john_murphy1

Here's a <a href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?

msg_id=00M88o">link</a> to a comparison.

Here is a comparison between two of the the popular Mola Beauty Dishes, the Euro and the Setti. I've

included a truly soft light, the Elinchrom Octabank, for reference. Hope this helps.<div></div>

I posted a comparison of something related to this <a

href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?

msg_id=00KtKf">here</a>.<br />

Responding more directly to your question, in deciding when to use a Beauty Dish I always

use the Elinchrom Beauty Light (a large, indirect softbox) as my benchmark. Since the

Beauty Light can make just about anything look good, I need a good reason to pull out a

beauty dish. <br/>

The first, and most common reason I use a Beauty Dish is because of simple laziness. If

someone wants me to shoot their portrait on location, and I don't feel like lugging the

Beauty Light and its heavy stand, then I'll go with a Beauty Dish.<br/>

In the studio, I use a Beauty Dish in three circumstances: 1) for "glamour lighting", that is

direct, on axis lighting of a face that is looking directly into the camera and smiling; 2) for

subjects that "look fat" in traditional, portraits (face turned slightly, no smile)-in this case

the Beauty Dish provides darker shadows on the side of the face while minimizing skin

imperfections on the forehead and cheeks; 3) lastly, I use Beauty Dishes when

photographing anyone who wants to look intelligent and strong (as opposed to soft and

lovely).<br />

I'm not particularly impressed with the Softlite as a Beauty Dish; I recommend the Mola

products instead. I know they're more expensive, but a Beauty Dish isn't worth anything if

it isn't better than an umbrella. You can find a comparison <a

href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00L40O">here</a>

which shows that the Softlite is not a whole lot better than an umbrella.<br/>

Additionally, I never use diffusion on a Beauty Dish, as it doesn't make sense (I can use a

softbox instead). I do, however, test my Beauty Dishes carefully for how they behave when

pointed at the subject indirectly (i.e., feathered). Hope this helps...

Keep in mind that Adobe is funny about leaving their preferences files on your computer even

after you've unistalled one of their programs. If you are selecting a file in Bridge, but the

"Open In Camera Raw" option under the File menu is grayed out, the first thing you need to

check out is what type of file does your computer THINK it is? You can see the "Document

Type" in Bridge CS3 in the Metadata window under "File Properties". Make sure it is correct.

A good way to analyze your needs is to observe the computer's performance as you perform various software tasks. On Windows, hit Control-Alt-Delete (simultaneously), and the Task Manager window should open up on top of whatever you're running. (On Mac, it's called the Activity Monitor). Go to the "Performance" section and you should see both CPU and RAM ("Physical Memory") monitoring tools. You can now go back to your software programs and see what happens when you perform common tasks. Note that RAM space is usually displayed as kilobytes, where 1000KB is 1MB.<br />

What you'll observe is that Photoshop tends to hit the processor heavily during some of it's actions. This is where dual core processors (like the T2080) come in handy. A faster dual core processor (the Core2Duo) would be expected to speed these operations up slightly.<br />

You'll also notice that RAM space is taken up by ongoing processes (which may be running in the background). This is why Vista needs more RAM than Windows XP, because it takes up about half a gig of space even when 'idling'. So, if you open several programs or documents at once, more of your RAM space will be taken up.<br/>

Interestingly, the hard drive's speed (or lack thereof) will be most noticable during file reading or writing activities, such as starting up a program or saving a file.<br/>

Hope this helps.

Okay, I'm familiar with that site. But I still would be concerned about the quality of any light made by Photoflex. As I noted before, good lights are not easy to make.<br />

One resource you might try is B+H Photovideo. The lighting department there has never steered me wrong. One note however, they do not sell Alien Bees products.

I would definitely avoid the Photoflex lights because simply I can't image they could possibly

make a quality light. (Their other stuff is average quality at best, and good lights are not easy

to manufacture.) Whose reviews are you reading? There was someone at photo.net that was

considering buying them a few months back, maybe you could email him to get his opinion.

The link is <a href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?

msg_id=00J0bI">here.</a><br/>

Furthermore, if you want cheap, you can always go with Alien Bees. At least they are a known

quantity in the sense that their quality is adequate.

I have a couple of Photogenic Powerlights. They are definitely a step up from my starter light

kit, but I eventually outgrew them for the usual reasons (not tight enough shot-to-shot

power/color consistency and lack of good light modifiers). They do offer, however, a lot of

power for the money. But I don't need that much power for portraits, so if I had to do it over

again I would probably go straight to Elinchrom, since even their low-end models solve the

two problems I mentioned above.

If you're considering investing in this softbox then I highly recommend it. Despite what some

who do not own one might suggest, it really does create a superior quality of light.

<p>No. It is still available.</p>

<a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/16822-REG/

Elinchrom_26158_Octa_Light_Bank_for.html">Here's a link.</a>

<p>On the elinchrom.com site, navigate to Products->Lighting Solutions->Indirect

Softlites</p>

Ellis<br/>

Why couldn't you do it with the Elinchrom Octa Bank? I've never tried it on mine, but it certainly seems plausible.<br/>

I heard that this is the way it is done from one of my patients who has worked as an assistant to photographers in NYC. I assume he would know, since it was his job to do the setting up of the lights.

Garry,<br/>

I assume that when you question the maturing of people who are convinced that there is

one

best lighting tool you are referring to those that believe that there is only one "best"

lighting

tool that should be used by everyone, and that all others are inferior. I assume you are

not

referring to the tendency of photographers to find a favorite formula that works for them

and to

use it extensively in their work.<br/>

Certainly, <a href="http://www.greenfield-sanders.com/portraits/">Timothy Greenfield-

Sanders</a>, and <a href="http://www.williamcoupon.com/"/>William Coupon</a>

would

be examples of photographers who have a single lighting setup from which they rarely

deviate.

I use the Elinchrom OctaBank (Beauty Light) because the results are better. I've given up

on trying to figure what the difference is, I just know that people say, "Wow" when they see

their portrait taken under the Beauty Light. They don't say that for umbrellas or regular

softboxes.<br />

An additional advantage of the massive softbox is that one you've got it setup, it's a lot

easier to use. Unlike a beauty dish, where you have to position the light very carefully to

achieve the best results, the Beauty Light requires that the subject be close to it-it does

the rest for you! <br />

Obviously, I would like to have a cheaper solution (photography is only a hobby for me),

but is seems like a waste of everyone's time if I take lousy pictures.

Wow, I like Rouvre's work alot.</p>

As far as the lighting goes, he seems to use a standard beauty setup (on axis, one above,

one below) in a lot of his shots. But in the one you asked about, it looks like the main like is

from above (on the camera axis), but the fill seems to be provided by two strip softboxes on

each side.</P>

The color is not really a lighting issue. How to obtain that desaturated look has been

discussed here in photo.net many times.</p>

Hope this helps.

You asked for a comparison photo. This compares a generic silver umbrella with a Mola Setti

and a Elinchrom Beauty Dish (27in Softlite) with a translucent deflector.<div></div>

HTML can be a pain in the neck to learn. If you right click your page you can view the

source, and you'll find it contains such choice statements as this:<br>

value="/

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QPZGRkZFog1GRDfo0KLOzPbaN09Ahk5Btd"<br>

<br>

I'm not kidding, this is actually in your code.<br>

To get started, you should start reading up on HTML editors in Wikipedia. Dreamweaver is

nice, but expensive. You can get by with a free one like Amaya or Nvu, or a cheap one like

TopStyle.

Can you post a screen shot?<br>

Also, I assume you are selecting a file, or else you'll get something that looks like this:<div></div>

I think you're looking for something like GIMP.<br>

<a href="http://www.gimp.org/">GIMP.org</a><br>

It's something created by some college kids over 10 years ago as a free replacement for

Photoshop. It comes as part of the free Fedora distribution (a version of Linux, which was

also created by a college student) which I sometimes use to salvage an old PC by setting it up

with a free OS, word processor, and image editor.<br>

You can download GIMP for free, and it should work fine for basic editing needs.

If you're using a RAW workflow the color balance can be adjusted in the post-processing

phase, thereby obviating the need for a colored reflector (unless you only want part of your

scene to be affected).<br>

Here's a <a href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?

msg_id=00KtKf">link</a> to a comparison that you might find interesting.

Gotcha. I always use the diffusion screens (scrims) when using softboxes. I've posted

comparisions of this sort of thing before, but I don't know the exact threads.<br>

The deflector helps to even out the light, and while it's mandatory on a beauty dish, you can

get away without it on a softbox. (In fact, that's why I bought the deflectors, because I have

the Elinchrom Softlite beauty dish). Turns out, the translucent one is the only one I ever use,

because in a RAW workflow, the colored reflectors are unnecessary.

Sorry, I don't understand your question...<br>

If you're asking what I used for the above comparison, it is as follows:<br>

<a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=3715&A=details&Q=&sku=176939&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation">Elinchrom Mini Octa</a> with the various deflectors (and both scrims in place), versus the<br>

<a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=Search&A=details&Q=&sku=16822&is=REG&addedTroughType=search">Elinchrom Octa Bank</a><br>

Incidentally, in the above comparison the term "Beauty Light" refers to any of the large

indirect softboxes that Elinchrom makes.

Also, the color balance on the silver and gold reflector shots is the same as on the

translucent.

I use the Pocket Wizard system with the Sekonic meter. They are expensive, but they work

well. Sometimes the PW fails when the meter is attempting to trigger an Elinchrom Beauty

Light (while the receiver is behind it) which seems to block the signal. The Elinchrom wireless

devices weren't around when I bought the PW's, but I'd definitely consider them today.