not in frame), and like to work in a fairly dim room. Lighting is Philips Hue, and I have a variety of lighting scenes set up for different occasions and moods.


Very nice, tack.


----------



## tack (Apr 22, 2017)

Thanks. The room is a little more cramped than I'd like, but we don't always have the luxury of choice.


----------



## SchnookyPants (Apr 22, 2017)

Tack - What's that display monitor at center? Looks beautiful.


----------



## tack (Apr 22, 2017)

SchnookyPants said:


> Tack - What's that display monitor at center? Looks beautiful.


Acer Predator X34.


----------



## SchnookyPants (Apr 22, 2017)

Wow. I don't like you now.


----------



## ctsai89 (May 3, 2017)

I think most likely the reason for my eye strain is because over time I've developed a sensitivity to LED backlit screens. Basically everything is LED blacklit now... I don't remember having the same problem (not even close) before I had my first LED screen back in 2009.

Apple has a flurry of complaints about the LED screens on both teh phone and computer causing eye strains (160 pages of complaints since 2010)

also, www.ledstrain.org

Is anyone actually stilll using CCFL backlit screens?

Doesn't seem like it is sold anywhere nowadays except for:
http://www.veilux.net/products/addi.../vlcd-32.html#product_tabs_description_tabbed

not sure if can trust it.


----------



## IFM (Nov 17, 2017)

I'm adding to this thread because I am trying to work something out for my lighting too. I have a singular trio of LED lights in my one-room studio that I just added a dimmer to. This evening I also tried daylight (5000k) LED bulbs. It kind of hurt my eyes after a while and only worked best very dim and with additional soft white (the yellower type) elsewhere in the room.

I put my other bulbs back in...not sure what to think of them. Maybe if I can get an LED bar for uplighting to go behind the monitors...

Any other shots for studio lighting people could share?

Thanks


----------



## synthpunk (Nov 17, 2017)

We replaced nearly every single bulb in our house the last month with LED bulbs. Est. avg. cost of 36 bulbs is about $40 for the year! For mood we have old shades, lava and salts lamps in the studio.


----------

