Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

This isn't so much a technical question versus a studio configuration question. I just bought the ABR800 Ringflash with the 30" moon unit & mask set. I did this primarly because I wanted to try and provide some unique catch light reflections in the eyes of my senior portrait customers.

So, I set it up and was doing some testing. I was 'hoping' that the reflection would be large enough to reflect in the iris of the eye rather than just the pupil. I aligned the model looking straight into the lens as well to center the reflection. But, I keep trying to get closer to increase the reflection size in the eye. My new Nikon 70-200 has a minimum focus distance, so I switched to my 85mm prime. The reflection never was larger than the pupil. I haven't tried my 24-70 or my macro because I think it would not flatter the facial features.
The light source itself is nice but I already have a glamour dish that is prtty close to ths in the lighting results.

What am I missing? This is a quote from the 'Studio Flash explained' section in your Help section "With or without the Moon Unit™, the ringflash can also provide interesting catchlights in models' eyes and is, of course, an excellent light source for many product and architectural applications."

Does anyone have some suggested setups for this in a studio to achieve what I thought I could do - or are my expectations to high?

Thanks for any help you might be able to provide.

I used a 47" Octo two and a half feet from a baby and it just barely got into the iris. You're going to have to get CLOSE.

To get a ring catch light larger in the eye, you have two options (well three, I guess).

1. Get closer.
2. Make the ring larger. The 56" MU will do better, as it is almost 2x the size.

The third option is to not make the ring larger, but make the pupils smaller. This can be achieved with brighter modeling lights, or additional lights used for this sole purpose.

A combination of the above may get you where you want to be. Or, it is possible that your intentions are outside the capabilities of the equipment.

Take a reflective sphere, I don't have one so I used a table spoon, and look how small your reflection is. I have photographed chrome auto parts within 2 feet of a 30 foot light bank and still only had a highlight about 1/4 of the top hemisphere. Sorry, physics.