Ok I need help/advice. I am a reader of strobist and I have searched a lot of places to find out info. What I really want to know though is what beauty dish do you guys use? What brand? How much and where did you buy them from. I'm unsure if this is the path I want to head but I have seen the style and effect they can give (along with understanding and technical skills of course) But basically I'm wanting to mount it up high and do some band shots. Also what are these power pack things that I see ppl use. Almost look like a battery. I'm assuming I can sync a faster shutter speed with these.

Also anyone on here use a ring flash at all. Should I buy a ring flash or a beauty dish. I currently have a 580ex2 and 430ex11 plus pocket wizards and umbrellas.


Any beauty dish specific websites you have? I need to research them more and find out what one to buy.

You can buy a beauty dish for your 580ex too (check ebay).

Studio-lighting is a big investment.
You are looking at 1.5-3k to get started with decent gear.

Common Budget power-packs:
- Alienbee Vagabond II
- Explorer XT

And no, you can't sync faster shutter speed with power packs, your camera is the limit (unless you use hss mode with pw or rp trigger), not the lights who are usually rated higher than the camera flash shutter speed.

There was a website that gave you different light output, can't remember it but maybe a member will have the link.

Hope it helps!

This and many other shots that I have was taken with a 580ex holding "beauty dish" made out of a steel salad bowl from Woolworths mounted on a mop handle (cost $15), its diameter is about 30cm:



This one was taken with a beauty dish (72cm I believe) with a softbox under it connected to an Explorer XT 1200:



This one is (just) the same beauty dish, high above and to the right mounted on a 400Ws Mettle studio light in my garage:


This one is a single shoot through umbrella off to the right somewhere:



This one is a softbox above and a softbox below (called clamshell arrangement) in my garage:



I bought the beauty dish from Sydney from this shop:
http://www.photo-shop-studio.com/eng/default.asp but I don't see it listed there. I also bought 3 x 400Ws Mettle monoblocs there. I bought the mop handle from Crazy Clarks.

I also buy some stuff from ImageMelbourne.com.au : softboxes e.g. If you have a look around that site you'll see he has things like adapters to mount studio softboxes on 580exs, foldable portable softboxes (I covet one)
and also beauty dishes.

http://imagemelbourne.com.au/store//cat ... p?cPath=35

I don't have a ring flash. I do shoot a lot of 2 x580ex + 3 PWs + salad bowl on a stick + maybe umbrella. I carry these around in a bag from a beach chair.
I have a furniture remover's trolley for my Explorer XT 1200 + softbox + stands that I sometimes lug around.

I also have to admit that I once paid full price for a Gary Fong Cloudsphere

Secretly I want to shoot landscape.

The 'Salad Bowl on a Stick' is a truely marvelous creation........ and so versatile

Glen F thankyou so much for the detailed post.

Do you have a picture of the beauty dish on a stick? Thanks.

Not at the moment - I'll give you a quick description:

a. Silver salad bowl from Woolworths, cut the shape of a 580ex slot out the back of it.
b. A peanut bowl, silvery reflective, much smaller than the salad bowl but bigger than the 580ex face.
c. Paint inside of salad bowl white. Paint inside of peanut bowl black.
d. Mount peanut bowl inside salad bowl so that it's back acts like a curved mirror for the 580ex.
e. Mount this contraption on a retractable stick so you can extend it up to about 5 feet from 2.5 feet (2m,1m approx is OK)
f. And now the bit that makes it good... (secret sauce SS) ...

And once you've done that you get a nice soft light - without the secret sauce it is kinda harsh, just like a slightly bigger hard flash.

*SS = a 'sock' - a white elasticated diffusion cloth covering the bowl. The peanut dish stops the direct light and the diffusion cloth catches the light after it has bounced off the white bowl sides.

It's kinda wonky sometimes and a bit too heavy to hold in one hand with a camera in the other hand - which is why I said I'd like a foldable, portable softbox - weight & space.

I think I used it for this photo too but the person holding it was also pointing it through a hole in the wall. If you look closely you can see it in her eyes:

This is a combination of a Beauty dish above and a soft box below

I used a dish i got from d-d electronics for 150 bucks ..

Beauty dishes in my opinion always look better if used with additional lighting. otherwise it can be a bit too harsh!

Thanks Glen for the detailed reply, including the (now) not-so-secret ingredient - really ingenious. I promise not to publicise this thread beyond my five friends on FB.

Thanks also for your comment Russell (and the illustrative images). From a few other beauty dish shots I have seen, it was my impression also that beauty dishes yielded a harder light. But neither Glen's nor yours looked that hard - and thanks to you both for the dual explanations as to why that was the respective case.

I bought my beauty dish and the grid from ebay, cost me about $90 each.

From this place. http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Beauty-Dish-50cm ... 1c101151cc

I also use my 580 EXII with the dish, Image Melbourne sell a quickmount for speedlite to bowen or elinchrom mount adaptor for $139.
http://imagemelbourne.com.au/store//cat ... cts_id=195

You will note on photo #3 of mine how sharp the edge of the light is with no fill. Look at her hand which has a skin/black sharp transition. The beauty dish has a honeycomb grid on (no sock) and really it would have been better to have some fill for the hand - a reflector would have done it to add some detail there.

BTW, I found these interesting:

Setting up a home studio with white background
http://www.zarias.com/?p=71

This one is NSFW but in the second half you see her using a beauty dish with a sock:
http://fashionphotographyblog.com/2008/ ... ro-models/

PMSL I wonder if it would come in handy for the child, shadow knife, spatula shoot Wil. Hmmmmmmm

Some great information - really useful. Thanks.

SOOOO many options. I think I might try and make one first and see how it goes.

I recently found this article and thought it might be of use, certainly looks intriguing

http://www.diyphotography.net/just-fab- ... eauty-dish