HSS vs Watt Seconds

I am looking to upgrade my gear so that I can over power the sun when shooting outdoor portraiture and as of right now I cannot decide between getting HSS triggers or upgrading to higher output monolights.
My question is, what are the advantages and disadvantages of going with either system?
Which would you choose?

Why would you need HSS for portraits?

To have better control of ambient light especially when trying to overpower the sun. My B800(320ws) doesnt generate enough power to accomplish the look that I am going for.

http://strobist.blogsp​ot.com …sun-when-using-flash.html

I prefer more power + ND filter to control ambiant with flashes.

ChadAndreo wrote in post #14985776
I am looking to upgrade my gear so that I can over power the sun when shooting outdoor portraiture and as of right now I cannot decide between getting HSS triggers or upgrading to higher output monolights.

What do you mean by "HSS triggers"?

"HSS" means "High Speed Sync" and is something that only Canon Speedlites (and some clones) can do along with ETTL communication from the camera. No monolights can do HSS.

SkipD wrote in post #14985938
No monolights can do HSS.

Lots of people doing HSS with Alin Bees and Phottix triggers.

Scatterbrained wrote in post #14985780
Why would you need HSS for portraits?

Easy way to shoot wide open...

If you mean using HSS with canon speedlites you are still going to need additional power as HSS robs your flash of a considerable amount, so to fully overpower daylight you will need several speedlites ganged together. If you mean hypersync which uses a monolight's tail burn to mimic HSS there are some issues regarding that. You cant meter it. Different monolights have different flash durations and tail burn so some are less capable than others. I agree with the above, get more powerful monolights, get ND filters, and go from there.

Stickman wrote in post #14985956
Lots of people doing HSS with Alin Bees and Phottix triggers.

That aint HSS, different technology totally. Its hypersync.

gonzogolf wrote in post #14985988
That aint HSS, different technology totally. Its hypersync.

You can call it a different name, but it is giving the same result. I don't care if it uses chicken bones or harsh language to make it work.

Stickman wrote in post #14986009
You can call it a different name, but it is giving the same result. I don't care if it uses chicken bones or harsh language to make it work.

Yeah, but using the terms interchangeably leads to a lot of confusion. Especially considering they require different gear. No point in dumbing down the conversation by being sloppy.

Stickman wrote in post #14985959
Easy way to shoot wide open...

no it isnt, get a variable ND filter

Stickman wrote in post #14985956
Lots of people doing HSS with Alin Bees and Phottix triggers.

There is no monolight made that can do HSS.

Canon's HSS mode produces a stream of low-power and very short pulses of light. The purpose is to emulate natural (continuous) light for the duration of the shutter travel.

What you're referring to is a mode called "hypersync" and is essentially an experimental mode involving timing and other tricks. There is no way that a photographer can make a useful measurement of light output from a monolight when the "hypersync" mode is being used because a lot of the light from the monolight never gets to the film or digital sensor.

HSS and "hypersync" are radically different in how they operate and are definitely not interchangeable terms.

Stickman wrote in post #14986009
You can call it a different name, but it is giving the same result. I don't care if it uses chicken bones or harsh language to make it work.

They are both methods of trying to get a faster shutter speed than normal camera sync allows. but totally different methods.
HSS sync pulses the flash over a period of time to try to cover the longer shutter speed. It is a proprietary function of some hot shoe flashes.
Hypersync tries to time the shutter opening earlier and staying open longer to take advantage of the start and tail burns of the strobe flash tube.

I do not think chicken bones will work. It might confuse some people though if that is your plan.