New lights!!!!

Just got 4 new studio strobes (2xAB400 + 2xAB800), complete with stands and all sorts of modifiers: beauty dish (with sock), 2'x3' collapsible softbox (with grid), snoot, barn doors, grids, gels..

So as of today I have a complete control over the total of 6(!) AC lights:



And if push comes to shove, I can always use my two Sunpacks and 580II, thus having 9 light sources total!!!

So I hope I will be able to do better than this soon:

Nikolai Sklobovsky said:

Just got 4 new studio strobes (2xAB400 + 2xAB800), complete with stands and all sorts of modifiers: beauty dish (with sock), 2'x3' collapsible softbox (with grid), snoot, barn doors, grids, gels..

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Hi Nikolai,

Congratulations with the new gear. I seems you also got bitten by the lighting bug. I'm about to take delivery of a couple of 80x140cm softboxes myself, to complement the other stuff (and more will follow I'm sure). It may be harder to understand for those that have not had the luxury of total control over their own quality lighing, but is an absolute joy to be in control of the very thing that can make or break one's vision, light itself.

However, being in control also means no excuses! Getting the light right is not always that simple, especially when we can choose from so many options to model and shape it, and thus sculpt our subjects. In my experience it always helps to be very methodical in building the setup, and also look at the individual contributors in isolation (e.g. what exactly does that hairlight add to the scene when it's the only lightsource, then balance its influence with the other light). Without a clear battleplan, one can easily get lost ...

Have fun,
Bart

Congratulations, Nik

Lots of options now, Nik. When Edison does the rolling energy blackouts this summer (they are the Electric Company for our area) we will know you are using all those lights. Don't blow a circuit breaker.

Bart_van_der_Wolf said:

Hi Nikolai,

Congratulations with the new gear. I seems you also got bitten by the lighting bug. I'm about to take delivery of a couple of 80x140cm softboxes myself, to complement the other stuff (and more will follow I'm sure). It may be harder to understand for those that have not had the luxury of total control over their own quality lighing, but is an absolute joy to be in control of the very thing that can make or break one's vision, light itself.

Click to expand...

Thanks, Bart!
Yes, I agree, it takes time and efforts to shift one's focus from a better body to a better glass to a better light. But once your taste this lotus you can never go back

However, being in control also means no excuses! Getting the light right is not always that simple, especially when we can choose from so many options to model and shape it, and thus sculpt our subjects. In my experience it always helps to be very methodical in building the setup, and also look at the individual contributors in isolation (e.g. what exactly does that hairlight add to the scene when it's the only lightsource, then balance its influence with the other light). Without a clear battleplan, one can easily get lost ...

Have fun,
Bart

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I hear you on this, loud and clear. I'm planning to spend plenty of the next shoots at least trying to be methodical and learning both each component and their combination. I'm so glad I finally got all sorts of modifiers to play with, cause at least now I have a way to explore it...

Cheers!

Kathy Rappaport said:

Lots of options now, Nik. When Edison does the rolling energy blackouts this summer (they are the Electric Company for our area) we will know you are using all those lights. Don't blow a circuit breaker.

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LOL
Thanks!
Guess what: I'm also getting a Vagabond II, a fairly large power brick, should arrive today. I'm planning to keep it on a trickle charge at all times, and it can feed 4 lights, so I'll have my power regardless of all the blackouts