Suggestions for single strobe portraits

[jasonjoo]

Jason,



Precisely my point, but besides that there are some good tips about stands reflectors, and lighting techniques.

Of course learninng expose and develop sheet film properly will be your first challenge.

Don Bryant

Don, I'm going to stick with something more along the lines of an Alien Bee or White Lightning. I had a 580EX when I owned a DSLR and I'm not sure if it will meet my needs with a LF setup.

If you're budget conscious, why not get the AB 800 or 400 ? I own 2 800's and a 400 and I have yet to ever use them at full power in my studio.

Jim, if you were to use a single AB800, do you think you could sufficiently light a group of 4 (at the most)? I'm thinking about having one relatively strong light and then investing in perhaps AB400's along the way.

The case, switches, connectors, clamps of the WL are heavier duty than those on the AB. AFAIK the guts are the same, except for the stronger modeling light on the WL.

I have WL 1600s and am very satisfied with them.

The White Lightning lights also come with a 5 year warranty which seems really promising! I think I may go with the WL X1600!

Thanks all for your help! I really do appreciate your input and advice!

Jason

[Jim C.]

Jim, if you were to use a single AB800, do you think you could sufficiently light a group of 4 (at the most)? I'm thinking about having one relatively strong light and then investing in perhaps AB400's along the way.

I think that a single AB800 should be enough with power to spare depending on what
light modifier you're using.
Alien Bees has a very good upgrade policy if as you use the AB800 you need more
power, it has to be within the 2 year warranty and it's noted here ( bottom of the page )-

http://www.alienbees.com/guarantee.html

[J_Tardiff]

Jason,

I'll toss in my $0.02 as someone who has traveled a similar path from MF to LF and has recently focused on portraits (mostly due to lack of travel opportunities ). I think I'm about a year further along on this journey. Count me among the "go simple and step up" crowd.

I spent a long time using just natural light (I also have basically one good window to use at home) and a simple reflector (one of the sets mentioned earlier in the thread). I found a couple of the basic books to be invaluable (I'm on the road so don't have titles with me) -- especially regarding the role each light source should play and the relationship between subject and background. I also strongly suggest the Strobist site (and their discussion group), I learned a ton there -- it's all about doing more with less. For example, I now use one of my nikon flashes as a hair or background light -- triggered off my AB800 main light in slave mode. The only extra cost was for a stand. This is a recent addition to my arsenal.

My first step up from natural light + reflector was a single AB800 and a Chimera softbox. I also have a couple of umbrellas. I am finally getting the sort of shots I want from this relatively simple approach (single main + reflector) -- frankly, it took a few months of fiddling in my spare time to even get close. I'm fully willing to admit that I may be a bit of a dunce, but I found the leap from natural light to strobe to be nontrivial. Ted Harris (among others) made me feel better about my seemingly endless learning curve with all of this -- but the end result has been some portraits that I am very happy with and I even finally invested in some 8x10 film to put my user Deardorff to work for portraits.

I went with the AB800 because my usual working space (hah-- my husband's "former" home office, he's thrilled ) is relatively small and I wanted $$ left over for a sturdy stand and good quality softbox as others have suggested. I should also admit that I put my digital SLR (Nikon D2x) to work as I was learning about angles of light and positioning, *much* cheaper than film to start. And AB customer service is excellent, plus it's a nice modular system. Their forums are quite helpful as well.

By the way, it may just be me, but I have found shooting portraits of more than 2 people rather difficult... especially if you are going for more that just the straightforward "prom night" shots. Monte Zucker's book discusses these issues of rapport and positioning quite well.

Best of luck and enjoy your Chamonix, I love mine.

JT

[jasonjoo]

Thanks JT, that was helpful! I'm still torn between the AB or WL strobes. I need to make a decision soon though! I'd like to practice using these before grandma's birthday! I've made a goal to take a photo of my family members every year on their birthdays

[Pat Hilander]

Spend the extra money for the White Lightnings. They are a better build quality then the AB's.

[Frank Petronio]

Couple of things strike me -

100 watt modeling lamps are pretty dim to focus a 4x5 by. Strobes with 250 watt lamps are much easier. Of course you were worried about a 300 watt hot light melting your subjects (it won't happen) but the 250 watt lamps have been the mainstay of most professional systems.

Yes, umbrellas spill light more than recessed softboxes. But many times, especially with portraiture, the spill is a positive thing. Especially if you are trying to light a small group of people with one light -- you will want the light to spill around and open up the edges a little. Your most effective inexpensive lighting for a small group is going to be a large umbrella up high to the side... so get a big heavy stand.

Because monolights are so top-heavy, you may end up spending more (or wishing you did) on heavier stands than you think....

And finally, I think most photographers have a hard time "seeing" strobe light and as a result they tend to use it rather crudely. You can certainly start out using strobe but I think you'll find it clumsy, and spending times shooting w some constant light sources will pay you dividends while you figure this out.

[Aahx]

Franks on the money with the difference in focusing with at 250w lamp. It will make your job a ton easyer having the brighter source. Most portriat subjects have limited patience, so the less time you spend "messing with your gear" and more time interacting with them to get the expressions you want the better.

The White Lightnings do use 250w modeling lights. There ablity to adjust on the fly your light source is invaluable as well when time is of the essence. I have used WL lights since the late 80's and still have my old 1800 ultra's from back then. Though I primarly use 4 3200's in my studio now. They are very reliable systems with great coustomer support. But Frank is also correct in that they are heavy and will need more support. So a good stand will be needed for these units.

As to constant light sources. I use a Lowel Tota set and they are great illumination for focusing on the ground glass.. only problem I have had with constant lights for portrait subjects complaining from the brightness (ie too bright and hurts there eyes). But I use 500w tungsten bulbs... which also make the meter run faster come the end of the month electric bill. There are other options than the hot Tungsten systems though. You can look into fluorescent lamp systems which are much cooler and use less juice. Just remember that if the constant lights are too bright, the less comfortable your subjects can be under them. But they are very valid options, and esspecialy good for learning how to light your subjects.