Alien Bees vs. multiple 550ex for formals

I am considering purchasing one of two set ups for doing the wedding

formals after the cermony:

A 3 alien bee (probably 2 800w/s and 1 500w/s) strobes with

umbrellas and stands

or

2 550ex with umbrellas and stands.

Obviously, the 550s would be lighter, but I haven't liked the

quality of photos that I've seen using this setup. I am worried

about lugging around the studio equipment, however, and the set up

time involved.

I would like to get some opinions from those who have used either or

both. Picture samples would be brilliant as well.

Thanks!

Don

I lug around the Alien Bees in the bottom half of a rolling tool chest, and Supak 555/544 flash units in the top half. I have tried off camera small flash units for lighting groups before, and they're okay for small groups of 4-5 people. I really like the ABs for formals, though. Somtimes I simply set one AB up on a light stand at 10-12 feet above the floor with a large umbrella, and it's a large enough and powerful enough light source to evenly illuminate large groups. Two ABs really does a very good job.

I get there early, and spend 5 minutes setting up the lights and moving them to an out of the way location. When it's time for formals, I simply bring them in , open the umbrellas, plug the cords into an available outlet, and start shooting. Breaking the kit down is very quick once you get used to it.

As long as you have everything READY....extension cords...located outlets etc...Just don't

try to get fancy with it.

As for examples...you will find equally Fine and Crappy examples of each lighting setup.

Monolights will give you better results done properly than small flashes done properly.

They can both get the job done.

jmp

Oh yeah...here's my crappy example :) Scanned from a curled up Fiber Based work

print...more waves than a Potato Chip!

This was two Alien Bees. One with a Shoot-Through "Brolly Box" above and to the right of

camera and one with a 36" Umbrella above and left as fill. Camera was a Rollei TLR with

Ilford HP5 developed in Rodinal to increase grain.

jmp<div></div>

Aren't you glad there are so many choices? Everybody chooses to do it differently. Personally I use a Sunpak 522 & 555 on stands with umbrellas. I find it more consistently accurate than messing around with wireless E-TTL, and a whole lot easier than dragging a couple of monolight around.

I used to do both of your choices & didn't like either. And when really pressed for time, I have just done this with one bracket mounted flash too. That was easy, but I didn't like the results. Ahhh, choices...

Ditto on not trusting wireless ETTL, keep in mind that recycle time is a lot lot faster with the AB's (1 sec as opposed to 4-8 secs) which will make a big difference when taking 2+ of a formal to ensure open eyes. It also helps when 'working' a bride and popping shots from different angles etc.

The AB's are the lightest and smallest setup that I've used outside of Lumedyne's and they are more versatile and sophisticated.

I used to use a couple of sigma 500 supers as you are describing, but they were not really powerful or fast enough for wedding work.

Using AlienBees (or any other brand of studio flash) for the formal/group shots looks as if it would be more time-consuming and difficult than using camera-type flashes, but is actually quicker and easier.

Unless you want to get fancy, two lights is plenty. The key is to get there early and have your lights, stands, etc., all assembled and outlets located so you can trot them out quickly, raise the stands, and go to work. It doesn't take any longer to set up monolights than it does to put your 550s or whatever on stands.

The payoff comes when you start shooting: with the more powerful studio flashes you can use a smaller f-stop for greater depth of field, yet shoot much more rapidly because of faster recycling times.

While my assistant arranges the first group of people, I place my lights, take one or two test shots and check the histogram, then fire away as quickly as the groups can be moved in and out. Because my flashes recycle so rapidly and because I have no film expense, I can pop off five or six shots of each group (blink insurance) while the person using camera-type flash is waiting for his light(s) to recycle for a second shot.

As long as the lights-to-group distance remains the same, the exposure does not change and requires no further thought.

I generally use a couple of 550's on stands (sometimes with umbrella, sometimes not). I also bring a single 3200ws head and 42" (or 45") umbrella in case I need more power.

Since using digital (esp. the 1Ds2, 1D2 and 20d's) I have used 400 iso to bring more ambient into play, if the light was very low (I have even tried a few shots inbetween @800 and 1600 iso just to see what will happen).

In short, there is not a best way (IMO), but some things look more agreeable than others for sure.

<A target="_new" HREF="http://www.alienbees.com/vagabond.html?item=V150">Alien Bees can use a $350 portable battery pack</A>

<P>I'm considering buying this pack, especially as I'd like to use it to weigh down a lightstand with an umbrella on it in the wind. I've found that searching for an A/C outlet often takes longer than setting up my lights.

<P>I've use 550EX + 420EX on a stand, it works well for 2-3 people, not well for more than that. Oddly enough, I've found output from the 420 to be more predictable than the 550 unless the 550 was in manual mode.

<P>I agree that E-TTL is a bit odd, but E-TTL II is much better (for candids especially.) For posed group shots, it's really nice to meter once and just shoot with monolights.

take a look at the paterson digitflash. i just started using the 1000ws model for portraits. i

bought it because of its portability. 19"x19"x2.5". looks like a big etch-a-sketch. no need

for softbox or umbrella. just started using it and so far i like it. i would think it would be

perfect for your application.