Alien Bees Users Check In (2)

gonzogolf wrote in post #14835859
It greatly depends on how much ambient you are dealing with, and how much strobe you are using. Use the sunny 16 rule as a starting point and work backwards. If ISO 100 gets you a shutter speed of 1/100 @f16 on a sunny day, then 1/200 gets you to f/11. A 3 stop filter gets you to F4. If you drop down to ISO 50 you can squeeze down another stop. Keep in mind that your strobe power balance with the sun doesnt change when you add ND filters as both are accounted for. You still need a lot of strobe even though you are getting a larger aperture.

Thanks alot for that! Would a 0.6 ND filter from B+W be a bit too little? I'm thinking about buying a B+W 1.8 ND 106 Filter. Seeing that is a 6 stop, would stacking two 0.6 ND's be slightly better?

BryantFC wrote in post #14836423
Thanks alot for that! Would a 0.3 ND filter from B+W be a bit too little? I'm thinking about buying a B+W 1.8 ND 106 Filter. Seeing that is a 6 stop, would stacking two 0.3 ND's be slightly better?

I think a 0.3 ND filter is one stop, I wouldnt bother with that as a good CPL will give you that.

For use with a flash I would probably pick a 3 or 4 stop filter. I have a 2 stop filter and its honestly not quite enough. Anything darker than 4 stops you begin to have issues with it being too dark to focus accurately and compose comfortably. As for stacking, I'm not a big fan. It works but the more filters you put on the more you risk flare and light bouncing around in there. Plus on a wider lens you get vignetting if you stack, although thats not likely to be a problem with a good portrait lens.

gonzogolf wrote in post #14836448
I think a 0.3 ND filter is one stop, I wouldnt bother with that as a good CPL will give you that.

For use with a flash I would probably pick a 3 or 4 stop filter. I have a 2 stop filter and its honestly not quite enough. Anything darker than 4 stops you begin to have issues with it being too dark to focus accurately and compose comfortably. As for stacking, I'm not a big fan. It works but the more filters you put on the more you risk flare and light bouncing around in there. Plus on a wider lens you get vignetting if you stack, although thats not likely to be a problem with a good portrait lens.

Ah okay, yeah i edited my previous post. I current'y have a 2 stop ND filter for my 50L and 35L. I might just pick up a 4 stop ND and see how that works and if i need more, i can just stack another one on top of it.

BryantFC wrote in post #14836423
Thanks alot for that! Would a 0.3 ND filter from B+W be a bit too little? I'm thinking about buying a B+W 1.8 ND 106 Filter. Seeing that is a 6 stop, would stacking two 0.3 ND's be slightly better?

I used the B&W 6 stop ND filter this past weekend in Cali. Brought my Einstein, cheetah stand and Kacey beauty dish with Vagabond mini out to Newport beach. Shot with my 135 f2.0, wide open. Middday around 1pm, 6 stop ND filter, with my B&W Circular Polarizer stacked. I was able to get down to shutter speeds of 1/200, f2.0, and I think I was at 200 ISO. Not sure on the ISO 100% though

Oh wow really. Thanks alot for that info Ultimachi! I'll see which route i'll go. Lovely photos btw! Next month i'm picking up a vagabond and some other stands so i'd figure that it's time to pick up a strong ND filter to use during daylight. I shoot mostly aroound 1-3 PM and 5-7PM ish during the summer. So hopefully it'll work out!

ultimachi wrote in post #14836472
I used the B&W 6 stop ND filter this past weekend in Cali. Brought my Einstein, cheetah stand and Kacey beauty dish with Vagabond mini out to Newport beach. Shot with my 135 f2.0, wide open. Middday around 1pm, 6 stop ND filter, with my B&W Circular Polarizer stacked. I was able to get down to shutter speeds of 1/200, f2.0, and I think I was at 200 ISO. Not sure on the ISO 100% though

Sounds cool. Got any sample pics?

Congrats on the pickup! I've got a 3 stop (really 2.5 stop) Hoya ND and it works great. I can always add my B+W CPL to cut a little more light and with that setup I can usually shoot around f/2.8 ISO 50 and my max sync speed with my Cactus V5's which is 1/160th. Here's one from yesterday.

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …g_photography/7​750417736/

ni$mo350 wrote in post #14838257
Congrats on the pickup! I've got a 3 stop (really 2.5 stop) Hoya ND and it works great. I can always add my B+W CPL to cut a little more light and with that setup I can usually shoot around f/2.8 ISO 50 and my max sync speed with my Cactus V5's which is 1/160th. Here's one from yesterday.

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …g_photography/7​750417736/
Molly of SLU test shoot by ChrisG Photography, on Flickr

In my view, this needs to be shot with a lens much longer than 48mm at a distance of 1.54M.
Her legs/knees are way too distorted compared to her torso/head.

That aside, its nice light and pose. The skin retouching may be a bit over done.

thenextguy wrote in post #14836779
Sounds cool. Got any sample pics?

Just started processing them last night. I'm at work now, but will try to get one up next week....possibly this weekend but could be busy with another shoot.

dmward wrote in post #14838811
In my view, this needs to be shot with a lens much longer than 48mm at a distance of 1.54M.
Her legs/knees are way too distorted compared to her torso/head.

That aside, its nice light and pose. The skin retouching may be a bit over done.

Thanks David! I'm still getting used to my new 24-70. I'm far more comfortable with longer focal lengths. I've shot with 2 70-200's, 85 and 135 for a majority of my portrait work and prefer to compression but needed to get something wider to use for my smaller studio. I will have to pay more attention in the future though! Here's another of Molly

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …g_photography/7​755448492/

That's beautiful Chris .

Thanks!

ultimachi wrote in post #14790816
This. Is. Amazing!

This was one light? Wow. What time of day was this shot? ND filter used? Great shot. Wow!

Thanks for the kind words.

One light (Einstein in Octabox) plus a reflector to fill in some shadows under the chin.

No ND filters used (something I want to invest in one day however).

Harsh mid-day sun.

Here is a shot without any strobes. Just getting the ambient light.

^wow, that's pretty awesome! thanks for that info . that shot is really awesome though (the edited one)

ni$mo350 wrote in post #14841691
Thanks David! I'm still getting used to my new 24-70. I'm far more comfortable with longer focal lengths. I've shot with 2 70-200's, 85 and 135 for a majority of my portrait work and prefer to compression but needed to get something wider to use for my smaller studio. I will have to pay more attention in the future though! Here's another of Molly

Nice Chris.
It hard when space is tight. I would much rather be using something like a 70-200 for even a 3/4 shot like this one.

I shot a session where I was probably 20 feet from the model with a 70-200 for full length shots.