Hi guys, I've posted a few questions regarding light and modifiers, and I appreciate all of the help given. I am brand new at photography, and want to do mostly beauty work. So, I have decided to begin with a one light setup that includes a beauty dish and studio strobe (I also have a large 5 in 1 reflector to use for fill). I will be adding more lighting eventually,m but I need to learn to control one light first, before I get too complex. My only issue is, which strobe to get. I originally wanted the Alien Bee B400, but I noticed that the wattage is not high, and from my understanding, for the type of work I want to do, I'd need 300-400w, with a lot of versatility as far as the power range goes. I am now looking at the Westcott Strobelite & Strobelite Plus, but am open to any suggestions for a great, reasonably priced strobe for a beginning beauty photographer on a one light setup. I am having a little difficulty understanding how to choose a good strobe.Thank you in advance! All suggestions are appreciated.
Tough suggestion to make without knowing your precise requirements (other than your 300-400w) Tia. I shoot with two AB800s and an AB1600 and have never been left wanting for more power. In fact, I often want for an AB400 in my studio as the others are too powerful for some of my shoots.
There are recommendations galore if you Google Alien Bees vs Wescott but I found this site particularly interesting: https://www.photigy.com/battle-monolights-beginner-studio-strobe-review/
David
Aspect Photography
www.aspect-photo.com
I wonder what you have in mind when talking about beauty, because it might be something different. For me it's mostly commercial look face/head portraits that don't go further than human breast. In this type of photography retouch takes like 3-5h of removing single hairs, correcting skin etc. If that's what you're going for, you don't need that much power of a strobe, as you will probably shoot closeups all time. Unless you're more for Glamour style than Beauty :)
I use the Flashpoint Streaklight 360Ws from Adorama. They are pretty good. My latest themed photoshoot was using a single one with a diffuser. Just to let you know i do prefer strobes that offer a battery pack. If I am indoors all the time i use Dynalite Baja B4