soft focus lenses (verito) and strobes.

[gbogatko]

I'm looking into acquiring one or two strobe lights for portrait work. Here's my question.

I haven't explored all the available options in strobe equipment, and I've never owned one, so I'm looking for advice/recommendations on the best adjustable output strobe devices.

Thanks in advance.

[Armin Seeholzer]

Broncolor, Briese, Profoto, Elinchrom and some more!

Cheers Armin

[Harold_4074]

Any of the major brands will serve, but remember that for soft-focus portrait lenses the best light is fairly "hard" (it isn't impossible to work with softboxes, but it is not easy). The ideal would be a couple of Fresnel spots (not easy to come by, unfortunately) with the next best probably being small-ish softboxes with grids. In my personal opinion, conventional reflectors (rigid or umbrella) are the least satisfactory.

Unless you have a pretty large space to work in, you should also consider using some sort of dark "surround" (paint on the walls or dark drapes) so that you have some control over fill ratios. Soft-focus lenses seem to make good portraits more easily in high key than low, which means a lot of light on the subject. If too much bounces off of the surroundings, it is rather like using soft lighting in the first place.

One other thing---you will almost certainly want more than two lights. One key, one fill, and a hair light are the minimum for traditional portraits, and for the "classic" look you will also want one for lighting the backdrop. Skillful use of a reflector can substitute the fill light, but I've never figured out how to do this for a hair light!

[Ron Marshall]

What is your budget for strobes?

There are many great options; some that are fairly pricey.

[Scott Davis]

Don't discount the "Beauty dish" reflector, with a grid. you get directional, contrasty yet broad light.

As to strobe brands, I've been using Calumet (aka Bowens) strobes for quite some time. Depends on the format you're shooting as to how much you need, but I get away with a 2400 w/s pack with 2 heads shooting whole plate.

[gbogatko]

Thank you ALL for this help. I agree that hard(ish) light is what's really needed for SF lenses -- sometimes I forget.


What is your budget for strobes?
There are many great options; some that are fairly pricey.

Assuming I can save up enough, about 300/light max. Considering it all has to be portable, monolights are probably easier to handle.

At some point I'll probably ask for help in actually setting up the proper exposure, like: how would you go about setting strobes for a Verito at f/6 using EFKE 100 8x10.
And finally, what would you recommend for a flash meter. I have all the incident and spot meters I need, so a super-expensive flash meter is not what I'm looking for.

Thanks again,

George

[gbogatko]

Here are what I've been able to do with continuous fluorescents.

http://modelmayhm-8.vo.llnwd.net/d1/photos/100712/18/4c3bc1b9a4685.jpg
and
http://modelmayhm-8.vo.llnwd.net/d1/photos/100505/16/4be1fc36721ff.jpg

[Harold_4074]

Scott: Don't discount the "Beauty dish" reflector, with a grid. you get directional, contrasty yet broad light.

An excellent suggestion. I assume that these are available for monolights (I have one myself, but for a Norman setup). At about three or four diameters away, they work pretty well even without a grid.

George: I agree that hard(ish) light is what's really needed for SF lenses -- sometimes I forget.

Well, your two examples are a lot nicer than any low-key portraits that I have ever been able to make with a Verito :) Since you are using nearly face-on lighting, you could actually use a crinkled aluminum foil reflector (spray-adhesive it to a piece of foamcore or styrofoam) to light the back of her hair, and give more "depth" to the picture. If you have an assistant, one of the collapsible silver fabric reflectors is also useful, since it can be flexed into a sort of focusing mirror. Then, one good monolight and you are in business.

At any rate----lovely examples! I hope that your subject is pleased.

[gbogatko]

Thanks!

[Scott Davis]

If your monolight takes a standard mounting ring, then yes, beauty dishes are available to fit - I have Calumet (Bowens) monolights as well as pack/head kits that take the Bowens S-mount bayonet accessories, so you can get 20"-30" beauty dishes with removable grids and diffusers from a variety of vendors that will fit.

[goamules]

George, excellent Verito portraits with the continuous lighting!

[ki6mf]

You may want to also consider a more portable set up with Monolight or speed light for mail and 3-4 speed lights as back fill hair lights! Check out the www.strobist.com site for speed light technique

[jnantz]

i'm getting ready to ditch my mono lights
and just use smith victors or my lowel "L-lights"
for the past few years i have been using
just the modeling light through a medium chimera + 42" larson soff box
with a verito, and its sisters and brothers and a velo triple... with film as well as stuff with paper negatives.
i've found it easier and better just to use continuous light than strobes ...
if i get into a pinch and i have to go on location i have a lumedyne 244 and batteries and heads anyways

[gbogatko]

i've found it easier and better just to use continuous light than strobes ...


How do you get the model to hold still?

I find that so many are spoiled by strobe and spray&pray that they just don't know how to avoid twitching when the exposure is longer than 1/4 to 1/8. 2/3 and 1 sec. is just torture.

Unless, you're able to move the studio shutter greater than 1/8? (I find it's really quite a trick to do so).

:):)

George

[Dan Dozer]

I've been learning to use strobes for the last couple of years so I'm hardly an expert. But - what is probably just as important as how many is what power. I started out with a cheap pair of 180 watt units and quickly learned that they weren't powerful enough. I upgraded to a pair of 500 watt units and they seem to be about the mininum if you are doing shooting showing most of the subject (as opposed to just head shots). BTW - the cheap 180 watt units were made mostly out of plastic with no fan and have quickly become useless to me (plastic is deforming due to the heat).

I have a Sekonic 358 flash meter (think I got the number right) and it has worked great for me - I highly recommend it.

Also - and I might create come contraversy here, don't think that the typical main light/fill light/hair light is always the best way to light your subjects. Have a look at some of the work done by George Hurrell and you see that he broke a lot of lighting rules.

One other thing - I use a Heliar and Eidscope lenses for a lot of my portrait work which don't have shutters. I try to cover as much of the ambient light in the room to darken up the area and subject as much as possible. For exposures, I remove the lens cap, fire the strobes, then replace the lens cap. This process takes about a second or so. However, with the dark room and your exposure metered for the strobes, any additional ambiant light falling on your subject will be inconsequential and won't show up.

Attached is an image with the Eidoscope soft focus (at about F5.6) with one main light soft box and one fill light soft box.

[Dave Wooten]

If your monolight takes a standard mounting ring, then yes, beauty dishes are available to fit - I have Calumet (Bowens) monolights as well as pack/head kits that take the Bowens S-mount bayonet accessories, so you can get 20"-30" beauty dishes with removable grids and diffusers from a variety of vendors that will fit.

Scott the Beauty dish is a good suggestion. I ve been using the Paul Buff mono lights. I like the beauty dish and have used it outdoors on location. It is more manageable also in the wind etc. Check the Buff Whitelightning website...he offers a nice beauty dish.

[Marco Milazzo]

Just curious: How will you trigger the strobes? Most Veritos I've seen are in a barrel or an old-fashioned studio shutter. Some Packard shutters have synch connections -- usually a couple of wires. I guess you could fire the strobes manually, but that seems difficult.

What's your plan?

[Dan Dozer]

Just curious: How will you trigger the strobes? Most Veritos I've seen are in a barrel or an old-fashioned studio shutter. Some Packard shutters have synch connections -- usually a couple of wires. I guess you could fire the strobes manually, but that seems difficult.

What's your plan?

I fire mine manually and it's pretty easy. There is a remote triggering device plugged into one strobe and the rest fire on built in slaves. Remove lens cap / fire strobe / replace lens cap. Whole thing takes at most a second to do.