Light Stands and other gear for indoor portraits.

OceanRipple* wrote in post #17874737
Hi, You mentioned the Rovelight. These weigh 5.31 lb. A modifier might be 2 lb. Even if you limit yourself to a counterweight equal to the Strobe wt (& consequently limit boom extension), that's a total of 12.6 lb (5.7 Kg). A boom needs to be rated to take that weight. Anything less is indefensible.

For the stand, you need to add the weight of the boom & fittings to the total above.

I know people use lighter boom setups for the Rovelight here - I would advise against that practice. If you really just need c 20 in of offset from the stand, then a Grip arm may be a better option (still counterweight it). For a Griphead, the stand needs to be topped off with a proper Baby pin not just the more usual stand spigot/stud. HTH.

thanks for the tip, honestly didnt even know the weight of the rovelight. The price of the boom being 1/3 of a comparable c-stand definitely lead to the decision. Would have got the C-Stand, but wanted to reserve that money for a proper large modifier instead. Darn hobby is too expensive

Charlie wrote in post #17874138
that's a really nice C-stand, however I got real cheap and got the cowboystudio double duty 13' Stand/boom.

I have this same stand, in the Impact brand name. It has no problem holding up a RL-600b with CheetahStand RB-120 on it. This stand has a huge footprint, at only about 1/3 the weight of a comparable C-stand. This is a big advantage for location shooting.

@Tommydigi - What brand is the popup background? I'm currently in the market for one, to be used mainly for headshots. I'm going between Savage and Lastolite at the moment. Is your only complaint the size or is there anything else you don't like about it?

Sorry for the hijack, but it's hard to find feedback on these style of backgrounds.

I have the Impact Collapsible Background
http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …apsible_Backgro​und_5.html

Overall I like it, I think it works well if your doing a headshot. It folds up small and its easy to carry but its just a bit limiting since you can only really use it for headshots. I do like how it does not wrinkle. I find it works well putting it between 2 stands and attaching the velcro.

I wanted the full background just to have more options, for baby shoots, full body, group etc. but for single head shots I can still see me using the impact one.

Just to put in a recommendation for the Lastolite reversible 5'x6' collapsible background. I have one in White and Mid Gray that I use for sports headshot. It works really well and is much nicer to transport than a two stand with cross-bar plus fabric background.

I mount mine on one light stand. On top of it I put a umbrella bracket that has a hardware store hook in place of the umbrella. I mount a flash on top that I use as a hair light.

bpalermini, That one looks great. Mine is just plain black or white.

I'm going to give that a try with the hair light.

Here are pictures of my collapsible background setup from a couple of posts ago.

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bpalermini wrote in post #17875483
I mount mine on one light stand. On top of it I put a umbrella bracket that has a hardware store hook in place of the umbrella. I mount a flash on top that I use as a hair light.

Two thumbs up. That is one smart setup and so obvious after being pointed out--why didn't I think of that?!

Tommydigi wrote in post #17875448
I have the Impact Collapsible Background
http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …apsible_Backgro​und_5.html

Overall I like it, I think it works well if your doing a headshot. It folds up small and its easy to carry but its just a bit limiting since you can only really use it for headshots. I do like how it does not wrinkle. I find it works well putting it between 2 stands and attaching the velcro.

I wanted the full background just to have more options, for baby shoots, full body, group etc. but for single head shots I can still see me using the impact one.

I can already see money hemorrhaging from my wallet. Will probably get both backgrounds, one with the two stands, and a portable one like this.

Good news is its really not that expensive. I was almost going to get ride of the collapsable one but now I know both can be useful.


bpalermini where did you get that flash bracket with the hook? Thats really cool.

I'm pretty sure that's just a normal flash bracket with the hook going into the umbrella holder, and the hook came from homedepot, probably 1/4"

Yes, you are correct. Just a hardware store hook and a couple of nuts in place of the umbrella.

bpalermini wrote in post #17875521
Here are pictures of my collapsible background setup from a couple of posts ago.

1

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That's a hell of a great idea.

How about a beauty dish? I've seen some samples with just a beauty dish. Why is it that much different than an umbrella? is it just easier to work with because its smaller?

Tommydigi wrote in post #17876449
How about a beauty dish? I've seen some samples with just a beauty dish. Why is it that much different than an umbrella? is it just easier to work with because its smaller?

from my reading, a beauty dish is more geared for models since the lighting is a little hard and can accentuate cheekbones/features well, where a softbox is more geared for family/groups/non models since the light is spread out more, and fills in wrinkles/poor features better.