Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/02/14
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Claire, What makes the difference in light softness is the size of the light source. Clear sky pinpoint sun versus fog. Size of light source. The only thing tissue or hankie is going to do is scatter the light. If the scatter bounces off ceiling, you'll get a little softening. Otherwise, if you use flash outside with and w/o tissue the only difference will be that you have cut the light output because the size of the light source has remained the same. However, remember that everytime the light reflects off a surface (umbrella) or through a surface (softbox) it will warm up the light source (typically about 300 degrees Kelvin, about a 1/8 CTO gel). My Balcars have different glass domes. I use clear glass when in umbrella or softbox and use sight warming dome or gel for direct light, that way all the color (colour) temperatures are the same. Most small strobes are very cold light. I don't know why. But I seldom ever shoot mine straight. They live with at least a 1/.8 CTO taped on. A :"Bastard Amber" Rosco is good also for skin tones. Warming (actually anti cooling) your small strobe will render an image that doesn't feel so blasted out. At any rate, you need to make light source size bigger OR use ambient as the key and underexpose strobe by 1 to 3 stops. I frequently use the Stofen hood on my nikon and vivitar strobes. In a small area they work great to scatter the light around--small office, inside a vehicle, etc. You can even tape gels over strobe head and still slide on the StoFen. About $20. But it is too dense in my estimation. I often use them in combination with "black wrap," the black aluminum foil you can buy in theatrical lighting shops. You can bend on the foil to gobo light very easily. I used Stofens and blackwrap last month for an annual report photo shot at the IBM campus in San Jose. Used two V 285s w/warming gels tucked behind two monitors directed at computer operators, plus a couple more strobes to add blue to room. Balance shutter speed to the monitors and lights of the large wall display used for system monitoring. Dramatic photo of a otherwise boring room. The little softboxes by PhotoFlex and Chimera in my estimation are too dense and hardly make the light source enough bigger to matter. I've been considering new Chimera box with removeable front that I could replace with very thin translucent cloth. Bigger light source and also good transmission of light for efficiency. Balcar pioneered the larger reflector combined with pinpoint light source. This provides both the lighter density shadows and the saturated colors of a point source light. I have achieved same effect as Balcars specialty reflectors by putting a bare bulb head in front of a large softbox with another head. Using bounce flash off ceiling with small direct light (as some Metz flashes allow) is a version of the same effect. Hope this helps. donal __________ Donal Philby San Diego www.donalphilby.com