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Re: Shelter Portrait [Re: James Morrissey] #18769
11/22/08 10:19 AM
11/22/08 10:19 AM
Joined: Nov 2008
Kansas
psmith Offline
Pooh-Bah
psmith  Offline
Pooh-Bah

Joined: Nov 2008
Kansas
Quote:


As to the set-up, it was a two light set-up (I usually use 3, but I needed to call in one of the poles for the back-drop due to some technical difficulties). I almost always use speedlights these days with Fong Domes attached. Monolights take up too much space in the car, and I rarely see the added benefit when shooting pets. You want good, hard light and the flashes do a great job of providing that.

James




I agree the studio lights take up too much room. And take longer to set up. But you just can't beat the recycle time. I need to practice more with my speedlights, it is way easier not to have to run cords.

Are both flashes off camera, or one on one off?

Re: Shelter Portrait [Re: James Morrissey] #18770
11/22/08 02:12 PM
11/22/08 02:12 PM
Joined: Mar 2005
Florida
Jim Garvie Offline
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Jim Garvie  Offline
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Joined: Mar 2005
Florida
Quote:

Monolights take up too much space in the car, and I rarely see the added benefit when shooting pets. You want good, hard light and the flashes do a great job of providing that.




James,
not sure I agree with that: my AB400s, packed with light stands, take up very little room in my Caravan and I prefer their faster recycle time and the softer, wrap-around light I get from bouncing them off of silver umbrellas.

As for cords, the Vagabond II is a great power source and very portable. I take the ABs everywhere I need to shoot because I know exactly what I'm getting in terms of color temp and output.

I guess it's all a matter of what you prefer and what you're used to using. Since I shoot a lot of shows, I do a lot of setting up and tearing down quickly with the Bees so it's not an issue to bring them to a home or other environment.

Jim


Jim Garvie
www.jagphoto.biz
Re: Shelter Portrait [Re: Jim Garvie] #18771
11/22/08 03:02 PM
11/22/08 03:02 PM
Joined: Nov 2008
Kansas
psmith Offline
Pooh-Bah
psmith  Offline
Pooh-Bah

Joined: Nov 2008
Kansas
Quote:

Quote:

Monolights take up too much space in the car, and I rarely see the added benefit when shooting pets. You want good, hard light and the flashes do a great job of providing that.




James,
not sure I agree with that: my AB400s, packed with light stands, take up very little room in my Caravan and I prefer their faster recycle time and the softer, wrap-around light I get from bouncing them off of silver umbrellas.

As for cords, the Vagabond II is a great power source and very portable. I take the ABs everywhere I need to shoot because I know exactly what I'm getting in terms of color temp and output.

I guess it's all a matter of what you prefer and what you're used to using. Since I shoot a lot of shows, I do a lot of setting up and tearing down quickly with the Bees so it's not an issue to bring them to a home or other environment.

Jim




My problem is that I pack my heads in a big foam cake hardshell case. Good protection, but if I just carried them in the bags it would be easier.

Jim, how many flashes are you getting out of your Vagabond ii? How long to recharge?

Re: Shelter Portrait [Re: psmith] #18772
11/23/08 09:46 AM
11/23/08 09:46 AM
Joined: May 2008
Virginia, USA
Jim Poor Offline
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Jim Poor  Offline
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Joined: May 2008
Virginia, USA
What a cute pup!

I'm partial to shelter dogs since they have been my models for practice since long before I started charging anything for pet photos.

Re: Shelter Portrait [Re: psmith] #18773
11/23/08 09:56 AM
11/23/08 09:56 AM
Joined: Mar 2005
Florida
Jim Garvie Offline
Addict
Jim Garvie  Offline
Addict

Joined: Mar 2005
Florida
Preston,
I get over 1,000 shots out of a charge with 2 AB400s and a recycling time of one second when fresh and 2 seconds near the end of the day. It makes for a very good location setup when you can't run power cords to building AC.

I also use the setup for outdoor portrait sessions where I want to have maximum control over the lighting i.e. late afternoon beach shots with the sun setting behind the model. The Vagabond II is simply a great product, fully portable that functions as it should. Paul Buff makes excellent products and he knows what photographers need.

Now, the 400s may not be as powerful as I'd like but the fact that they aren't makes the recycle time and number of shots so much better. I'm shooting at F8 most of the time at ISO 200 so I have not found them to be ineffective for what I primarily shoot.

Jim


Jim Garvie
www.jagphoto.biz
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