Bare bulb Einstein- liking this!

During a shoot last weekend I had a pretty good model and MUA so decided to try some shots with the Einstein with just the bare dome- no modifiers. I have to say I really like this look. Nice crisp shadows but also some pop in the details.

Title should probably be Einstein without any reflectors as bare bulb implies that the bulb is the only thing exposed. There is a slight difference between shooting with the glass dome and without the glass dome: noticeably the colors are a little more washed out with the bare flash tube exposed.

Yes, nice example of the difference- the edge of the shadow with the dome is very nice, especially on the models skin (and your equally attractive box haha). I shot in a studio with a white ceiling (10') and I am pretty sure that contributed to a subtle top light on her too. When I tried this a while back with my AB800 I was not as pleased with the shadows so that little dome is doing a few nice things after all.

I have only done it once with just 7" reflector on my AB. Here was one from that shoot.

If you zoom in you'll see are not crisp shadows akin to what you'd get from the sun. The flashtube with is inherent U shape doesn't provide enough of a small point source to replicate the sun.

Stuart Leslie wrote in post #14015733
During a shoot last weekend I had a pretty good model and MUA so decided to try some shots with the Einstein with just the bare dome- no modifiers. I have to say I really like this look. Nice crisp shadows but also some pop in the details.

that crispness you see in shadows only happen if the model is inches away from the wall.

PhilF wrote in post #14018146
that crispness you see in shadows only happen if the model is inches away from the wall.

Good point, "crisp" in describing the shadows was probably a bad choice of words on my part. I fully get that only the sun's nearly parallel rays can create sharp shadows at any distance. What I intended to describe was how "clean" the shadows are. Even though the transition from shadow to white wall will be softer as the model moves away from the wall, it is a smooth transition without any irregularities as you might see with umbrellas, softboxes, beauty dishes etc. and the shadow area is an even continuous tone.

Here is another example with an enlarged view of the shadows- model is about 1.5 feet from wall:

actually i'm liking the idea as well. seems like the sweet spot would be around 1-2 feet away from the wall. If the subject is any further from the wall, weird shadow patterns start happening as highlighted in bobbyz's post and in my box post as well.

nicely done

Try these shots with a fresnel lens on the reflector. Better yet, get one of the fresnel boxes that are focusable. I saw some the other day at a Helix used equipment sale. They were selling off rental stock. Unfortunately, considering how little it would get used, they were way too pricey, even used.

The multiple edges of the shadows are because the reflector is offering multiple light sources rather than focusing the light source.

A lens in front of the source permits focusing which is the key.

dmward wrote in post #14025070
Try these shots with a fresnel lens on the reflector. Better yet, get one of the fresnel boxes that are focusable. I saw some the other day at a Helix used equipment sale. They were selling off rental stock. Unfortunately, considering how little it would get used, they were way too pricey, even used.

The multiple edges of the shadows are because the reflector is offering multiple light sources rather than focusing the light source.

A lens in front of the source permits focusing which is the key.

Even a fresnel lens wont get you there. You're on the right track though, spotlights/lekos as used in theatres have internal lenses that allow you to focus the ligbt for hard/soft edges etc.

If my memory serves me right, someone from around here recommended a way to lessen the shadow effect that y'all are seeing. 2 or 3 years back????

From what I remember, it was something about semi-circurlar tubes that created the double shadow. The recommendation was to rotate the strobe 90 degrees, so that only a cross-section of the tube illuminated the subject. That way the light appeared as a single point, rather than a 3" ring light that casts more than one shadow.

Not sayin' that I ever saw proof, just that people were getting technical about the solution.