Softboxes or umbrellas?

[Fireball]

I just got some AB800s and have one medium softbox and two shoot-thru umbrellas. Is it advisable to use the softbox mixed with one umbrella or should I purchase another softbox? And if I do get another softbox, I'm guessing I should go larger, right?

I practiced a bit on my daughter but the lighting doesn't seem the same as far as color even though they're both AB800s.

[danchez]

you can mix and match as you wish, just a lot more spill using the umbrellas, especially if you are using them wide open. As far as color, I start each shoot with a grey card, but if I remember correctly, the temp of the AB's are 5600. So I would start there and adjust as you feel necessary.

[nameBrandon]

What power level do you have the AB's set at? You can see color shifts at lower power, 1/16 and under, it's a well documented problem.

You can mix umbrellas, softboxes, beauty dish, bare bulb, it all depends on what you're trying to do.

You do have a white balance issue there, though it may not be any fault of your own. What was your lighting setup there, and was there any daylight coming in? I see the catchlight from your softbox high camera left, but what is causing that severe hot spot on the right hand side of her cheek?

[Fireball]

Dan, I didn't think about the grey card. I do have one of those if I can find it. So instead I could set my WB to kelvin at 5600 and go from there, right?

Brandon, I had the softbox on the right so that's where that hot spot comes from. I'm guessing I had it too close? She was sitting on a little step stool (just a quick practice), and I had it about 3 feet from her at her level. It was set between 1/16 and 1/32. The catchlight is from the umbrella which was up high and to my left and was set at 1/32. It was about 4 feet away cuz I only wanted to use it as a fill.

There are four french doors & windows behind me. I'm sure that's where I was getting some odd light too and maybe even too many catchlights. I need to try with a more controlled environment I know.

[Kalrog]

Yeah, they each have their place. I've really started liking the PLMs for most situations because you get most of the benefits of each. But sometimes the lack of spill on the softboxes is perfect.

[nameBrandon]

Ah, I think issue here is just your light positioning.. That was definitely either too close, or too strong, depending on what you're going for. Happens a lot with B800's and people who have a small place to work with.. Two B800's in a small space is a LOT of light, even at lowest power.

I would try a more simple setup with either the softbox or shoot-through umbrella as your only light. If you have a reflector, use that for fill, but I think you'll see better results when you start with one light, especially in a small space. A simple setup is the 45/45 method.. have the light at a 45 degree angle to the subject and at a 45 degree angle above the subject (pointing down at them).

If you have a light meter, use it.. :) Otherwise just look at the LCD after your initial shot and make your aperture smaller (larger number) until you get the look you're going for.

I see your shutter speed was at 1/125.. I would get that as close to your sync speed as you can to avoid any excess ambient light from getting into the exposure. ISO is really your choice, but if you're using studio lighting, normally you turn the lights up, rather than increase your ISO. ISO 100 or 50 is definitely the way to go for the 5DII.

Keep going, I'm looking forward to the next set!!

[Fireball]

Thanks so much Brandon. I'll try that light setup instead.

So when you say my shutter speed should be as close to my sync speed as possible, what do you mean? How do I determine my sync speed? I know on my speedlights it's 250th sec. but how do I figure that for strobes? Or maybe I'm not understanding any of this, lol!

And when you say to turn the lights up, are you talking about the strobe or the overhead lights in the room?

[Fireball]

Oops, never mind about the sync speed. It was answered on my other post.

[nameBrandon]

Originally Posted by Fireball

Thanks so much Brandon. I'll try that light setup instead.

So when you say my shutter speed should be as close to my sync speed as possible, what do you mean? How do I determine my sync speed? I know on my speedlights it's 250th sec. but how do I figure that for strobes? Or maybe I'm not understanding any of this, lol!

And when you say to turn the lights up, are you talking about the strobe or the overhead lights in the room?

Hey Charrie! Sync speed is a function of the camera, not the strobe. I checked, and for the 5D Mark II, sync speed is 1/200. Now some cheaper radio triggers may not work at that, so you might have to settle for 1/160. You'll just have to try it out.

When I say "turn the lights up" I mean power wise.. increase the power.. so going from 1/32 to 1/16 would be turning them up.

What kind of lights do you have for overhead? Light has temperature, and if the overhead lights are tungsten (regular light-bulbs) or fluorescent, it's definitely going to impact the overall temperature (white balance) if ambient light (overhead lights) mix with the light from your strobes.

An easy way to tell is to set your shutter at 1/160 and your aperture to whatever you were going to use for the photo (I'm usually around f8-f11 indoors), and then take a photo without your strobes. If it comes back black, you're OK. If you can still see anything, ambient light is getting into your exposure.

[Fireball]

I've ordered the Cybersyncs which should be here next week.

I did have a tungsten light on behind me, but I figured the strobes would overpower it but I'm guessing they weren't powered up enough? Or should I not have any ambient light on?

Cool tip about checking the ambient light. Thanks so much! REALLY appreciate your help.

[arich]

Just like Brandon said, start with no strobes and get your ambient down to where you want it (maybe even gone completely) then add just one light. Work that light position and powerwise to where you want it, remembering that you aren't trying to light the entire photo with it, then add your second light as fill. Think of the light as building blocks or layers of paint; the ambient is your base and then you build on it with your first light, second, third, etc.

Also, for this particular photo, I would reverse what you're trying to do with your lights. By that I mean that I would raise your soft box up and use it as the key (you could do it with your umbrella too, just a matter of taste) and make it your key light and use the lower side light as fill instead of vice versa. You might also see what you can do to throw more light on her hair and separate her from the background a bit more.
If you aren't familiar with key light and fill light and whatnot check out this site Three Point Lighting Tutorial also look at Dave Hobby's Strobist blog (Strobist) for fantastic tutorials.

[Fireball]

Thanks Andrew, will do!

[contributor_M]

What Andrew and Brandon are saying are spot feckin' on!

until recently, my main problem was lighting position. I'm not working on putting what I've learnt into practice. This should go without saying, but keep practicing.

Oh, and you will love your Cybersyncs. I bought some and if these were to break somehow, I wouldn't hesitate buying another set.