Hi all,
I have a set of four Speedotron 1200 w/s strobes in my studio. I have also built a large (4'x8') diffusion panel and use rip stop nylon as a cover in order to simulate a huge softbox. I would like to be shooting at f4 of f5.6, perhaps a little less in some cases, but the lowest I can achieve (short of using a number of neutral density filters or a polarizer) is about f11. I have even doubled the distance of the strobes to the subject and I'm still metering f11. I'm using Portra 400NC and 160NC for film. I use three lights most of the time; a main, a fill, and a hairlight. I've gone down to using just one light and a white reflector and still am metering f11. I think once I managed to get it down to f8 (with my power supply set to 1/4 power in all cases) but I want to avoid moving the light too far away. The whole point of me building the diffusion panel was to be able to get the panel very close to the subject for much more pleasing lighting but I'm always having to shoot at such high f-stops. I know the lighting formulas for power vs. distance and all that but now need some further advice. Do I need to get a darker diffusion material (but don't want to impose any color on models) or just get a few more layers of the white ripstop? I've read that the lower f-stops help to diminish blemishes (which makes sense anyway, given the change in D-O-F). I'd appreciate your thoughts on this. Thanks. If you need any more specifics such as distance to subject for my lights/diffusion panel, let me know. Thanks.
Mike
Email:
photoman@worldviewphoto.com