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Can I use Car lights/bulbs as lighting for photography?

I'm completely new to photography, and I've only just been learning tips and tricks off the net. At the moment I'm looking for cheap options for equipment. If I connected a car headlight halogen bulb (preferably in the reflective casing) to a 12v source and set it up, on full beam, with a reflection umbrella, will this suffice for at least a single light source setup?
Has anybody tried this?

You CAN use ANYTHING for a light source. Even the moon if you want. The trick is getting your exposure and white balance to match it. You can do this, but I suggest you get a light meter for exposure settings and not knowing the temp of the light(s), you will need to do a custom white balance in the camera or use a grey card for reference, shoot in RAW, then adjust against the grey card.

If you are shooting film, you may need something like an 80A filter with daylight balanced film to get close to the correct color.

steve

Photography Tutorial - Australian Landscape Photography Tips and Tricks

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