Studio Lighting
Lately I've been really focusing on indoor shoots, loving and wanting to learn the art and techniques it takes to have beautiful well lit pictures with a softness about them. Its the one animal I hadn't ventured to learn all that well. Mostly because it scared me a little. Shooting outdoors was easy and the light at the right time of day always seemed to do the trick. It wasn't until I became a little bored with the same old thing that I began to get curious about indoor photography. Along this journey I've tried lots of different equipment/brands. You may have read my past social media spread about one of my favorite light sources the Yongnuo flash. It works great on and off the camera. I love it and plan on having several. At the price you pay for them you can afford to have a few and not worry if one drops and accidentally brakes. I love to use it indoor and out. If I need more light I use them in conjunction with a couple of my 600 watt continuous lights. As great as these elements are to my studio I just wasn't getting the look I wanted. After months of debating, reading reviews and trying new things I went ahead and splurged on the AlienBee B800 along with a heavy duty stand from Paul Bluff. Also invested a little in a 50X50 Westcott soft box. I haven't looked back since! As with any new equipment it can be a little intimidating once out of the box ready to be put together. Can I say I have never found anything simpler than these items to put together and attach. It took literally just a few minutes to set up the strobe. Mounted it on the stand and it was good to go. The soft box was almost as simple. Unlike many soft boxes it opens like an umbrella and can be mounted without a speed ring to the strobe. This made it super simple and fast to put up and take down. The one thing I wasn't ready for was the size of the soft box... Below is our family room area (its a good size family room) and the soft box just dominated! Make sure you have plenty of room for this monster.
After I set up I ran to get my camera excited like any photography geek would be to do a couple test shots. I turned my setting to F9 300 Shutter speed and ISO 100. I was inside and those settings would almost make certain the image in my before shot would be dark if not almost completely black. Thats what I wanted. A before and after with the same camera settings showing the difference. I also wanted to see what the strobe could do at only 1/4 of its power. Ready to do some tests shots I grabbed the closest thing to me (my 3 year old, who was running around in only her ballet tights) and took just a few shots. Below you can see the before and after. To say the least I was blown away at the way the light/softbox combo distributed the light perfectly. It also gives a gorgeous soft look with a little warmth to it. Totally LOVE and highly recommend! Anyone looking to add some new equipment should definitely check out https://paulcbuff.corecommerce.com for lights as well as Westcott soft boxes on Amazon. you will not regret the investment!
BEFORE
AFTER
