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How to soften my light?
Jeremy Winterberg
Registered Users Posts: 1,233 Major grins
I'm getting two AB800's and I'm trying to decide how I want to soften the light. I'm most likely going to go with the Parabola Light Modification System... Mostly because I'm used to umbrellas and this is very similar except it can be changed into a "softbox" with the additional accessories.
I only have about $70 in my budget that I can spend on softening the light. I already own one umbrella, but I would like to keep that saved for my speedlight.
I know softboxes and octoboxes are better than umbrellas... Does anyone know of a cheap softbox/octobox that can be used with Alien Bees? Because the AB softboxes are expensive! (not bad compared to the pro brands but still!)
Also, what would be the best way to soften light when using them outside? I'm getting the vegabond so I can use them on location when I need to. I will be weighing the light stands down with sand bags. When I first started using off camera flash I made that mistake the first time I took it outside... broke my brand new umbrella and I'm lucky my flash wasn't on the stand at the time! (I still use the umbrella its just a pain to open and close because one of the rods is free ballin' and can puncture a hole in the nylon material.)
I'm planning on placing the order Sunday night or Monday morning, so quick responses as usual would be helpful.
I only have about $70 in my budget that I can spend on softening the light. I already own one umbrella, but I would like to keep that saved for my speedlight.
I know softboxes and octoboxes are better than umbrellas... Does anyone know of a cheap softbox/octobox that can be used with Alien Bees? Because the AB softboxes are expensive! (not bad compared to the pro brands but still!)
Also, what would be the best way to soften light when using them outside? I'm getting the vegabond so I can use them on location when I need to. I will be weighing the light stands down with sand bags. When I first started using off camera flash I made that mistake the first time I took it outside... broke my brand new umbrella and I'm lucky my flash wasn't on the stand at the time! (I still use the umbrella its just a pain to open and close because one of the rods is free ballin' and can puncture a hole in the nylon material.)
I'm planning on placing the order Sunday night or Monday morning, so quick responses as usual would be helpful.
Jer
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Comments
Inexpensive a softbox shped like a shoot thru umbrella.....
Also if your getting a Vagabond system.....the nuse that to weight the light stand......no need to lug more junk out to do a location shoot...............
Ack, I forgot to add that in my post. I was considering a brolly box, but I wasn't sure about the build quality of them, or the quality of light. Also I have two light stands, so I would need a sandbag for the other one.
Do you have any examples shot using a brolly box? I think I've heard you say you use them, which also explains why you're recommending them, but I may be mistaken.
Ack, I need to go to sleep already... I have an engagement shoot later today
PLM - I'd say it's a very specifc thing, besides they are out of the most popular models.
Brollybox - no control over where the light goes.
Try their smaller softbox with a crate. I use it a hair light, but initially it can work pretty well for the headshots.
And welcome to the wonderful world of studio lighting, when you finally realize that darn modifiers cost more than the lights, glass and cameras all together...
Gotcha, I kinda figured you were referring to a grid.
Unfortunately that route is probably gonna have to wait... a tad too much. I'm already going $360 over budget hehe...
maybe I should forget the Vegabond (for now) and spend that money on modifiers and accessories... Yeah, probably the best thing to do right now.
With $360 (pref around $300), what would you get to go along with two B800's?
Alright I gotta do a shoot right now, so I will chime in in about 30 mins - 1hr...
Get the softboxes, crates, set of 10-20-30-40 honeycomb grids, and 20-set gels. (new ABs come with some plasticky lame but working gel holders)
30 min shoot? What is it, passport *fotos* again:-)
Hmm... OK, I will probably get the large softboxes, "crates", and 20 gels... the honey comb grids can come later. Thats too far over budget for me. I'm already pushing it with $350... over budget.
If I'm using the softboxes with crates I can't use the honeycomb grids anyways? It kinda defeats the purpose of the softbox doesn't it?
I don't have any shots to share right now...I will get some done as soon as I convine my model to sit for a moment or two......as far no control with a brolley box.....you have control ifyou take the time to learn to use them.......and they give a great soft light.....
Jonathan Swinton (SwintonPhoto) shoots with brolleys......Joe McNally shoots with umbrellas and flat diffusion panels...talk about not contolling the light, but he is all about control.....
With the brolley, whether you get a shoot thru like Paul Buff sells or a bounce brolley....all that light is captured inside and then force back to the front.......as you move your flash closer to front of the umbrella or brolley you create a smaller circle of light and a harder one also......to add extra diffusion Joe M keeps his diffuser on his Hotshoe flashes which makes the like a lot softer......
Since you are just starting out and it sound like you want to do location work...why not get a couple SB 900's in stead of the Alien Bees and Vagabonds....I looked very hard at the vagabonds but I just could not see myself hiking into the woodswith a couple 20# batteries.....light stands and umbrellas are light weight.....add a couple of SB 900's and using your pop up as the commander.....your pretty well set.........I am working on getting at least 3 more 900's......just playing around with 1- 900 and my light sucking up Wescott GOLD umbrella.....I am impressed with the results.....nope won't share I look like death warmed over and they were self portraits.....looked over and reformated the card......shoot camera in manual and let flash ride in ttl mode........
I'll see what I can do about some brolley samples for you, now that I have customized an umbrella flash adapter so the flash doesnot sit too tall to get it inside of the brolly's hole......Also a brolley will set up in a few seconds and a soft box is welll a lot longer with speed rings and adapters and such...........
For charcoal drawings you must have something fairly large, like this 86" PLM. Smaller modifiers will make noticeable catchmarks... Unless you bounce them of the ceiling/large wall...
With the drawings you actually don't have to use any strobes at all, it would be enough to have them outdoors, in a shade. Just have you camera on a tripod and ensure the canvas is stricltly || to the focal plane...
My professor said they didn't have to be 100% perfect pictures, so I'm not stressing. They look pretty good to me! Dangit - just noticed the slight highlight in the top right corner... oh well, still looks pretty good to me.
Thanks, I absolutely hate drawing, but this one came out pretty good!
It's not easy, but, OTOH, if it were, everybody would be doing it...
WHOOOOOA THERE RUSKIE
Soo excited! And I will get to play with them for a long time too. I'm transferring from my school in Indiana to a school back home. Mainly because I haven't gotten any paying work here (other than booking a wedding, but its gonna be in Wisconsin anyways)... and I miss my buddy. My cat Rosco hehe
Ack, finals today and tomorrow... Lots of packing, then I'm heading home hopefully to several boxes from King Luap!
Terrible model, very cantankerious, hard to work with and live with.....needs a good butt kickin' to wake'em up:D
(b)pitch black out after the first 5 minutes. But I only had to crank it up to 1/16th at the most the entire night... probably should've cranked it up more and used a lower ISO (I was shooting at ISO 640 which is nothing for the D300), but I was having too much fun to think about that!
How long does it take Paul C. Buff to process orders??? I placed it Monday Morning at 9am, and I still haven't received an email saying it has been shipped! :cry I'm gonna email them tomorrow, might even call... to see whats up? I can understand a day or two, but it will be 4 days tomorrow... thats a bit ridiculous.
yes you could probably have doen the same shot with an umbrella.....however the brolley's are replacements for my old yellowing umbrellas.......I just could not see geting more umbrellas to shoot thru when I could get a brolley that captures the light and forces it out the front of the brolley and if the backside is properly closed then not hardly any light loss...........
I understand why its taking this long. I'm sure there are a couple thousand photographer's getting their lighting last minute before christmas haha... So bad timing on my part. I'm not really upset about it.. I don't need them anytime soon, but it would be nice to have them next week. (it says on the website that ground shipping orders should arrive in Wisconsin by xmas if ordered before the 18th - so I'm assuming it will be here by thursday next week.)
I guess it would make sense to get Brolly Boxes over umbrellas... because it is essentially a closed umbrella!
If you're just want it, get one or two reversible umbrellas, that could play part of either umbrella (reflective), or brollybox (shoot-through), while they are about 1 stop less effective in each function than their one-trick-counterparts, you get the versatility.
FWIW I stopped using umbrellas/BBs since I got enough softboxes.
I still keep a couple for location work (just in case), but that's about it.
Yeah, I am only keeping my broken umbrella for when I need to add in my SB-600 to the equation. Just got a third light stand tonight, so I'm all ready for my Alien Bees to arrive!
Here's one I took of my dad. Hopefully I will have a better subject soon... one that will stay in front of the camera for more than 2 seconds. This sorry excuse of a model left because "he wanted to go to bed"... psshhh who needs sleep?
Anyways... I had one b800 up front to camera left, and the other one was camera right, behind him, acting as a hair light and I had it spill into the background to light it up some. Both were set at 1/8th power.
Keep in mind I'm a total noob when it comes to studio lighting. I don't have a light meter... yet! (one of the next items on my "need to buy" list) Also notice I'm using the worlds greatest white balance card! A piece of scrap paper!!! yay!! again, one of those fancy 18% gray cards, etc... is also on my list of things to buy...
Congrats!
Scrap paper is not too bad for WB. BTW, if you don't have enven that, you can simply put camera on "flash" and still get a decent WB SOOC.
Now that you have lights, you can start playing with them.
Remember, initially we all (pretty much) want to be able just to "light" our subjects. You obviously can do that already. Next stop: use the lights to make your subject look interesting :-)
I have to organize my "studio" first... I just used a bed sheet hanging over a light stand with a reflector holder as the bar... my homemade cyclone wall was taken down when i left. and my pvc backdrop stand is shoved away in our shed... which is hard to get to right now with about 20 inches of snow around it!
I might be able to test these outside within a few weeks... a senior wants some snowboarding pictures taken.
quick question... is it alright to leave the softboxes on the lights? they're pretty heavy and I wasn't sure if its better to disassemble them every time I'm done using them... like if its too much for those clips to handle for long periods of time...
Good... I like having them on there... its like a safety net for my cheap light stands (can't wait till I can upgrade to c stands with booms).... if it goes over (hopefully will never go over!) the weight of the softbox will take it that way, and the softbox will be a nice soft landing for the lights lol...