Thoughts on Peter Hurley kit? $5,500??

sergezap · Jun 22, 2018

mrca said:
Just a thought on the curved reflector for a semi circular catchlight in the lower eye. The painting masters used to lighten the lower part of the iris on the theory that the brow shadowed the upper iris making it darker and the lower iris was illuminated by the light that was usually higher than the subject. I wonder if that is what the curved reflector is trying to emulate and provide fill at the same time. I have never heard it advocated for that, but just a thought.

Actually, not. Curved reflectors it's just a new marketing mambo-jumbo like a parabolic umbrellas/octoboxes.
If you want eyeballs looks 3 dimensional, you need the proper general lighting and some pp kung-fu.

mrca · Jun 22, 2018

Yes, grasshopper, I mean , sergezap. My last fiance was David Carridines ex girl friend. I agree, it's marketing. Now, I do like octa catchlights. soft, no hard corners. Parbolic umbrellas, my AB 6 footer when focused is a 6' hard edged spot light. Cool effect when boomed.

sergezap · Jun 22, 2018

mrca said:
Yes, grasshopper, I mean , sergezap. My last fiance was David Carridines ex girl friend. I agree, it's marketing. Now, I do like octa catchlights. soft, no hard corners. Parbolic umbrellas, my AB 6 footer when focused is a 6' hard edged spot light. Cool effect when boomed.

It's good idea to talk about something you know.
Market is full of non focusable parabolic umbrellas/direct octoboxes which curvature is absolutely useless. Especially with front diffuser.
Elinchrom Deep series with deflector set is the only exception i know.

Anyway, it's a very simple question.
Where can we see your amazing photos with 3d effects on something, created with curved reflector/deflector/octobox/ect?

mrca · Jun 22, 2018

I don't own a curved reflector. The look doesn't work for me and if I want it will paint it in post by lightning the lower iris with a soft brush. AB parabolic produces a hard edged spot light as far as 18 feet. Here's a shot taken well before dusk overpowering day light with cool silver focused parabolic high right as spot light and main. Used a warm beauty dish to light the jet for depth, warm advances cool recedes. Warm bright area upper L brings eye in there then multiple leading lines from top bottom and stripes of jet, horizon lead eye to subject who is brightest and highest contrast in image.

sergezap · Jun 22, 2018

sergezap said:
mrca said:

Just a thought on the curved reflector for a semi circular catchlight in the lower eye. The painting masters used to lighten the lower part of the iris on the theory that the brow shadowed the upper iris making it darker and the lower iris was illuminated by the light that was usually higher than the subject. I wonder if that is what the curved reflector is trying to emulate and provide fill at the same time. I have never heard it advocated for that, but just a thought.

Click to expand...

Actually, not. Curved reflectors it's just a new marketing mambo-jumbo like a parabolic umbrellas/octoboxes.
If you want eyeballs looks 3 dimensional, you need the proper general lighting and some pp kung-fu.

Why so offtopic?
How does attached image proves your point of view or challenging mine?
I told that any reflector or any other modifier wouldn't make your model or any other subject looks 3 dimensional by itself.
I also told that any unfocusable parabolic octas does nothing extraordinary, especially with front diffuser.
How does this hard light pic connects to the discussion subject?

mrca · Jun 22, 2018

You said "Market is full of non focusable parabolic umbrellas/direct octoboxes which curvature is absolutely useless." I responded with a use and when you asked for an example of 3 d effects. I do not know what that means but I took the time to give an example they are hardly absolutely useless. That is responding to your comment. That parabolic with a diffuser panel and de focused also becomes a 6 foot round soft modifier that opens quickly like an umbrella. That is a huge use to me. I do NOT tear down the 7' octa in studio. It is a real hassle to take apart, reassemble on location then take apart again and re assemble in studio. Parabolic just pops open.

sergezap · Jun 23, 2018

Man, you don't need an "AB parabolic" to produce a hard edged light. Especially it has no sense in a such distance, cause it's relative size decreases dramatically.
The only advantage of a huge focusable real Paras is acting as a giant ring light with some fill at the same time. Very specific lighting technique using in fashion.
It can be very handy to control a hotspot size by focusing instead of moving all the gear. But these functionality provides Broncolor and Briese systems only.
Even Profoto is a tricky due to insufficient eccentricity of their lightshapers.

The same story with a beauty dish. It's usable at the distance, relative to its size.
1.5-2 m is a maximum. Otherwise you'll get an ordinary spotlight.
The only exception - if you are using a white matte dish to produce a polarized light.
But lighting glossy aircraft with a polarized light is silly too.

P.S. Parabolic means that it shapes as a parabolic curve, but not "just pops open".

mrca · Jun 23, 2018

When focused, the AB produces a hard edged beam of light. No fall off at all. A spot light. When focused, it directs the light rays in a parallel fashion. No regular umbrella will do that. I'm not talking about shadow edge transition. When I want razor sharp shadow edge transitions I use flooded fresnels which lines up the light rays parallel using a lens. Of course, I could use one to produce a "spot" but not where I don't have AC like in the shot above. I agree, I use my 22" beauty dish in less than 2 feet for its form of soft light but when I want really soft light, I use the other extreme from the fresnels, a 7' octa in a few feet away. To return to the original catch light portion of the thread, that produces a large , round catchlight. I am aware what "parabolic" means, but what is important is what I am trying to achieve as a photographer not geometry, it is getting the rays parallel with no lighter penumbra ringing the brighter light center of the beam. A grid will help but usually has a penumbra. I have used that characteristic by placing the beginning of the hotspot behind the subject and illuminating a hillside background with the darker penumbra on that highlight side of the subject. The hot center part of the light running past the subject on the far, subject shadow side giving chiaroscuro with one light from the wrong side.

Derrel · Jun 23, 2018

I dunno...I went back and once again (for like the fourth time in total) re-watched the video for the Peter Hurley $5,500 LED lighting kit...I gotta say...the lighting is soft, flat,directionless,meh. The model is pretty, and has unusual expressions, but look past her attractiveness and what do we see? Flat lighting. Minimal shadowing. Very little "character" to the light. No bite. One-trick pony stuff. I really think that the kit is more about marketing and company profit than about lighting stuff. Too much "sameness" to the small set of lights...I would demand more for $5,500. I think there are other, better, more-traditional systems that would cost less, and do more. Speedotron Black Line, Elinchrom, and Eienstein would be my choices, in about that order. Other systems are out there too, some more expensive, some less so. I just think a set of four, flat-panel, flexible LED mattes with no grids, no barn doors, no flags, no scrims, etc.. is a terrible way to drop $5,500. Plus...it's LED light, no flash pops, so...motion-stopping is out. Plus, the lights are small! Longer-range use with soft light? Nope!