Alien Bee and soft box size

I want to be able to shoot full body length shots with even lighting from head to foot, so I want to know if I should get a B400 or B800. Also which soft box should I get? The large (32"x40") or giant(30"x60")? I will use a Vivitar flash and Sunpak flash for fill and background/hairlight for right now, until I can afford an additional AB or two. The room size if it matters is 12'w x 30'L x 10h. I emailed the AB folks yesterday inquiring about this but they haven't gotten back to me yet, and I'm itching to drop the hammer on this now, LOL. I feel like a kid at Christmas.

thanks, Randy

B800 and the biggest soft box you can find.

I would say at least the B800, the giant softbox, and the heaviest light stand with the largest footprint you can find.

For the stand, the AB 13-foot air cushioned stand works reasonably well and is very well priced for its performance. I have a couple along with Bogen/Manfrotto equivalents, etc. The AB actually has a larger footprint than the Bogen/Manfrotto units.

Hi shooterman,

Large softboxes or octaboxes will work well but don't discount using large diffusion panels for this type of work. You can get great coverage from top to bottom and any size or quality of light you desire. As a single light modifier the diffusion panel can be a more flexible device than a fixed size softbox. It's something to consider.

TMR Design wrote in post #4066711
Hi shooterman,

Large softboxes or octaboxes will work well but don't discount using large diffusion panels for this type of work. You can get great coverage from top to bottom and any size or quality of light you desire. As a single light modifier the diffusion panel can be a more flexible device than a fixed size softbox. It's something to consider.

I agree, sometimes for full lenghts diffusion panels can be the best choice.

Randy
I had a 4 1/2 foot by 6 photoflex soft box that was nice. But the light quality out of it sucked. I just bought a Wescott 5' octobox whic is extremely well made and has a outstanding light pattern. Moral of the story large is good but equal light patters are better. The other thing is to keepin mind how much space you have. If you have a AB 800 and a Wescott 5 footer I think you will be able to achieve what you are looking at doing.

Just my 2Cents

Scott

I would seriously consider the Calumet or Photoflex large diffusion panels. As much as I like softboxes and octaboxes you made specific mention of doing full length shots and I really do think that the panel is best suited for that. If you're looking for even lighting and that 'wall of light' appearance you'll have a much easier time doing that with a panel and a large reflector such as the Photoflex 41" x 74" oval reflectors. This will give you a full length fill source as well.

shooterman wrote in post #4070252
How necessary are the black panels to control light spill? Would I definitely need them? I'm sure I could buy the Calumet panels and build the frames and legs myself out of PVC.

If you have light colored walls and the area you're working in is the size of a typical room inside a home, a black panel can make a big difference in the amount of stray lighting you get on your subject. The other day, I had to use my black backdrop to cover a white wall that was beside the camera because it was bouncing too much light back at the subject. If I had a black panel on hand, it would have made it much easier to block off the stray light. If the walls are black or dark colored or you're in a large area with wall farther out, then stray light probably won't be much of a problem.

besides blocking stray light, a black panel can be very handily placed during product photography of glass and metal to remove unwanted sheen/highlight...'neg​ative lighting'

I use the black panels all time. In a small studio they prove invaluable for keeping stray light from reaching the lens or from contaminating your background with light from the subject area.

Wilt wrote in post #4070967
besides blocking stray light, a black panel can be very handily placed during product photography of glass and metal to remove unwanted sheen/highlight...'neg​ative lighting'

Yes, another good reason for having black panels or something that serves the same purpose.