Automated System for Adjusting Lighting Equipment with the Possibility of Further Editing

Abstract

It takes a lot of time to set the necessary lighting during photography. Lighting equipment is an important part of the process. Such devices include luminaires, searchlights, projectors, different in their light parameters, design and power. Automated systems offered by leading companies use lighting control technology tied to the camera, which is not always advisable. The work presents a system that regulates the intensity of incoming light depending on the illumination of the subject. Light sources for a photographic studio are of two types – constant light and pulsed. To make surrounding space seem natural for human eye it is necessary for light source to provide high-quality color rendering. At this aspect fluorescent lamps are inferior to LEDs. The radiation spectrum of the LEDs is as close to natural as possible. When considering the characteristics of different types of lamps, LED lamps were the most suitable for the implementation of the proposed system. Their average operating time as well as energy efficiency and color temperature range are best suited for both studio shooting and outdoor lighting. So the best light source for an automated lighting system is an LED lamp using RGBW LEDs. In order to ensure proper lighting regulation, it is necessary to obtain information about the brightness in the room. A sensor having the same spectral sensitivity as the human eye was used to correctly detect the change in illumination. To provide control of the required number of LEDs and changes in light temperature, the Arduino Uno board was used, which controls the voltage regulator of the LEDs by the PWM method. The system is able to scale horizontally. The use of more sensors and lamps will reduce the time to adjust the lighting and perform it better. If using several optical sensors and lamps, the algorithm of the system gets more complicated, but it allows you to get much more accurate picture of the lighting. In this case, the brightness of each lamp is individually adjusted in order to obtain a constant level of illumination of the object. This approach allows you to track the movement and change of position of an object within the specified limits while the level of lighting remains unchanged. It is also possible to select the level of illumination and the desired color temperature and maintain them automatically during the entire shooting time. In case of using several sensors and lamps, the interface of the microcontroller should be changed. For such purposes, the widely used RS-485 interface is more suitable. It is able to connect a large number of devices and quickly transfer information between them. The use of a more efficient microcontroller will allow the implementation of more complex control algorithms to obtain special lighting effects.