Why spend money on Profoto vs Alien Bees?

M Powered wrote in post #5627038
You'll be god if you can

Lets play....

Tell me what light was used to light this.

Uh huh...

But before we play, let's figure out if anybody can read light... at least approximately.

IE: What modifiers used, what ratios, where the hair light, rim light is... etc.

After we get THAT part down, we can play your games.

M Powered wrote in post #5627038
Tell me what light was used to light this.

Just a WAG, but it looks like some sort of beauty dish or ring flash.

DocFrankenstein wrote in post #5627066
Uh huh...

But before we play, let's figure out if anybody can read light... at least approximately.

IE: What modifiers used, what ratios, where the hair light, rim light is... etc.

After we get THAT part down, we can play your games.

I can usually tell by the shadows as to what light modifier is used.

So I take it you are the most qualified on this subject (based on the responses) lets have you get a crack at the picture and tell us

M Powered wrote in post #5627094
I can usually tell by the shadows as to what light modifier is used.

So I take it you are the most qualified on this subject (based on the responses) lets have you get a crack at the picture and tell us

Looks like someone bought the cheap bee ringlight, made a cliche shot of the model hugging her face and then inverted it in post processing... supposedly because it makes the picture "un-boring". There also seems to be a diffusion panel (or a wall) to the left.

Also, the guy doesn't know how to use a lightmeter... or fill light... make your choice.

But most importantly, there's boobs, the model's hot and the MUA did her job... this automatically makes it a good picture... at least in his mind, doesn't it?

yikes.

DocFrankenstein wrote in post #5627143
Looks like someone bought the cheap bee ringlight, made a cliche shot of the model hugging her face and then inverted it in post processing... supposedly because it makes the picture "un-boring". There also seems to be a diffusion panel (or a wall) to the left.

Also, the guy doesn't know how to use a lightmeter... or fill light... make your choice.

But most importantly, there's boobs, the model's hot and the MUA did her job... this automatically makes it a good picture... at least in his mind, doesn't it?

lol, wow wrong in all assumptions , except for one about the model being hot

No ring light was used, didn't invert it in post, she was upside down and there was no diffusion panel and there was no MUA

Want to play some more?

Double Negative wrote in post #5620488
Quite honestly, AB mods kinda, well, suck. They're cheap. On the softboxes, for example, you can have hot spots (they don't have internal baffles/diffusers).

The AB strobes are actually pretty decent. They can however, be very inconsistent between pops at lowered power settings. You usually compete with the sun in your shots, so I assume near full power? Might only show itself in more controlled studio shots also...

Agreed on both counts. I have White Lightning strobes, but the same issues apply as to ABs. AB mod quality isn't necessarily a problem since you can get 3rd party mods that fit on ABs. The inconsistency is a problem though. I've shot at very low power with these lights (How do people shoot at high power in the studio without stopping down their lenses to minimum aperture? Must be using some fierce light-reducing mods!), and although the differences are only 1/3-2/3 of a stop from shot to shot it's still more work to be done in post and would be nice to not have to deal with. I've also noticed that color balance doesn't stay the same at all output levels. Those are two things that the more expensive brands offer that may or may not be worth your money: consistent output levels and light temps. For the occasional shooter like me, definitely not worth it. If you do this all day every day, then the extra thousands are a small price to pay for less post work, predictable results, etc.

M Powered wrote in post #5627173
lol, wow wrong in all assumptions , except for one about the model being hot

No ring light was used, didn't invert it in post, she was upside down and there was no diffusion panel and there was no MUA

Want to play some more?

And it wasn't shot with a bee?
And she's not wearing makeup?
And the eyes aren't photoshopped to white while increasing color saturation?

Do tell me how you lit that thing, then... or post the original with the real catchlights if you photoshopped it to trick ppl.

JakPot wrote in post #5620770
my large AB foldable softbox does have an internal diffuser. Which softbox are you referring to?

Just realized I never answered this; apologies. I'm not sure anymore offhand, but I was investigating SBs and of course checked out AB (since I have AB800s) and the picture clearly did not show anything inside - baffles or diffusers.

I notice that the picture people store in our local mall shoots with AB1600's

DocFrankenstein wrote in post #5627234
And it wasn't shot with a bee?
And she's not wearing makeup?
And the eyes aren't photoshopped to white while increasing color saturation?

Do tell me how you lit that thing, then... or post the original with the real catchlights if you photoshopped it to trick ppl.

That shot was done in another studio that was lit by.... yup you guessed it, NOT Alien Bee. Its some generic brand strobe unit with a large softbox. Fill was a gelled 580EXII bounced into oblivion.

Yes the catch light was obviously photoshoped, didn't spend a great deal of time making an authentic one; hell didn't even spend a great deal of time on that image. Lets not talk about Make up

M Powered wrote in post #5627279
Yes the catch light was obviously photoshoped...

A ha!

Double Negative wrote in post #5627291
A ha!

Figures. Not exactly a fair "how was this lit" test if you're gonna go and add fake ring light catchlights in post.

Every great image I've ever seen was photoshopped or darkroomed in some way. His point is...you can't really tell when all's said and done.

M Powered wrote in post #5620467
Okay, lets see if I don't get flamed off the board. I'm using cheapo Alien Bees and Photoflex strobes and softboxes, for my use they do a great job, especially with PW's.

Now question is why would I need to upgrade to Profoto's or Broncolor? Or any other high end strobe ?

Clearly you wouldn't.

On the other hand if you were shooting medium or large format at ISO 50, stopping down to f/11-f/22, having to pay film/back rental costs and expensive studio time for every shot that was slightly off-colour or off-exposure and working with clients breathing down your neck and examining every shot seconds after it was taken, I guarantee you'd find it hard to work with lights that are low-powered and lacking in consistency.