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GenuineRolla wrote in post #9823299
Also depends how far away the modifier is from the subject...and the position of the sun and the subject.

Try it so that the sun is on the side or somewhere behind the subject. Use the light to fill in the shadow side of the subject and see how it looks. Remember, you can get the sky to look stupid blue if you're shooting 90 degree's from the sun.

This shot was taken in the direct sun using only my B800's

Do you have a setup shot for that pic?
I'm doing a shoot on Saturday and was going to see how dark I could get the sky with one AB800; I will deffs try at 90 degrees to the sun no, thanks!

Love them but have been told the 200's are the only ones the Vagabond is compatible with. I'm thinking they may not provide enough power to overcome the sun.

I just received my 42" PLM, man it seems small. Question. I ordered the black/silver cover and it fits really tight is this normal??

My first Alien Bees got here this afternoon. I got 2 AB800s, the white beauty dish, barn doors and a 13 foot stand. Here's a quick shot I took to check a Bee out with the beauty dish. The sloppy hair/rim light is from an old Interfit Stellar 600 that had already been sitting there and I decided to make quick use of.

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Slicer wrote in post #9823805
Nice! What were your settings, on camera and bees. Did you use a filter or pull the skies with PP?

The B1600 was on full power with the sock over it. It was situated high camera right (no boom) and tilted downward towards the subject. My ambient reading was 200 at f9. Since I wanted my background underexposed, I stopped down to f11. I also had a CP on the lens. The only PP was curves and some sharpening. It's amazing, u can actually make the BG darker by maintaining the shutter speed and stopping down even more, but u may have to bring the light closer to your subject. I need a boom!!

i really like the transition of the sky!

That's tight Robert. How many lights you using? Also, 1600's or 800's? Looks like you need a lot of juice for that!

Robert and GenuineRolla, are y'all using some sort of plugin in PP? I notice alot of shots with this type of PP (which I like), and am wondering how it is done (almost a kind of HDR feel, but not).

Robert's is a composite I believe. Not shot at the actual location.

^Yeah, it looks like the WB is off, and the angles/shadows, etc.

I think the "PP Plug-in" someone asked about is just underexposed backgrounds with backlighting to make the subjects pop... Then, there is obviously a lot of PP involved, too... Haha

edgar-Junior wrote in post #9822947
ABee 800 with Beauty Dish.......

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Hey Edgar... great photo. Getting even better with those AB's

wamguy89 wrote in post #9827009
^Yeah, it looks like the WB is off, and the angles/shadows, etc.

I think the "PP Plug-in" someone asked about is just underexposed backgrounds with backlighting to make the subjects pop... Then, there is obviously a lot of PP involved, too... Haha

Ya, but they *almost* have that "painted" look to them like you find with http://www.lucisart.co​m/ just a touch though.

Rob,
I agree with your assessment. A "Beauty Dish" with a sock over it is essentially a 22" hard shelled "soft box".

It seems that there is much talk about which modifier is attached to a light without regard for whether it is delivering the light modifying characteristics the modifier is intended to deliver.

Edger's shot of the young lady is a very nice shot. And it has nothing to do with using a BD. Considering how soft the shadows are and the transitions it looks more like a large panel or even an overcast sky.

I'm looking for a foldable softbox (mediumish) that I can use on my SB800 speedlight AND alien bee's. Is there such an animal? Is it just a speedring away?