Try It Series: Alien Bee Basics + Set Up | Natural Light Studio in Dublin, Ca

I am so excited to be teaching all about Alien Bees basics this week! Before you start having a panic attack about learning this amazing skill, let me just let you know that this is absolutely easy to learn! I promise! For best learning results, watch all the videos and carve out the 15 minutes to watch and let it all sink in. Then, come in and take the hands-on class in the space. Together, with the videos + the hands-on experience, you’ll get studio light in no time!

This is going to be a basic step-by-step tutorial to go along with the videos, mostly for you to return to after watching and doing.

LET’S GET STARTED!

To start, I wanted to show you what the Alien Bees look like at the space. The strobe on the right is what they normally look like at the space, with the diffuser already on it. We leave it like this because you can shoot with the diffuser of without it very easily if you just keep it on but back like this instead of having to put the diffuser on every time you want to use it (which in most cases will be most of the time).

Here’s the back of the Alien Bee B800. On the top, you have an analog power slider that controls the light output when you take a picture. The power ranges from 1/32 power all the way to full power. I don’t suggest using full power, but rather control your exposure through your camera. In the space during the day, I usually keep it between 1/8 - 1/4 power and it’s plenty bright.

The white button I’m pointing to here is the modeling light. I leave it on because it helps me focus on my subject, especially when the subject is a little dim.

The only button you need to know about is the big red switch which is the power switch.

This handle is the angle adjustment handle. It controls the angle of the light. Depending on what you shoot, you’ll adjust this accordingly (more on that next week!).

This silver dish is the standard light dish that comes with the Alien Bee but you can fins all kinds of light modifiers like beauty dishes and snoots online. This just helps focus the light in one direction instead of letting the light go all over the place.

Next, we are going to attach the umbrella softbox onto the Alien Bee. You want to make sure these two holes are lined up. If everyone takes good care of the Alien Bees, it should always look like this.

The umbrella softbox is self-explanatory: it opens and closes just like a normal umbrella. The only difference is that its big and heavier, but not by much. Have fun with it. :)

To attach the umbrella, simply slide the umbrella arm through the hole in the dish first, then put it through the hole at the top of the alien bee itself (the one with the tightening screw on top).

Slide the arm all the way through until you see the seam on the arm line up with the top back third of the alien bee as shown in the picture. If this is confusing, watch the video. I show exactly where this is. Tighten the umbrella arm with the tightening screw located at the top front of the Alien Bee.

Once it’s tight, you can unscrew the back half of the arm so you dint poke yourself or anyone else in the eyeball. We don’t want that! Put the half arm somewhere you won’t forget about it. Being organized is the real key to shooting with studio lights!

Once the umbrella is on, you can attach the diffuser! Start by finding the grommets on the edge of the diffuser and line them up with the umbrella endings. Put the umbrella end through the grommet hole and secure with the velcro.

Your umbrella should look like this when you’re all done!

Once the umbrella is all set, get your camera ready to shoot! You can find this cyber sync remote trigger in the storage area in a white basket labeled “trigger”. Grab this bad boy and attach it to your hot shoe on top of your camera.

The only button you need to know about is the little white “test” button on the back. This just allows you to make sure the battery is alive and well.

The trigger (the one that’s on your camera) and the receiver (the big boxy thing I’m holding ) make the camera and Alien Bee talk to each other. Before I start shooting, I usually press both test buttons (on the trigger and on the receiver) just to make sure they’re both ready to go.

THERE YOU HAVE IT!

I hope this little tutorial helped you learn even just a little bit more about Alien Bee strobe basics, helped you feel a little more confident in playing around with them and encouraged you to start! Just do it! That’s how we become better + more confident in ourselves. Stop worrying and just start!

Janea

WANT TO WATCH MORE VIDEOS?

Watch How to Use a Backdrop Stand HERE

Learn more about our TRY IT series HERE