Elinchrom beauty dishes

[dawnrogers]

Hi,
Just wondered if any one ahd used these much? may be if you have you could post some shots from it?

With may be some feedback about what you liked, or didn't like..how harsh you found the light etc...

thanks

[TMR Design]

I could be wrong and I hope he doesn't mind me mentioning his name but I believe steveathome (POTN user ID) has the Elinchrom beauty dish. Steve has D-Lite's and a Style 400 BX.

Although the beauty dish produces a quality of light with greater contrast than that of a softbox, I don't believe it to be harsh at all if used correctly.

[steveathome]

I have only had the opportunity to use mine for one shoot so far since purchasing it.
But here is what I have posted here recently
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showpost.php?p=5435270&postcount=1
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showpost.php?p=5457208&postcount=198
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showpost.php?p=5452233&postcount=1

I would say that used closer to the camera lens, it produces more glamour type lighting.
If you angle it carefully you can almost illiminate shadow from a subject against a wall and give it almost ringflash like qualities, due to its shape and size.

It gives a very wide and even output, and so makes it ideal for a small group shot IMHO, or for fast moving toddlers who persist in not staying where you put them.

I have yet to try mine on an older subject with more angle introduced to provide more modeling. I think though that for close up soft lighting I will still prefer a large softbox.
I have yet to experiment, so hopefully others with more experience will chime in.

Edit:
ps mine is the smaller softlite (white) reflector, I'm sure the larger more expensive unit will give an even softer light.

[Hermes]

The small silver Elinchrom dish is very useful as it gives good contrast without being as harsh as a bare reflector. For me, the white versions and the larger dishes are pretty much redundant - if I want soft light I'll use softboxes.

Be aware that they are heavy (too heavy to attach to the D-lites without risking them toppling over), they heat up quite quickly and are difficult to store being all-metal.

[mrclark321]

These shots are taken with Mola dishes, but I think the light quality is very comparable to my elinchroms:
http://www.mola-light.com/html/samples.html



Is this your work? :)

[awad]

http://johnawad.net/erindypt.jpg

both of these were shot with the beauty dish as main, i used to use mine with a sock, because i thought i wanted that extra diffusion, but now i use it without one. the highlights are a bit more specular and well, i lost the sock.

what i've found is that this light shines(i know, i know) the most within 2-4 feet of the subject, i keep this sucker close. its definitely my favorite modifier for location shooting, that's for sure.

[Jannie]

awad I love that look-excellent!

[Jannie]

OMGosh I just googled beauty dishes and found them, that design has to be at least 50 years old, and why not, I don't know what they were called back then but I remember them from back when I was at Brooks Institute back in 1970 and I'm pretty sure they were old then, the motion picture industry also used something similar called a 5K skypan but I don't know if it had the disk blocking the direct light from the bulb in the center. There also was one for stills that used a white bulb in the center with a large disc and it was said to create both a key (the center bulb) and fill (the dish) all from the same direction. I'd never used it but wondered about it's performance. I do know you can create a similar affect by using a large diffusion, say a six foot by six foot and push a light almost up to the center of it's surface to create a strong center light but back say a foot to allow light to spill and create a soft affect to the edges of the stronger key light.

I've used so much really soft light using the lighting ratio to create punch that it's nice to see as much punch in those particular shots that awad posted. Not for everything but another choice and I love it.

[DavidPhoto]

Just curious awad, is that the small beauty dish or the large one?

[tetrode]

Lovely photos, Awad. Just one question: was there any glass in those glasses (photo on left)?

Dave F.

[Faolan]

I've been using a beauty dish as well, but for a totally different application. The great advantage for the beauty dish over a softbox is that it's great for picking out detail. Since I have done a number of ink shots I find that silver is the best for bring out the BnG best and gives the best contrast to skin.

Another advantage for a beauty dish is location work, it's easier to set up a dish than a soft box and less likely to catch the wind. Also there's practically no set up time compared to say a soft box, plus they produce very similar effects. Also because they are 'smaller' they fit into a small studio easier and can also be used closer to the model.

It's not all peaches though, as noted above you really have to have good skin as the dish will pick up details, lots of it in the skin but you can add a diffusion panel to the front to soften it.

It all comes down to what you want to do and what effects you're looking for.