strobe for background? help.

I've just invested in some lighting equipment and am stumped as to the best background light I can get for the least amount of money. I blew the roll on a Elinchrom Ranger 1100 ws, the 74 inch octabank,skyport triggers, and thought I'd be able to use some combination of reflector/550 ex and 580 ex for fill light/background/hair.

I think I want a monolight ?? I don't want to have to use the power pack from the ranger. Would a monolight provide better/more consistent background coverage? I understand that Genesis stuff works with elinchrom? I only have a $350 budget, but could probably spend a bit more without wrecking my 25 year marriage. I have combed the boards trying to find the answer, but I got nuthin'. help.

I have 1,870 posts on this forum, mostly offering help to others and rarely asking for help. Nobody has any opinions here? Seriously?

2 Genesis monolights on a background would be great on a background. For $400, you can get the Genesis 200 kit. Can't beat it for the price. Hope that helps.

Well Sue, what light you need to light the background has a lot to do with the background and the pose you intend to do on the background. If the background is white and you want to keep it white and you are shooting head and shoulders down to 3/4 length poses a single monolight directly behind the subject aimed at the background will do just fine. The light will need to be powerful enough to put about 1.5 to 2 stops more light on the background than what is on the subject.

For full length shots on a white background you will probably need two lights one on either side or suspended from the ceiling. You COULD use the one single light behind the subject but you will have to clone out the power cord everytime.

If you have a black background and you want a spot of color on it, a gelled strobe will work.

I actually use several different lights to light my backgrounds. I have three strobes suspended from the ceiling for my high key images in my high key camera room. I have a 150 WS strobe with a gel holder for my gray and black backgounds. I have a Morris Bare Bulb Slave strobe which adds just a kiss of light to any background. Some backgrounds don't need any light to look good.

Benji

Don't ya just hate that when nobody responds grrrrrr! I am in the same predicament as you.
Are you looking for lighting for your studio or do you want to be able to take the lights on location shoots?
My quest is for my studio so what I am going to get are lights to hang from the ceiling. That way they will not eat up any more of my studio floor space to. I will post more as I search around and see what I come up with. Good luck!
Check out this..some good info.
http://www.paulcbuff.c​om …1b44af25255c158​f561f1bd39

QueenChatty wrote in post #11828708
Don't ya just hate that when nobody responds grrrrrr! I am in the same predicament as you.

http://www.paulcbuff.c​om …1b44af25255c158​f561f1bd39

I don't know why I got so pissy about that. ha ha. I guess it was because I always search the forum and try and find the answers myself, because I can't stand it when people post questions like "I just got a DSLR and want to be a professional photographer. How do I start?" and they get 50 replies. I don't typically ask for help, but spend a lot of time writing long posts helping others, so it kind of irked me that one of the few times I have asked for help, I got no replies. I shouldn't have posted that second post, but there 'tis.

In any event, I DID get a couple of helpful replies, so thank you. I'm going to probably buy a couple of genesis monolights and should be pretty well set for now in regards to lighting. I had been hoping that I'd be able to provide consistent background lighting with my 550 and 580's, but I can see now that only really works well in certain situations.

Thanks for taking the time to reply guys, sorry for being Suzie Crankypants over it all. ; )

suecassidy wrote in post #11830880
I don't typically ask for help, but spend a lot of time writing long posts helping others, so it kind of irked me that one of the few times I have asked for help, I got no replies. I shouldn't have posted that second post, but there 'tis.

As a recipient of said help, I appreciate the time you take to do that. Unfortunately, I don't have a lot to offer in return but an honest "thank you".

suecassidy wrote in post #11830880
Thanks for taking the time to reply guys, sorry for being Suzie Crankypants over it all.

Thats okay, Sue. Many of us look but don't offer suggestions because we haven't anything useful to say on that particular topic...but we learn from the answers that DO come in!

Anyway, it doesn't hurt to throw a minor hissy fit every so often...keeps us on our toes!

Thanks Nes and Ricardo. I only feel like a minor idiot now, you graciously let me off the faux pas hook. Is it time for happy hour yet?

There was a Genesis 2 light kit in the market place at a decent price. They are very nice lights, good luck.