Alien bees@ reception

[dennis osipiak]

My wedding work presently makes use of various flash modifers like the Fong's

LS, Dembs flip it, the mini softbox over the 580ex etc, along with bouncing

off the ceiling when the height isn't too high.Everything mentioned has pluses

and minuses, along with issues of ETTL. However I recently purchased a 1600

model of the AB along with various modifers including silver, white and shoot

through umbrellas and a photek softlight unit.I'm looking for a more

consistent even lighting than the strobroframe bracket and bouncing with a

580ex that I use presently. Venue considerations, less obtrusive placement

will factor into whether it would be useful. Not to be moved around. I

envision that there are sometimes when it wouldn't be practical. My questions

include what modifer might light the dance floor/cake area etc more evenly

(with sufficient power).Should I just bounce off a neutral ceiling (if its

not too high) to get the even spread? Wouldn't a modifer give me more of what

I'm seeking? How about using the stroboframed 580ex along with the AB to get

some directional differences. Since everything would have to be manual

settings, some test shots done to a sekonic flash meter would be needed, then

some necessary "on the fly" adjustments due to some distance variations. Does

anyone ever use an Alien Bee like this? If you do use this set up, I'd like

to see some photos if possible. thanks in advance.

Dennis

[kevin_kolosky]

I always found that a noncorded Lumedyne on a pole worked better for what you are talking about. I used mine with an assistant, or if the budget didn't call for it, I would find a kid at the wedding to help out.

 

You don't need to worry so much about getting the right exposure for the secondary light. All you are using it for is to lessen the contrast and add direction.

[picturesque]

Read the following. First is a tutorial by Neil Cowley.

 

http://makelightreal.com/lighting/room_light.html

 

Then a past thread in the wedding forum. The title doesn't match your question, but read toward the middle of the thread. Michael Mowery's answer. Look at his website for sample images.

 

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00EqAk

 

Then look up Rick DeLorme, who uses multiple Sunpak 555s placed around the reception hall and NO on camera flash. His website is delormephoto.com. He also employs assistants holding off camera flashes, I believe.

 

I use Michael Mowery's set up mostly, or my own single off camera flash. I use the off camera flash in manual but not the on-camera, which is in ETTL II. I rarely meter but use my cheat sheets taped to the flash and the camera LCD. Sometimes the bounce off the ceiling might work, but not always. I never use modifiers on the off camera flashes as they don't really do anything to soften or diffuse at the distances they need to work with.

 

You might also read the following thread in which Jammey Church talks about bouncing a single Alien Bee 1600 off a rear wall to light formals--same principle can apply, although he generally uses high ISO to good effect.

 

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00JZzU

[w.smith]

I've used 4x 5600HS D's, on cheap tripods, wirelessly slaved (no on-cam flash), bouncing

off a 12 foot white ceiling: EXCELLENT wrap-around light! Very flattering to the less-than-

perfect-skin-owners.