Alternative Lighting System
Most people, when they use studio flash, think only about using the reflector that comes with the unit or an umbrella or maybe even a soft box. There are a few other alternatives like beauty lights or trough lights as well a many different sizes of reflector to add to the mix. Not many people would think of using their flash unit without its reflector altogether. People who specialise in photographing room interiors have known about this for some time but removing the reflector has advantages for other sorts of picture taking. I regularly use flash in this way for photographing women. With the lighting unit near your subject the effect is a bit too harsh so I tried ways of softening it. My first experiment was with a discarded 4 litre plastic milk bottle. It had nice translucent sides and when cut across just below the carrying handle was about big enough to fit over the flash tube and modelling light of my Prolinca unit. I made a number of holes in the bottom, now the top, to let out the air heated by the lamp.
It worked so I set about making a larger and more permanent version out of opal Perspex, (using the square I cut out of the centre of my ring light that was described earlier). This cut in half provided two strips of the right size. I shaped and fastened them around a thick plywood base to make a complete circle. The Perspex could be bent by heating it with a hot air gun. I then glued a piece of thinner opal plastic on top and drilled holes for ventilation. It is important to make sure the air can flow freely through it or the whole thing can become very hot. The wooden base has a hole to match the size of the flash unit and it sits on top of it in use. If you want a simpler version just tape a piece of stiff translucent sheeting around the base of your studio flash unit once its reflector has been removed. This will work well provided you do not let any direct light from the flash tube fall on your subject.
Using the device.
I usually work in a small studio which is painted white so when this light is used it works like a huge soft box with you and your model inside. It provides a more direct effect than bounced light but is softer than a conventional light. The bonus is the bounce lighting the studio walls provides opens up the shadow areas on your subject to good effect. Although only one light is being used, it does make it easy to get good results. If you also want hair, background or accent lighting, you can of course also add these using extra units with conventional reflectors. If when using my light I find in a given situation the lighting is still too harsh, I add another layer of diffusion by taping a small piece of extra plastic on the unit between it and my subject. A small square of cooking foil makes the light even softer as the subject is shielded from any direct light at all.
If you are working on location indoors, the light I have described is easy to move around as there is only the one unit to bother about. It can be used as a main light or as a fill to any natural illumination that may be coming into the room. All in all, the unit I have described can be very useful indeed.
Examples
The studio flash head with its reflector replaced by my DIY unit, it may not look pretty but it is functional. The plastic was bent around a wooden base and fixed before the perforated plastic top was glued on. The whole thing is only resting in place so the flash head has to be kept vertical. A cardboard ring re-enforced with fibre glass helps to keep it in position. In a small studio the flash output only needs to be at half power to provide more than enough light. The pictures below will show the unit in operation.
This is the unit in use. No other light was employed. A small amount of extra fill came from a reflector lying on the otherwise dark studio floor. You can see it reflected in the model’s eyes.
Same basic set up as previous shot but with the addition of more lights. I have lit the background with an extra flood light and use another to accent the model’s hair. Even so my system light is the main source of illumination.
Here again my alternative light is used as the main light. So you can see it works even with a full length shot. Like the previous shot I have used two additional lights, both diffused floods. In this case they are both directed at the white background. There is so much light bouncing around the room that the model’s figure separates well from the background. I find this type of set up very useful if I intend at a later stage to paste the girl image into another background shot.
Leaving the studio and moving to an indoor location, this is the unit used or its own. Here, a calendar type shot was taken in a workshop. The space was both cramped and dark so the light had to be placed fairly close to the model and there was some light fall off. This of course could be remedied in the computer. A small amount of daylight came in through the window behind her right hand but it did not play any part in the scheme of things.
This shot was taken in a room with some daylight and a scene visible through the window. In order to preserve this, the flash exposure was matched to the one for the window light. Even so the flash system was still the main light. So you see my alternative light has many uses in several different shooting situations.
