Portable studio for automotive photo shoots/portraits

I realize everyone loves the Alien Bee line up, so I was planning on going that route with maybe a 2 800's and a 400, or maybe 3 800's, or maybe even just 3 400's. I am a little bit up in the air right now, I don't know if you can tell. I have two Sigma 500 Supers that I have previously used for photo shoots but I have acquired some contracts with a couple local buisnesses and it is time to do some upgrades. I can still use the sigmas as bacground lights, so the three main lights will primarily light the vehicles.

I have been scouring this site for info. I have also been scouring B&H for the past week and have not gotten much closer than I was last week.

My main concern is that my main locations are outside with no access to any electrical outlet, I dont know if my car counts as one, but I will leave that question till the end.

I have found out that there are battery powered strobes on B&H, but they are pretty expensive and well out of my price range for a well powered unit. For the shots that I am doing the cars will be stationary against various backgrounds. What power strobes would you recommend? I am planning on shooting through soft boxes if that helps.

What are some real options for portable power, can I use a running car as a power source? What type of converter can I use to power all three strobes?

My limit is around 1500 bucks for everything including stands boxes power, heads, transmitter/recievers.

Thanks for any help.
Any help is appreciated.

Im looking into doing location shots as well. One thing you may not have thought of is getting a onboard generator for your truck-- if you have one-- . They can be expensive but a lot less hassle than remembering to recharge and remember to bring them with you, And regular lights are cheeper than battery ones. And you can rent better/bigger ones as needed. I dont remember seeing any generators for cars so ignore me if you dont have a truck.

If you are already looking at the AB800 (I'd suggest getting 3 of the same as it makes it easier to set ratio's) you should look into the Vagabond battery pack. It will provide a few hundred flashes for your set up and it only cost about $300.

Redfish wrote in post #5237320
If you are already looking at the AB800 (I'd suggest getting 3 of the same as it makes it easier to set ratio's) you should look into the Vagabond battery pack. It will provide a few hundred flashes for your set up and it only cost about $300.

I agree with Red....
I am also looking into getting bigger lights and opted to purchase the Alien Bees. In that purchase I'm getting the Vagabound along with the lights. I've tried hauling a generator with lights before and that was a huge hassle, unless you have a truck.

Mark, I know SnowManZ has seen this, but maybe you haven't: A few Car Lighting Tips - Updated

Personally, if I had a model in the shot, I'd only use one strobe with a warming gell to light the model & use natural light for the rest.

Great read PhotosGuy!
The generator I'm thinking of is not a stand alone unit. It mounts under the hood and runs off your motor. A lot like a alternator, but generates 110V. Im sure you can custom nount onr to a car, But there are bolt on kits for trucks.
Just leave your car idleing....Half looks like an alternator.... Here is the business end....

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If you want to power strobes, here's another option:
http://www.innovatroni​x.com …oductid=323&cat​egoryid=42

What types of automotive shots are you trying for? Speedlites are capable of on-location shoots for most jobs. Here's a shot I took a few days ago

I am going to be doing a lot of night shots, with bikes and cars. I am also going to be doing more and more indoor stuff as I make my way to having my own studio. That is the goal anyhow. I am going to try for more than just the normal day to day stuff and try to focus on product photo type shots. I have used my two Sigma strobes somewhat well, but I can see a difference in the quality of my work when I try to immitate Major company adds. I want the nice soft light effects to be able to set my self apart from the rest.

I just got a Vagabond on eBay for cheap yester day, so this is a great link for me, this Tronix Explorer does two lights. Awesome, thanks. I will be doing most of my shopping on ebay, so that will save me a lot of money in my studio build.

Thanks again for the link.

Kris

P.S. I dont have a truck but thanks to MarkI for the link to a very useful power source for mobile shoots.

Dont worry with the "major ads" they have way to much photochopping to them. Id say 90% of them have the car shot in a studio, then cut and paste on to a pretty scene. I used to know someone who did it for Pontiac. It sounds like you have thought it out and may be up to topping these ads with REAL shots!

I'm half into offroading and know guys with welders mounted under the hood in case of breakage. Talking to them I found out they also make "normal" generators as well. And since i'm about to get a new truck I have been looking into them. They can be handy in so many ways but take up about as much room as a shoebox.

Sn1peR I am at work right now so I cant see your pictures. photobucket is blocked for us. I will have to check it out later.

AsianGuy I can see yours though.

Great shot SnlpeR!!!

WAIT! Not me!

You'd be surprised how little PS work was done to our actual car images, though. We used to shoot in the studio & on location in the early/late light, so whatever background it was finally used with was not material to how the car actually looked.

OTOH, there were a lot of car shooter wannabes out there who needed all the help they could get.
We had these guys from CA come in & rent a studio for an AMC shoot. They brought what had to be the biggest stand alone cine tripod there was, probably for a 70mm cam. On it they put a Nikon F. Then they rummaged around in our lights & found a 50,000wt bare bulb & hung it high like the sun. It was really hard to keep from bursting out laughing whenever we had to go into that studio to show them where something they needed was.

But when you see a car parked in the sand or snow, or grass... with no tire tracks, sorry but assistants are not that good. They wont lay on the ground and stand each blade back up to make the shot "real" Or even some where the reflection on the car does not match. Mabie my 90% is way high. Thats probably because the mis-matches stand out to me. I'm not downing it at all... ok mabie a tiny bit. I know the manufactures want to have the car shown in its best form. I guess, its just as i just mentioned, the mis-match jumps at me.

As long as we're posting pics of car shots here's mine. Two sunpack 383's and a little peanut light behind the wheel.

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