Changing from Constant lighting to Strobes...need opinoins

[erica_duffy]

<p>Currently I use 4 constant lights. One broke so I decided to switch to strobe lights and keep the other 3 I have as back-ups. I have no idea what kind of lights I need. Currently I use my living room as my studio set-up. The space is approx. 12 ft x 20 ft. Any suggestions? I'm looking into the link below but I have no idea! Also, now I have two lights in front of the subject and two lights on the background. Many of the strobe lighting kits come with only 3 lights. How do I set up the lighting then? One on the subject and two on the background? any feedback is appreciated! Thanks!</p>

[erica_duffy]

<p>Forgot to attach the link! Here it is: <a href="http://www.cowboystudio.com/product/c07/p0702-01.php">http://www.cowboystudio.com/product/c07/p0702-01.php</a></p>

[tim_ludwig2]

<p>Erica,</p>

<p>What kind of subject matter are you working with? Portraits, still life, products, will you ever be on location for things like groups, family portraits?</p>

<p>All these things make a big difference in what you will need and what you might be deeply dissapointed in.</p>

<p>Having been a working pro for over forty years, I will tell you flat out, the there are situations you may encounter when you will need an enormous amount more power than this kit will provide. It is a fair to poor starter kit that might work well enough for single head shots or a small table top product shoot that needs little depth of field, but in a group or anything needing larger depth of field, I think you will be seriously limited.</p>

<p>Take a look at the Alien Bees from White Lightning and a fair starting point. A good three light kit from them, all in the higher powers, would be my minimum recommendation. Keep in mind that just because you buy higher power, you don't always have to use higher power. All of the Alien Bees as well as the other White Lighting electronic flashes and any other good manufacturers units will be able to be powered down by several f stops when you want to limit the output.</p>

<p>Also, A 16x20 soft box is nothing. It is barely big enough to be an accent light like a hair light and is worthless for a main. You need to be looking at something nearing 3x4 feet as your main light for a soft box and bigger is softer and better for the light. The White Lightning folks also have a very good and very inexpensive line of soft boxes as does Calumet. WL's boxes come with the speed ring, while others do not so you have to buy that extra.</p>

<p>I hope I haven't dampened your spirits on this. You are thinking in the right direction, but you are looking at a Mini Cooper to do the job of an SUV.</p>

[bob_sunley]

<p>That link points to four products, which one are you considering? Just remember what you are purchasing are NOT high quality units compared to units designed for use every day in a studio. Parts and service may be a problem down the road as well. At least the distributor is in the US and you won't be looking at overseas shipping charges for warranty service.</p>

<p>They will provide much more light than small "hot lamps". The modeling lamps on the three smaller units are a little underpowered for use during the day unless you have very dark drapes. Ask about the prices of replacement modeling lamps and flash tubes. Are the flash tubes user replaceable?</p>

<p>Searching Photo.net for other opinions on these products would be a good idea.</p>

<p> </p>

[erica_duffy]

<p>Thanks! I have no idea what I'm looking for so I'm glad you were honest with it. I shoot portraits. I also have a SB-600 speed light that I use attached to my camera. Would it be best to purchase two more and just use those? I am going to start on location group portraits. I forgot to ad I use a Nikon d90, will any strobe kit work with that camera?</p>

[Matt Laur]

<p>If you're going for group portraits, think bigger than more hot-shoe style speedlights.<br /><br />For the price, the Alien Bees are the way to go. And yes, you can use them with your D90. Be thinking about radio triggers (like the CyberSyncs, sold by the Bee people). You'll like not having to be wired up to things.</p>

[craig_shearman1]

<p>I don't even see a name brand on the units in the link, so buyer beware. At that price, "you get what you pay for" comes to mind. I would ignore this and go look at quality reputable units such as Novatron, Alien Bees, Speedotron or whatever fits your budget. Expect to pay $200 to $300 and up for a 200WS or so monolight. No need to buy in kits -- start with one, learn to use it, and put together your own kit of however many units and accessories you need. If money is tight, go to <a href="http://www.strobist.com">www.strobist.com</a> and read up on using flash mount units for studio quality lighting. Not as convenient, but more portable and very affordable, and can probably give you light output than the lights you've been using. </p>

[tim_ludwig2]

<p>Erica,</p>

<p>You can stumble by with speed lights, but the good flash units have modeling lights that allow you to actually see the light pattern you are creating. Speedlights don't (except for a few that allow you to see for a few seconds. Not acceptable! You need to see and study what you are doing with the light. A few seconds, impossibly to do a really thorough job.</p>

[tim_ludwig2]

<p>One more thing. Check into the warranty for anything you buy. If these are made in some countries, notably the far east, repairs may be very difficult and possibly take months to achieve. Also, the warranty may be very brief and worthless unless it provides for a replacement option.</p>

<p>I'll go back to the White Lightnings because I've used the Ultra 1800's for over thirty years. They have a three year warranty and the four times I've needed repairs in that period, they have been shipped by me to Nashville and have gotten back to me fully repaired or rebuilt in a week or less. That's the kind of service a working photographer needs to have available., so be sure of that end of your warranty situation.</p>

[devon_mccarroll]

<p>I recently got White Lightnings, and they have a five year warranty now (even better!). Those or Alien Bees would work well for you. For a room that small, three lights would be fine unless you're needing to light a white backdrop (which takes two lights), or planning to shoot larger groups on location. Then you might want a fourth light at some point.<br>

I would also take your SB-600 off the hotshoe when shooting portraits with it. You don't want flat front lighting.</p>

[erica_duffy]

<p>If I purchase a flash unit from Alien Bees will I be able to use the light stand and umbrella i'm currently using for my constant lighting?</p>

[pge]

<p>Erica<br>

The answer to your last question about stands and umbrellas is probably yes. Of course I have not seen them.<br>

Although AB's are a good suggestion, there is another possibility. For those of us on a budget ebay is full of older lighting sets like normans or speedotrons. One of the very nice things about an older set is that the light modifiers are very inexpensive where new modifiers are an arm and a leg.</p>

[stwrtertbsratbs5]

<p>"I would also take your SB-600 off the hotshoe when shooting portraits with it. You don't want flat front lighting."</p>

<p>Unless he wants to use the SB-600 as a fill light. That's exactly the time when you want flat lighting. He can also use it to trigger Alien Bees since they have built-in optical triggers.</p>

<p> </p>

[erica_duffy]

<p>Thanks for the input everyone! I think I'm going to get two <a href="http://www.alienbees.com/b400.html">The AlienBees B400 Flash Unit</a>. Now, my concern is lighting up my background. I need to light up the white....can I use two constant lights on the background or will that be bad to combine constant and strobes?</p>

[craig_shearman1]

<p>You can mix your constant lights with strobe as long as you gel one to match the color temperature of the other. Strobes are daylight balanace, 5500 Kelvin plus or minus. Hot lights are tungsten balance, plus or minus 3200K. You can either put CTO gels on the strobes to make them 3200 or CTB on the hot lights to make them 5500. But since the strobes are probably going to be more powerful than the hot lights, you're probably best gelling the strobes. If you're using fluorescents you have to see what their color temp is and gel accordingly. And yes you should be able to use your old light stands. If the diameter of the stands doesn't match the hole in the strobe head there are countless adaptors available. If you have umbrellas or softboxes for the constant lights you can also use those with strobe (but you can't use umbrellas/softboxes for strobes with hot lights becuase they aren't designed for the high temperatures).</p>

[tim_ludwig2]

<p>The two types of lights are almost certainly different colors. Usually, continuous lighting is much hotter in tone like the color of candles on a birthday cake, and he flash is balanced for daylight. So, your mix will not balance together. You will need at least one more electronic flash for the background....two if it is large. See other threads on here that deal with high key background lighting.</p>

[Matt Laur]

<p>You might be surprised, if you're used to lower-power continual lighting, at how much you can get done with two strobes as you start out. One on the backdrop, if that's the look you're after ... and one on your subject, using a reflector or two to help manage fill. There are all sorts of great online tutorials out there to help you get a sense for it. You can always add another strobe or two later.</p>

[lee_richards2]

<p>Good choice on the AB's. You will love them. You are going to be thrilled with strobes. AB Has an excellent Octobox that is a lot of fun to play with as well. </p>