Pros and cons of using monolights outdoors

[Cpt.Beyond]

Hi guys,

I have been using monolights for a couple of years now but have been limited to using them in the studio. I had to get a portable power supply pack (Innovatronix Incorporated | Explorer XT) a week ago for a shoot and am now excited about outdoor "strobing". My question is: Is it a good idea to take my monolights outdoors? What are the pros and cons?

 

[KmH]

Two cons come immediately to mind:

1. Wind
2. Rain

A pro is having more lumens at your disposal than speedlights can provide, depending on your lights, and hopefully you use a wireless radio triggering system.

A con is most studio lights aren't designed for the rough and tumble world beyond studio walls.

Another con is that the outdoor ambient light is much more variable than in a studio, necessitating many more lighting adjustments and the added modifier requirements, particularly for diffusers, scrims, and so forth to tone down direct sunlight.

 

[travistank]

I am a photographer in Austin Tx ( where the sun is extremely bright and usually few clouds ) and I use my monolights ( profoto compact 600r ) with a vagabond to power them. I LOVE the look I get using my monolights outside and in fact I use them 9 out of 10 times that I shoot outdoors. Though as KHM said when shooting outdoors you tend to have to use ND filters or shoot with high apertures such as f16 to get the ambient light to match the studio lighting. You can check out some work I have done with them at Travis Tank Photography.

 

[Cpt.Beyond]

Thank you guys, thats a lot of help. Ill be sure to bring an EXTRA umbrella for the rain . and a lot of sandbags. Lookin forward to gettin out there .