Entries Tagged 'lighting' ↓

Yesterday evening turned into arts and crafts night. I was starting to go stir crazy from being stuck at home with this cold so I had to do something. The following is the result:

I remember in college (long, long time ago) we had these great Mole-Richardson Softlights in one of the studios. And the light they produced was quite nice. So, I thought, lets see if I can make one for my 550EX.

Here are a couple images of the finished softlight.

What you need:

• Ruler
• White fome board
• White bristol board
• Aluminum tape
• Scissors
• Pencil
• X-acto blade/knife
• Glue stick

The first thing i did was cut out the sides from the foam board.

I measured the height of the front edge.

I then transferred that measurement to the bristol board (already cut to the width I wanted, including 1.5″ extra for gluing tabs) and folded the board at that measurement.

I marked on the bristol board where the next fold would be and then folded the board.

I then marked where the 3rd fold would be and folded the board.

I marked the board 1/2″ from the edge on both sides with a pencil.

I then cut out gluing tabs up to the lines I just drew at all the folds and cut smaller notches for the curved back.

I then applied aluminum tape up to the 3rd fold. Leaving the curved back white.

I applied aluminum tape to the foam board sides to the bottom portion (from where the from panel starts to where the curve begins).

I then fold up all the gluing tabs along the 1/2″ pencil marks, using a ruler as a guide.

Then I mark the back where the flash will fit (between the first and second fold) and draw diagonal lines from corner to corner of the flash outline. Then cut along those diagonal lines creating an “X” where the flash fits through.

I then glued the bristol board to one of the foam board sides applying glue to the tabs with a glue stick. Then repeated the gluing process with the other side making sure the aluminum tape faces inside of the softlight.

Here is what the inside of the softlight looks like when complete.

Disclaimer: This project, the photography and the blog post were all done while running a fever and on cold medication. If there is anything that is unclear (like I was during this whole process) please ask any questions in the comments. I will be posting sample images using the softlight as soon as possible.

In the image above I have the model light herself with the flashlight

I was originally thinking of posting a how to on the basics of painting with light, but then I thought, “How boring!” I couldn’t bear the thought of subjecting you to images of things being drawn in mid air, or people being outlined with flashlights. I did a model test shoot years ago in my studio in Toronto using only a small flashlight to light the model. These are some of the images form that shoot.

The setup I used was simple, a black bench, my camera on a tripod set at f16 & bulb with a cable release attached, and the model. Oh yah, and my trusty little flashlight. I tried to keep the exposure time under 30 seconds to keep sensor noise to minimum. Grab your camera, tripod, a flashlight, and a cable release and find a dark room or go outside at night and give it a try. It’s not as hard as it looks. And have fun!

This image looks blurry, but look closely at the reflection of the flashlight in her eyes and eye lashes… It’s tack sharp!

I intentionally asked the model to keep looking at the camera while she moved her head

I just posted a video showing how to make a quick weatherproof cover for your flash out of two ziplock type sandwich bags.

Here is a link directly to the video.