I bought studio light strobes system which came with a modeling light. What is the purpose of this modeling light? Is it to view the subject during scenario setup?
One important thing to note is that the modeling lights are not always an accurate representation of the flash but are really just approximations (ratios, etc) so you need to meter each light individually to figure out the ratios. Also, you should also pay attention to where the light falloff is outside the subject. People often forget about light spill reflecting back onto the subject or lighting the background in unexpected ways.
No, lighting makes the person appear prettier and it hides imperfections. it also brightens their skin.
You are exactly right - that's what a modeling light is for. Usually the modeling light power can be linked to the flash power. This allows you set the proper lighting ratios with multiple flash units. For example, if you set up a key light and a fill light, and you want a 3:1 ratio: you use the modeling lights to visually estimate how much light to use. That way you know how high to set the power without having to do it mathematically or wasting fifty or sixty shots trying to figure it out. The modeling lights themselves will turn off for a second when the flash fires.
