Looking into off camera lighting...

[Aayria]

So far I've only used natural light for my sessions.. and I decided to start looking into some good off camera lighting.

One of my favorite baby photographers (Amy Robertson - look her up, her work is beautiful!) swears by her "Alienbees 800" flash in a 30x60 softbox. Her lighting is always amazing, and I thought it might be worth investing for my own newborn sessions. This is quickly becoming an area of photography I think I might like to specialize in. =)

But I know that my camera (the D5000) doesn't have commander mode. Does anybody know offhand whether or not (and how if so) my camera would work with an alienbees flash unit?

Here's the link to the one I'm considering:
AlienBees: Illuminating the Galaxy with Professional Photographic Lighting Equipment


Sorry for the noobish lighting question, I'm very new to flash and off camera light, and I really have no clue how to make it work with my camera, or any camera for that matter.

 

[KmH]

IIRC, AlienBees can be optically triggered?, meaning you can do it with the flash of light from your pop-up.

The Slave Cell and Slave Tripper
To reduce the number of cords in your setup, the bees have sensitive built-in slave trippers, allowing you to sync a single light to your camera, and reliably fire the remaining lights in your setup via their slave cells. The slave cell will fire whenever it "sees" any flash of light, and may be disengaged by plugging a sync cord into the sync jack on the back panel.

I guess you haven't read about, or yet understand, the "product features".

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/newreply.php?do=newreply&noquote=1&p=1959227

Alienbees also have color drift as you change power, and backwards from most other strobed lighting, as you decrease the power, flash duration gets longer instead of shorter, which can be a real pain.

They are competitively priced and are compact. They are not intended for heavy duty or outdoor use.

Paul C. Buff has a great reputation for customer service though. Also look at Paul C. Buff's White Lightning line of strobes. They are better than AlienBee's, and I think they are finally starting to ship their Einstein line of strobes now too.

Paul C. Buff

I don't have any direct experience with AlienBee's, but am familiar with some of their common usage issues.

 

[Derrel]

Too bad they sold out of those nifty orange Alien Bees...

 

[Aayria]

Thanks, both! I really am absolutely clueless and looking for some direction as I start researching off camera lighting in general. I'm wondering now if I'd be more happy with a continuous light for studio work.

 

[Fedaykin]

Also look in strobist.com

 

[canonguy12]

Also look in strobist.com

+1

 

[bigtwinky]

Also look in strobist.com

+2

 

[Don Kondra]

my camera (the D5000) doesn't have commander mode. Does anybody know offhand whether or not (and how if so) my camera would work with an alienbees flash unit?

Short answer is Yes

The strobes can be triggered by your on board flash, a sync cord or wireless triggers.

If funds are an issue you can go with Cactus wireless triggers for ~$50

Gadget Infinity

And here is a link for inexpensive softboxes for the Alien Bees -

OEC Camera Accessories items - Get great deals on Neutral Density, Filters items on eBay Stores!

Cheers, Don