Single light studio portrait

Hi,

I'm new to studio lighting for portraits and given my limited budget, I'm looking to use just a single light

source. I am thinking of getting an Alien Bees B1600 flash unit with a large softbox , which I will use in

conjunction with a white reflector. Would this set up be sufficient to produce high quality lighting for

portraits? Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for your help.

yes it would, but i'd opt for the calumet 750 if i were you. it's a better light and very versatile. and they are built like tanks. teh calumet accessories get rather pricey, but the lights are fantastic.

 

one light, one softbox (or umbrella) and a reflector can keep you busy for life! check out william coupons work. sure he uses an octobox, but it's one light, and he gets fantastic results. he uses the same setup with varying degrees of intensity.

 

get a good book on light itself, so you know what you are dealing with. it's a fanciful, yet faithful tool.

Dave, Thank you for your insightful response. I will take a look at the Calumet and check out William Coupons.

I suggest a single 1000w Lowell DP tungsten light.

Sounds wrong. Better first check the Alienbees spec page, where the "output measurements" chart shows IS0 100 and a B1600 in medium softbox at 5 feet will be at f/22 to f/32. You can turn them down (four stops), but you also probably want the softbox to be closer than 5 feet. It also matters if you are at ISO 100 or ISO 200.

<p>

I use a AB B800 at 1/16 power in a Large softbox at f/11, up close at ISO 200. Up close is like 2.5 feet. That is just too much power, I would rather be near maximum than minimum. I recently ordered two B400 for portraits at ISO 200 (still 1/8 power in large softbox at ISO 200), and will use the B800 for background or something.

<p>

ISO 100 to ISO 200 is one stop.

<br>Double power is one stop.

<br>B800 to B1600 is one stop.

<br>Half the distance is two stops, but must be measured from the flash tube, not from the fabric.

I agree with Bruce don't rule out continuous light sources.

 

Jesse

Thank you everyone for your response.. My concern with continuous lighting is that it can get really hot. But after looking at the photos by William Coupon as suggested by Dave Moss, I was really amazed at the possibilities. I will really look into continuous lighting.

It's hard to find modifiers suitable for hot lights. Softboxes, Octoboxes, grids, and the like are difficult to improvise for hot lights and improvisations seldom provide the necessary degree of control.

 

Studio lighting is about control of the light. Hot lights are much more difficult to control in the same manner as studio strobes.

 

Professional continuous lights, such as Arri and Lowell are not substantially cheaper than entry-level strobes.

 

<Chas>

Thank you for all of your responses. I am curious as to why each one of you would pick continuous vs. strobe lighting. I am thinking about strobe lighting because I assume that it is daylight-balanced and does not get hot. From your experiences, is the quality of light produced different? Is one warmer than the other, for example. Thank you again.

Plz dont get upset with me for this.... Try this... get an AB800 or AB1600 (I suggest the AB800 cause you have more powering down options then get yoursef a 60" shoot thru umbrella with a black removable back. Then get yourself an ebay 42" 5n1 reflector. Then get build yourself a PVC pipe frame and put some black fabric on it like Black felt (it really absorbs light really well). now got to http://www.studiolighting.net/quick-start-guide-to-the-one-light-setup/ after you finnish reading that article read this one http://www.studiolighting.net/the-power-of-low-power-strobes/

I wasn't advocating continuous lighting at all, just pointing out the difficulties working with them, in response to Bruce and Jesse's posts advocating using them.

 

<Chas>

dg,

I appreciate all comments and find them very valuable. I will check out those sites.

The quality of light IS different. Hard to explain why, but it has a different look. I used flash professionally for years, and have 6 monolights in the studio. But when I shoot now, not for money, I do not even consider the flash. My work definately took a step up when I switched to tungsten. Another tungsten advantage, and this is important, is that you get what you see. Modeling lights are not necessarily the same as the flash. You should use flash when yoy want your work to look like everyone else'sone else's. Flash is also preferable for moving subjects.

Hi Bruce.. after looking at some photos taken by tungsten and flash, I definitely see the

difference...Now, I'm torn..

Do not use hot light.

 

A 1000 ws strobe in a very large soft octa or box of say 1.5 - 2 metres in size will work wonders and look pro.

 

I stress do not use hot lights.