Softboxes? alien bee strobes? Help ..LOL

[johneric8]

Hello gentleman how are ya? I hate post that go on so I will get to the question. I do tons of shooting with natural light and have that down pretty well. But, I'm ready to get some lights for my just about to open fun studio. I dont know the difference between say, Alien Bees and softbox lights. Can the alien Bees go in the softbox housings? I guess I dont understand what kind of setup I need for portrait photography. (small to medium studio space)
What is the benefit in using alien strobes connected to the camera as opposed to a constant light from a softbox????? Or, should I use both at the same time.

Please give me some answers to these questions so I know where to begin. I hope someone can bring me some simple help. Any suggestions to a good setup would be appreciated.

Blessings

[Wildewinds]

Alien Bees are a brand of strobes (flashes). Softboxes are a type of diffuser that attach to lights (strobes or continuous). Continuous lighting is less common and has heat issues.

So, you attach a softbox to an Alien Bee light, just like you would with other studio strobes. That's probably what most people do when they want diffuse light. However, you can also attach umbrella reflectors, gels, barn doors, snoots, or a few other things to the light to get a specific effect.

For my basic setup, I started with one Alien Bee B800 and a 36" softbox (octabox). For right now I'm using a 42" reflector and/or my Sigma DG 500 super for fill-in lighting. Works good for me so far.

[johneric8]

Alien Bees are a brand of strobes (flashes). Softboxes are a type of diffuser that attach to lights (strobes or continuous). Continuous lighting is less common and has heat issues.

So, you attach a softbox to an Alien Bee light, just like you would with other studio strobes. That's probably what most people do when they want diffuse light. However, you can also attach umbrella reflectors, gels, barn doors, snoots, or a few other things to the light to get a specific effect.

For my basic setup, I started with one Alien Bee B800 and a 36" softbox (octabox). For right now I'm using a 42" reflector and/or my Sigma DG 500 super for fill-in lighting. Works good for me so far.

So you use these lights as flashes or burst correct? you dont use them constant do you? Can you show me some samples please?

[RDKirk]

Hello gentleman how are ya? I hate post that go on so I will get to the question. I do tons of shooting with natural light and have that down pretty well. But, I'm ready to get some lights for my just about to open fun studio. I dont know the difference between say, Alien Bees and softbox lights. Can the alien Bees go in the softbox housings? I guess I dont understand what kind of setup I need for portrait photography. (small to medium studio space)
What is the benefit in using alien strobes connected to the camera as opposed to a constant light from a softbox????? Or, should I use both at the same time.

Please give me some answers to these questions so I know where to begin. I hope someone can bring me some simple help. Any suggestions to a good setup would be appreciated.

Blessings

Go to the alienbees site www.alienbees.com and peruse their information. They have a lot of general information on studio flash use, as well as detailed information about their own products. I think you'll have a much better idea then, with more specific questions to ask.

[jukas]

So you use these lights as flashes or burst correct? you dont use them constant do you? Can you show me some samples please?

Alien bees have what's called modeling lights which are simply incandescent bulbs. These are mostly so you and your model aren't sitting in the dark, and can be used to help show how the light is spilling.

When the bee's are triggered either via optical slave or sync cord, the modeling lights switch off, and the strobes flash instantly and then the modeling light comes back on.

[johneric8]

Alien bees have what's called modeling lights which are simply incandescent bulbs. These are mostly so you and your model aren't sitting in the dark, and can be used to help show how the light is spilling.

When the bee's are triggered either via optical slave or sync cord, the modeling lights switch off, and the strobes flash instantly and then the modeling light comes back on.

Thanks Jukas!!! that really helps me understand how these work.. I'm just use to using a soft box with a constant light so this flash light stuff is new to me.. Does the alien bees come with a sync cord to attach to my 20D?

[tim]

Sounds to me like you need to read a studio lighting book (same as me). Scott at lightingmagic.com writes a good one that I just got, it's better than anything I found at amazon.

[Wildewinds]

Thanks Jukas!!! that really helps me understand how these work.. I'm just use to using a soft box with a constant light so this flash light stuff is new to me.. Does the alien bees come with a sync cord to attach to my 20D?

It does come with a cord, but you need a small doodad that fits onto the camera hotshoe to plug the cord into. Costs like $10.

[johneric8]

Thanks for the tip on the book Tim.. And thanks as well Jukis! I have used studio lights with great results in the form of a constant light with a softbox as well as some barn door lights and spots. We didnt really know what we where doing but we got some great pics.. LOL.. I dont have any lights of my own so I'm wanting to get something good to start with that I can add on to as I get a better handle on the lights. I'm in no hurry in terms of getting good with studio photograhy, just need a good starting point. At this point I just really want something good that I can practice with and get better. And something that I wont be ashamed to take pictures of my neighbors kids with! LOL.....