need your advice

[keeg]

i've been lurking this forum for much time, and have done much reading in the meantime. I have decided that i want to invest in a set of lights. Through much reading, and searching i've decided that strobes would work best as opposed to continous lighting. I will be using the set up for two purposes, portraits and automotive photography. I do not own a studio, so people pics will be taken in either the living room, or backyard (will be split 50-50 as far as indoor and outdoor shooting). I was looking at a set of AlienBees Beginer Bee which includes, 1 AlienBees B800 Flash Unit, 1 Single Light Carrying Bag, 1 10-foot General Purpose Light Stand, and 1 48-inch Silver/White Reversible Bounce Umbrella.

Now my questions:

I was interested in a two light set up, so would 2 of everything mentioned above be good?

Is this a good starter kit, and would i be able to advance my skills with this set?

And lastly, would i need to invest in a softbox, or will that set up be more than enough to get me started?

Thanks,
K

[FlashZebra]

i've been lurking this forum for much time, and have done much reading in the meantime. I have decided that i want to invest in a set of lights. Through much reading, and searching i've decided that strobes would work best as opposed to continous lighting. I will be using the set up for two purposes, portraits and automotive photography. I do not own a studio, so people pics will be taken in either the living room, or backyard (will be split 50-50 as far as indoor and outdoor shooting). I was looking at a set of AlienBees Beginer Bee which includes, 1 AlienBees B800 Flash Unit, 1 Single Light Carrying Bag, 1 10-foot General Purpose Light Stand, and 1 48-inch Silver/White Reversible Bounce Umbrella. Softboxes are also large, cumbersome, hard to assemble than an umbrella and more expensive.

As someone new at this, divide an conquer, learn the basic lighting now with the unbrellas, or even flash heads with reflectors, and fight the softbox issues later after you are more comfortable with you new flash gear.

Now my questions:

I was interested in a two light set up, so would 2 of everything mentioned above be good?

Is this a good starter kit, and would i be able to advance my skills with this set?

And lastly, would i need to invest in a softbox, or will that set up be more than enough to get me started?

Thanks,
K



Two of everything would be a dandy "starter set".

It is a very nice "started set". In fact you may never need much more than this.

Umbrellas will get you started. The quality of light from a softbox is, well you guessed it, a bit softer than umbrellas. But, umbrellas soften the light also, just not quite as much as a softbox. I would just go with the umbrellas. Add a softbox later if you see that your lighting is a bit too harsh.

Enjoy! Lon

[keeg]

Two of everything would be a dandy "starter set".

It is a very nice "started set". In fact you may never need much more than this.

Umbrellas will get you started. The quality of light from a softbox is, well you guessed it, a bit softer than umbrellas. But, umbrellas soften the light also, just not quite as much as a softbox. I would just go with the umbrellas. Add a softbox later if you see that your lighting is a bit too harsh.

Enjoy! Lon


thanks for your input, as far as the softboxes are concerned, i was speaking of using them more for automotive purposes to keep the light from being harsh.

[keeg]

last thing i wanted to know was how portable a set like this would be. Not as much as travelling by plane, but putting in my car and seting up and different locations?

[FlashZebra]

last thing i wanted to know was how portable a set like this would be. Not as much as travelling by plane, but putting in my car and seting up and different locations?
For studio type flash units, the Alien Bee units are about as compact as they come. The flash heads are also the lightest monolight around due to a very unique power supply design that does not use a very heavy power transformer. You can easily get all this gear in you back seat with room to spare. Or in your trunk with a lot of other things.

I think the standard cases that you get with this gear are unfit for airline travel in the cargo bay. But, they are just fine for general transportation (in a car, in a closet, carrying to a location set, etc).

Again, please let us know what you get and if you are happy with it by posting back to this thread.

Closure is a good thing.

Enjoy! Lon

[FlashZebra]

thanks for your input, as far as the softboxes are concerned, i was speaking of using them more for automotive purposes to keep the light from being harsh.
For full automobiles and perfect softboxes, they will need to be huge. So, do not go there yet. Get good with those umbrellas and tackle those softboxes later.

As a very important aside. Since cars are so large (I missed this in your initial post, sorry) I recommend you go for the AB 1600 units. With the size of cars, and the need for great depth of field, you will need that extra power.

You might squeak by with the AB 800 units, but the AB 1600 units would be a lot safer bet. You do not want to chip in just short of the green.

Enjoy! Lon

[keeg]

i did mention it in the original post that i was going to be using it for two purposes. And as far as chipping goes, that's the best part of my game!!!

so you think i should opt for a set of 1600's instead?

[FlashZebra]

i did mention it in the original post that i was going to be using it for two purposes. And as far as chipping goes, that's the best part of my game!!!

so you think i should opt for a set of 1600's instead?
Sorry I missed that import aspect in your initial post.

Yes, since cars are so large and you need a lot of depth of field, you need a lot of light. So, for portraits two AB 1600 are likely overkill (but still fine). But for cars two AB 1600 units are likely to be just "adequate".

I know the 1600 units are significantly more expensive than the 800's. But unfornately cars are huge (compared to a couple of humans).

In flash photography, unlike golf, you cannot escape the ruthless inverse square law.

Enjoy! Lon

[keeg]

the 1600's might be a bit out of my price range, so i would like to know if i could get away with using the 800's for cars (maybe invest in some reflectors), because as mentioned i will be using this set up for cars just as often as for people.