WCWC924 wrote:
I've owned my alienbee's since February and I still haven't learned how to correctly use the modeling lamp to have WYSIWYG results. I have 1 b1600 and 2 b800s. My modifiers are the Octobox from the busy bee package, the 20° grid for the reflector, and the PLM umbrella. I originally thought because my low ceilings and the light bouncing everywhere was my issue, but now that I just moved into a place with huge ceilings I'm still having problems getting it right.
Before the Bees I shot with speedlites, so I was excited for this feature. And new to it. Can anyone share some tips on how to get some good results?
Not to at all discount what Paul C. Buff said because I am quite sure he right, but I have never used modeling lights for WYSIWYG. I have only used them to check the direction of light, placement of shadows, to reduce pupil dialation as much as possible, etc. Remember, AlienBees are strobe lights - not hot/constant lights.
When I want to exactly control
brightness (exposure) in areas of a portrait, I just flashmeter each strobe separately. I don't know of an easier and more sure way to do it. For a three-light setup it usually takes 5 minutes or less, and in this DSLR age you just use the LCD to see if you are getting what you want.
We can't know for sure what type of look you want, but hopefully this example might help a bit:
If I am putting F/5.6 worth of strobe light on my subject's face and I want rear/shoulder light on a backdrop to be two stops lower, then I flashmeter that STROBE output (not modeling light output) to F/2.8.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/92211832@N04/13884128176/A full description of the light setup for this portrait is below the photo.
There are of course variables that will affect the result. A gridded softbox was used here as keylight. If an umbrella was used instead, the overall light would have been much flatter and less directional, and the rear light would be much less defined. The subject here was about 7 or 8 feet away from the backdrop. If everything else was kept equal and he was moved closer to the backdrop, the light on the backup would again become flattened out and less defined. The farther he is moved away from the backdrop, the greater the light fall-off behind him would become. The light on the backdrop would also appear tighter and more defined because it would appear smaller relative to the size of the subject and also due to being farther away. BTW, this was done on location; the room was large but the ceilings were relatively low - probably 8 feet high.
This was a pretty straight-forward portrait, but I can't imagine using modeling lights for WYSIWYG exposure when it comes to something like this re-creation of Normal Rockwell's "Girl at Mirror" where metering had to be absolutely exact to get the strobe/light ratios right:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/92211832@N04/8381528124/As Tech Support also said, an ND filter has nothing to do with WYSIWYG. If you want to shoot your keylight at F/1.4 and you are already at you lowest ISO but the lowest you can reduce your strobe output to and meter it at is F/2.8, that is where the ND filter comes in. Side note/reminder: you can ND strobes as well as lenses.
Craíg
http://www.craigwasselphotoart.com