changing strobe setup, cheap hairlight suggestions?

[Ryan L]

So I have 2 600w/s strobes, 2 softboxes, 2 canon speedlites, and an st-e2 transmitter. Right now I use one speedlite as a hairlight, one as a background light and fire my strobes optically off the speedlites to light the subject. I am not liking the speedlite as a background light, I am always getting a hot spot.

I want to change it up, I am thinking strobe/softbox to light the subject, large reflector for fill opposite side of subject from the softbox. Other strobe/softbox to light the background, and buying a small strobe for a hairlight that will be on a boom above, then just use the sync cord to fire.

Looking for a hairlight/strobe for around 150 or less. I would like to be able to attach louvers or a grid to avoid lens flare. Any suggestions on a light, or better ideas would be appreciated.

 

[Big Mike]

I don't think I've ever seen someone use a softbox on their background light (unless it was lighting both the subject and the background). Well, that's not really true. If you were lighting the background to create a gradient...then using a softbox (or similar modifier) could be useful.

Rather, we use the spread of light and the proximity to the background, to control how the background looks. Do you have your speedlite set to the widest zoom setting?

I'd personally like to use a small softbox for a hair light on a single subject. A strip box works really well when you have more that one subject.

Another great option for a hair light is a reflector dish and barn doors. This allows you to shape the light to suit your needs...but does give you a harder light than a smallish softbox.

I've never tried them, but I've seen them recommended from time to time...you can get slave strobe bulbs that screw into regular light sockets. I think that in some situations, they could make for great background or even hair lights for someone on a budget. And as an optical slave, you won't have to worry about triggering them.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/Slave-Strobes-AC-DC/ci/1239/N/4289360699

 

[Derrel]

I think you'd really like a hairlight that had a lot of control options. I like to use an 11.5 inch reflector that has a 65 degree beam spread, fitted with a 20-degree or 30-degree honeycomb grid, and a plastic snap on diffuser, and then a set of 2-way barndoors. if you like "hot" hair lighting or "hot" rim lighting, the grid alone is useful,and the barn doors keep the spill directed to the people on the set. The secret though, is the addition of the Speedotron snap-on mylar diffuser paired with the grid! The snap-on mylar diffuser looks almost exactly like plastic milk jug as far as density goes. You can use one, or two of them,stacked. Taking that slight edge off of light that is coming through a grid just makes the hair or rim lighting softer, so that it is very subtle and almost invisibly blended i to the overall lighting. To me, there is nothing worse that raw, undiffused light creating a "hot" or "white" highlight as either hair or rim-lighting...the look is jiuts so,so cheezy and so,so beginnerish...it's like a person thought, "Hey, I'll stick a portable strobe behind two people, and blast them with light, and call it a hairlight."

The obvious takeaway is this: if one uses 40 to 60 inch umbrellas or a larger softbox to light the subjects, the lighting will be relatively speaking "soft". So, when lighting the hair, you need to also light it with light that blends, that matches, and that which has at least a passably close character to the lighting of the main and fill lights. A small, 7- to 11.5-inch reflector is a very small, hard light source. It needs something to take the "edge" off, and a grid + diffuser +barn doors can help immeasurably. Not many watt-seconds are required either; 12.5 to 50 watt-seconds with a high-efficiency 11.5 inch reflector + grid + diffuser will fit right in with a main light that is 4 to 6 times more-powerful but which is being shot through umbrellas or softboxes.

 

[Aye-non Oh-non Imus]

Very small and lightweight, 100ws Photographer's Warehouse PG3001MLB - photographerswarehouse.com

 

[Ryan L]

I don't think I've ever seen someone use a softbox on their background light (unless it was lighting both the subject and the background). Well, that's not really true. If you were lighting the background to create a gradient...then using a softbox (or similar modifier) could be useful.

Rather, we use the spread of light and the proximity to the background, to control how the background looks. Do you have your speedlite set to the widest zoom setting?

I have tried setting my 580 wide, both with the diffuser, and without, I seem to either get a hot spot, or when I back it off I only get a partial lit background.

I'd personally like to use a small softbox for a hair light on a single subject. A strip box works really well when you have more that one subject.

I have looked at them, although I need to find a inexensive strobe first. Preferably with a Bowens S Mount to match my existing strobes.

Another great option for a hair light is a reflector dish and barn doors. This allows you to shape the light to suit your needs...but does give you a harder light than a smallish softbox.

This is along the lines I was thinking

I've never tried them, but I've seen them recommended from time to time...you can get slave strobe bulbs that screw into regular light sockets. I think that in some situations, they could make for great background or even hair lights for someone on a budget. And as an optical slave, you won't have to worry about triggering them.
Slave Strobes (AC & DC)

I have seen others recommend them, but I would still need a way to control the direction.

 

[Ryan L]

I think you'd really like a hairlight that had a lot of control options. I like to use an 11.5 inch reflector that has a 65 degree beam spread, fitted with a 20-degree or 30-degree honeycomb grid, and a plastic snap on diffuser, and then a set of 2-way barndoors.

This sounds ideal, might be a littlke more than I need. The 65 degree reflector and 30 degree honeycomb sound about right. Should I still need a set of barn doors even with the honeycomb?

Not many watt-seconds are required either; 12.5 to 50 watt-seconds with a high-efficiency 11.5 inch reflector + grid + diffuser will fit right in with a main light that is 4 to 6 times more-powerful but which is being shot through umbrellas or softboxes.

This is good info, I was going to be way overboard with power on this, I was thinking 100-150w/s.

 

[Derrel]

Well, the barn doors really do allow you a lot of control on where the light goes, and give you more options as to exactly where the light can be placed in relation to the subject. If you do not want the expense and weight of barn doors, you can also use slip-in pieces of lightweight, thin metal which slides into a gel holder. Like, on the small Photographer's Warehouse monolight 100ws Photographer's Warehouse PG3001MLB - photographerswarehouse.com linked to above, its gel holder will allow you to slide in a mylar or fiberglass or frosted glass diffuser AND also there's room to slide in different widths of light-blockers that will function like a set of 2-way barndoors.

If all you want is an overall, over-the entire set toplight as a hair light, the 30 degree grid on a 65 degree reflector is going to be about right for a 3-4 person group on a 9 foot seamless roll or muslin, with the light back near the paper roll. If however you want to use it as a single-sided rim light or accent light, on say 1 person standing, you will probably want a narrower swath of light, so the 2-way barn doors are ideal for closing down until only about 1 inch of light comes out and goes 10-12 feet and is about a foot wide, but tall. If you want the light to be wide, you rotate the barn doors, and presto! the highlight is all kept up high. Barn doors also quite often help keep your lens from getting a flare when the accent light is aimed basically back toward the people and camera...

So, if you don't have barn doors, you can use Cinefoil, or tin sheeting, or something else that's fire-proof,and use either gaffer's tape or a gel holder to hold some makeshift light limiters that do not weigh much and are basically free to make. As far as power goes: there is one weird,weird anomolous behavior of light,and it occurs when a hairlight/rim light is raked in from a steep angle,and that is this: the light becomes apparently "stronger" and "hotter" as it moves from the left or right side of the set, and around the back of the set,and the light meter's readings will easily fool you as to how hot the accent/rim/hairlighting will look, and consequently it takes VERY little light when the hair/accent/separation light is behind the subject. I read this odd truth a decade or more ago, and it was written by none other than CLTHRS...chief lighting technician, Herb Ritts Studios...perhaps *the* leading lighting expert in the field of celebrity portraiture in the world. Try it youyrself and see: with a separation light off to the side of the set it looks "one way"; as it is moved around and back of the subject, and as the angle becomes steeper, the light almost appears to "grow" in power, and hotness...it's a very weird and much unanticipated behavior, but CLTHRS tutelage is true...you do not need much light at all...so, if that 100 w/s monolight will go Full-Half-Quarter-Eighth
you ought to have 100-50-25-12.5 watt-seconds. I usually use 12.5 to 25 w-s for mine, with a 200 to 400 mainlight.

 

[Derrel]

Bowens Effects Reflectors | Robert White Photographic Ltd

Some great illustrations right here....I know it's a UK-based web page, but these are nice Bowens S-fit accessories of the exact type I am suggesting.

 

[Ryan L]

Bowens Effects Reflectors | Robert White Photographic Ltd

Some great illustrations right here....I know it's a UK-based web page, but these are nice Bowens S-fit accessories of the exact type I am suggesting.

GREAT....now I want it all! I am cheap though and since a snoot is almost 100.00 converted to dollars, I will roll up black cardboard and stick it on a strobe if I need one. lol.

I like the Reflector Kit with Snoot and Barn Door attachments, and the Honeycomb fitted to Grid Reflector, and the backlight reflector, and.....hell I like it all. There goes the savings account.