Question on Lighting/Bulbs

[Biomech]

Here's a quickie.

You have a fixed setup that uses a single studio flash head. Your photos are over exposed. do you:

A: Change your camera settings to allow for the extra light
B: Turn the flash down - this way you don't waste light and prolong the life of the bulb.

?

[MOmilkman]

As a newbie to lighting I'm going to take a stab at this and say - both.

Initally, I would decrease the power output of the strobe or move it away from the subject then if that didn't satisify me I might decrease my ISO and or aperture.

Did I come close to the correct answer lighitng gurus? I thought this might be a good chace to see if I have any idea about lighitng or if I am still clueless.

[OsmosisStudios]

Shoot with the settings that give you the look you want. If you're shooting at f/2 or f/2.8 because you want a blurred background or shallow DoF, then closing down the aperture isn't an option.

I've had to actually throw an ND filter onto a lens to get the DoF I was looking for with the studio lighting I was using because the lights didn't dial down enough.

[Biomech]

I guess yeah. This is a very fixed setup I use for this and there are few variables. I generally go manual at something like f8 @ 1/200 I think it is. I use a black backdrop and the frame is usually full, ensuring I have a deep DOF is important as well as minimising motion blur - the subjects sit about 4ft from the lens. For me, prolonging the life of the bulb is also important : it was just a fleeting thought

[RLucas]

Originally Posted by Biomech

I guess yeah. This is a very fixed setup I use for this and there are few variables. I generally go manual at something like f8 @ 1/200 I think it is. I use a black backdrop and the frame is usually full, ensuring I have a deep DOF is important as well as minimising motion blur - the subjects sit about 4ft from the lens. For me, prolonging the life of the bulb is also important : it was just a fleeting thought

I thought it was a joke post, and I missed the punch line. Ha!

[scootermcq]

Interesting question, because (and I don't know the answer) the bulb is still firing. Does full power use more of the bulbs life than 1/8th power? hmmmm..... inquiring minds want to know.

And you forgot C:

c: move the lights back, using the inverse square law to obtain optimal lighting

[Biomech]

C isn't an option - it's all packaged inside a custom built photobooth
I'd assume it would wear on the bulb more at a higher power because it's stuffing a higher current through the wire.