Opinions needed for outdoor lighting setup...

[jra]

I recently have been contracted to do some league softball photos for some area teams and it looks like I may be getting some additional sports team business from this venture. I've already done the first round of photos and the main problem I ran into was battling the sun. We ran the photos from 1pm to 4pm on a beautiful, super bright, sunny day on a ball field with no sign of shade. Of course, all of the parents and coaches talked about what a great day it was for pictures.....I just smiled and nodded :)

Anyways, I employed a reflector and a couple of speedlights and attempted to work with the sun as best I could. The results are certainly acceptable and I managed to fill in the heavy shadows decently. What would really be nice would be to set up a couple of studio lights and just overpower the sun.....which is where my question comes in. I currently have several Photogenic 500 w/s lights that would work nicely if I had access to electricity. Considering that I don't have easy access to electricity I looked into portable lighting systems and they are quite pricey (although not out of the question). I was looking at the Hensel Porty 1200 kit to be exact.
That said, what do you guys/gals suggest? Is there a way to use my current mono lights? I have even considered buying a generator?...Is that a decent idea? I need something that can go all day long (which the Hensel system can do with extra batteries and so can a generator with my current mono-lights as long as I have gas). I've also thought about the Vagabond from Alien Bees but I don't know if it would work with my mono-lights and I doubt that it would have the battery life I need.

All suggestions welcome! :)

[bobbyz]

You can rent a generator and run your exisiting lights using it

or

get something like X1600 from Alien bees along with vagabond II. Would be much cheaper I would guess compared to the porty.

[jra]

You can rent a generator and run your exisiting lights using it

or

get something like X1600 from Alien bees along with vagabond II. Would be much cheaper I would guess compared to the porty.

Thanks for the comments :) While the generator idea is tempting (it could certainly be useful for other things as well), it would be pretty much impossible to use inside which is kind of a downer.

As far as the AlienBees Vagabond, has anyone used them with Photogenic lights? AlienBees has a small disclaimer on their site that does worry me a bit.

The Vagabond II is designed specifically for powering Paul C. Buff, Inc.™ products and we cannot make any claim for suitability with products from other manufacturers, nor can we accept any liability for any damage that might be caused to such equipment. We will, however, warranty the Vagabond II itself as well as any Paul C. Buff, Inc.™ equipment it powers.

Are there really issues with other brands of monolights or is this just a typical "CYA" statement?

[Zivnuska]

I use two Vagabond II units with (2)Alien Bee B800s. They are terrific. Count on 500+ full power shots on a charge. I've also driven two B800 units off of one Vagabond II and that also works well.

[wjohno]

Get an ezup tent and put the kids under the tenet in the shade. Much easier to do and you don't have to battle the sun.

[Naturalist]

I do not know but would this be a good case to go stroboist with a couple of flashes and umbrellas w/ stands?

I ask because this would be a super portable arrangement.

[jra]

Get an ezup tent and put the kids under the tenet in the shade. Much easier to do and you don't have to battle the sun.

Something I have also considered. The main reasons I have somewhat passed by this idea would be the harsh transition from the shaded area to the large sunny area behind the subject. Maybe there's a way to make this work decently, so if anyone has any examples, please share.

I do not know but would this be a good case to go stroboist with a couple of flashes and umbrellas w/ stands?

I ask because this would be a super portable arrangement.


Something else I have considered but I have my doubts that a portable strobe with a modifier, such as an umbrella, could completely overpower bright, mid-day sun. I really need to get my lighting equipment outside and experiment to determine the exact results I want to achieve. Once I do that, I'll post my results here for further discussion.