Use my two studio lights or buy a 2nd flash?

I've been doing a lot of indoor portraiture recently and have a fair amount of experience with using my 2 Alien Bees B800s. I have a Canon 430EX flash that I have to say, I'm not great with. For some reason I'm much more comfortable with the strobes than the flash sitting in my hotshoe and I don't know why that is.

So I have two clients who I've done indoor portraits for in the past, that want me to shoot them outside.

Assuming I'll need some sort of lighting (fill or otherwise), I can either buy a second flash unit (430, 580, whatever), or for roughly the same price (maybe lower) I can purchase a Vagabond II portable power pack for the studio lights.

Obviously the smaller strobes would be a lot easier to transport and move, but the larger Bees would probably be better overall.

Any thoughts on what the better investment would be?

Also, I do shooot events, and when I'm shooting indoors with my flash I seem to be fine. But it's when I mix with sunlight that I'm really having the issues.

Thanks

Since you already know how to use manual flash (and I presume you have a meter?), why not start by using the 430EX by itself, off-camera with a PC cord or radio trigger of some sort.

It sounds like you need to come to grips with mixing ambient and flash before you add to your gear pile. With a hotshoe adapter (and probably an umbrella adapter), you can use the 430EX to climb that learning curve before shelling out serious cash.

Curtis N wrote in post #5658425
It sounds like you need to come to grips with mixing ambient and flash before you add to your gear pile.

Yup, that's exactly what I need to do. Maybe I need to not worry about ETTL and put the flash in manual. Or is that not a good way to start?

I've tried shooting with fill outside, camera in AV and flash in ETTL, and I seem to get crappy results. I guess I'm not sure where to start with it.

waple wrote in post #5659870
Maybe I need to not worry about ETTL and put the flash in manual. Or is that not a good way to start?

Both E-TTL and manual flash have their place. I always use manual flash (with a light meter) for when I have a cooperative subject (portrait client). I know what I'm going to get, every time. Once you get comfortable with the concept, you can use the same approach with Speedlites or studio strobes and a power pack.

I use a Sekonic L-358 which tells me the percent flash in each reading, which saves a little time and is a godsend for the mathematically challenged.

When using E-TTL, start with the camera in M mode and meter the background, then adjust FEC to get the flash exposure you want. Av mode will react to your subject clothing and composition and give you less predictable results.

Hi wapple,
Why not use the sun as your hair light and use a reflector as the main? Put the sun behind your subjects and bring a reflector in close to the faces. Spot meter the hair/sun light and adjust the reflector for one stop slower. Kind of flat but natural looking. Easier than flash. Sparky

Thanks for the info. I've been puting my camera in M and flash in ETTL and results are much better. The only thing I don't like is having to meter the background first when I go to different lighting conditions, but it's what needs to be done.

When setting the FEC, I'm not sure where to set it for an accurate exposure. If I set it to +-0, does that mean it'll light the subject for a "perfect" exposure and taking ambient light into account? So if I'm outside, and there's bright overhead sunlight, and I want to fill the shadows, how do I know whether to set my FEC to 0 or -1 or what? Other than taking a test shot that is.

As far as the sun as the hairlight, that's a good idea, but I have a client who wants to be taken in a particular spot where there's no sun behind them, but rather reletively shady.

I have a model coming over in a couple days and I'm going to try, barring the mosquitos, several shots with the studio strobes and the flash outside.

Getting a handle on the best FEC setting for fill flash can be quite a challenge. First, you need to adjust to account for subject luminance (white dress vs. black tux). Then you need to consider how much of the exposure you want the flash to contribute.

If your subject is in the shade and the sun is shining on the background, the flash will need to contribute the majority of the total exposure on the subject. If your subject is in the same light as the shade as the background, you won't want nearly as much flash.

In other words, it's a matter of forethought, practice and experience.

waple wrote in post #5734138
I have a client who wants to be taken in a particular spot where there's no sun behind them, but rather reletively shady.

My opinion is it's usually better to not use flash at all in those cases.

You're used to off camera lighting from your strobes. Check into radio triggers, and possibly a cheap flash you can set manually to complement your 430. Two light stands w/ umbrella adapters, radio triggers, and a few flashes give you a pretty portable setup, and it'll already be quite familiar to you.

I will toss in for then no-flash solution. With a good sized silver reflector, you will be able to bounce back a decent amount of light. IMHO, shooting outside and mixing the sunlight with flash has to be done really well or it looks weird. Fake-ish.