Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

I'm finally going to pull the trigger on a beauty dish.
I need it for outdoor shots, full sun (all hours of the day). I'll be using it on a WL x3200.

I need to light a model, full length, on a car. I don't need it to light the entire car, I'll have other lights helping with that, but I do need it to light the model from head to toe. Is the beam spread on the silver enough to light a full person from about 10 to 12 ft back? If not, would the white one on my light be powerful enough to accomplish what I need from those distances?

I've been using an octo and I'm pushing the limitations of it. It really needs to be closer than I can get it.

I'd like something a little more efficient so I can power down the strobe, speed up my recycle, and reduce the use of my VML. I own the PLM but it's not really an option to use it outdoors without a hired hand to hold it, and even then it can be a chore to hold on to.

Beam spread with the silver BD at 10 feet, even when gridded to 30 degrees, is just over 7 feet. By itself the silver BD has a 45 degree spread so you should easily cover the model. You might want to use a boom - it will help with positioning the BD. It's so big and flat that it can be hard to tilt it down too much if it's just on a lightstand. This might be less of an issue with the WL depending on where the stand attaches to it.

The silver BD is very efficient. If you put the diffusion sock on it it reduces the output by a few stops but hugely spreads the light - virtually room filling. The silver BD plus diffusion sock is said to be comparable to the white BD without sock, so I opted for silver. I think it gives you more options. The sock is easy and quick to install because the BD is rigid. (Sometimes it takes me a minute to get the diffusion panel on a PLM.)

Freaking awesome! Good to know.
Thanks so much. I'm ordering tonight.
I have a couple of the baby boomer offset arms so I should be able to aim that BD straight down with that on......I hesitate to use a boom on location. I'm working with cars that cost upwards of $150,000.00, and while I have insurance, my rule of thumb when working with them is to keep the light far enough away that if the stand were to tip it won't hit the car. Some of the paint jobs on these cars cost 20 to 30 grand and were done by painters half way across the country.

I think I might order myself a grid as well so I can further reduce the output of my strobe and refine the light. Right now I'm just using a octobox and it sort of just blasts an area with light. It looks OK, but it's not really setting my photos apart.

Thanks again man, much appreciated.