articles/Lighting/baikiebowens-page2

John Baikie's Remote Desktop Bowens lighting - part 2 of 1 2

by John Baikie Published 01/10/2013

The difference with using these against my usual Quantum set up was in the metering; I was forced from being lazy and use a light meter (kids, look it up on google) to get the ambient reading and then set the light to the right output.

After that it was the same way of working as before, but with much more power and accuracy involved. I absolutely loved the light quality of these, and there was a definite step up from the QFlash to the Bowens. The only other disadvantage with it was the recycle time on full power, where I had to wait about 6 or 7 seconds between each shot while the battery powered things up.

On to the shoot itself. We found a few cool locations around the site, including a massive oil tank and a smashed up old caravan with old sofa outside. Mairi almost refused to sit on the sofa and was less than convinced by my enthusiasm about this particular set up. However, once she saw the results, it was one of her favourite pictures. Sometimes you have to get mucky to get the right shot!

Overall summary of using the Bowens lights on location was that they are great quality, and the accuracy and consistency is fantastic. With the Octabox on the front I was very pleased with the quality of light. The downside to them was the weight, bulkiness, and the recycle times on the shots using higher power, which slowed the shoot down a bit, but once you get used to that it isn't such a big deal.

Thanks again to my awesome model Mairi Taylor.

More of my work on www.captiv8.uk.com

• John Baikie's Remote Desktop Bowens lighting page 1
  
• John Baikie's Remote Desktop Bowens lighting page 2
  

There are 54 days to get ready for The Society of Photographers Convention and Trade Show at The Novotel London West, Hammersmith ...
which starts on Wednesday 15th January 2025