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Since I live Nashville......Paul Bluff's (owner of White Lighting)
company/store is 5 minutes from where I work. I have decided to go with
his Alien Bee line of strobe/flashes. Not just cause they are intown...but
because everything I have read about his product has been glowing. I
realize that I could simply pic his brain and get some good
recommendations...but It would really help to have the opinion of others, as
well.

I will probably go with two B800's......I have two smaller 50 ws Britek
strobes that I can use for backround and hair light.

My question is this: Do I need to purchase a soft box or can the effect
obtained from a soft box be obtained with Photoshop?

What in your opinion is an essential set up for doing studio portraits.

As always your opinions are always appreciated.

Ciao,
Mark C
Nashville, TN

Mark C asks:

>
>I will probably go with two B800's......I have two smaller 50 ws Britek
>strobes that I can use for backround and hair light.

Me, too, but next year. Too much in cameras this years.

>My question is this: Do I need to purchase a soft box or can the effect
>obtained from a soft box be obtained with Photoshop?

I bought a Buff softbox about 12-16 months ago, and now wonder how in HELL I
ever got along without it. I do a lot of small product photography, and it
eliminates 97% of the problems I had with umbrellas (still use those, too,
though).

I have no idea if Photoshop can cut down glare in photos the way a softbox can,
but if so, it's got to be a lot of extra work.

I'm going for the octagon style next.

Dunno about portraits. I don't do them.

Charlie Self

"The California crunch really is the result of not enough power-generating
plants and then not enough power to power the power of generating plants."
George W. Bush

Mark C <> wrote in message
news:bgtiem$si212$...
> Since I live Nashville......Paul Bluff's (owner of White Lighting)
> company/store is 5 minutes from where I work. I have decided to go with
> his Alien Bee line of strobe/flashes. Not just cause they are
intown...but
> because everything I have read about his product has been glowing. I
> realize that I could simply pic his brain and get some good
> recommendations...but It would really help to have the opinion of others,
as
> well.
>
> I will probably go with two B800's......I have two smaller 50 ws Britek
> strobes that I can use for backround and hair light.
>
> My question is this: Do I need to purchase a soft box or can the effect
> obtained from a soft box be obtained with Photoshop?
>
> What in your opinion is an essential set up for doing studio portraits.
>
> As always your opinions are always appreciated.
>
> Ciao,
> Mark C
> Nashville, TN


I wanted versatility, so I have four alien bees, two B400s and two B800s.
I haven't done that much portraits, mostly headshots for actors, and I only
need the two B400s for that. I've been using umbrellas, but I do want to
get the soft boxes.

There is so much to say about portraiture, and you really need to get a book
on it, or take a seminar on it somewhere. That is what I did.


Patrick

>I bought a Buff softbox about 12-16 months ago, and now wonder how in HELL I
>ever got along without it. I do a lot of small product photography, and it
>eliminates 97% of the problems I had with umbrellas

What advantages does a softbox have over an umbrella ? (I have unbrellas)

Umbrellas leave very tell-tale catchlights on shiny surfaces of objects
being photographed - including eye catchlights in portraits. They are
instantly indentifiable as umbrellas. Softboxes make catchlights that more
mimic windows.

I have seen some diffusion panels in softboxes that aliased the direct rays
from the flashtube across the weave of the fabric, giving a peculiar
"cats-eye" catchlight. You might check for that.

Tim

"Wdflannery" <> wrote in message
news:...
> >I bought a Buff softbox about 12-16 months ago, and now wonder how in
HELL I
> >ever got along without it. I do a lot of small product photography, and
it
> >eliminates 97% of the problems I had with umbrellas
>
> What advantages does a softbox have over an umbrella ? (I have unbrellas)