Shooting Out In The Sun

So the other day I was looking at the conversation threads over at flickr. One caught my eye. The title of the thread had "large modifier" and "shooting in the sun" in the title. That drew an immediate response from me. My thoughts were not in context for the group it was posted in so I was hesitant to respond. It was posted in the "strobist" forum. What followed in the responses were all sorts of replies regarding ways to overpower the sun with flash.

My approach is a bit different. I think in terms of diffusing/reducing the sun's effect on the exposure first, then think about adding lights.

When I am going to shoot outside in the sun, the first things I grab are as follows:

42" 6 in 1 reflector/diffuser kit (Westcott)
Adjustable mounting arm (Westcott)
C Stand (or a light stand)
Sand bags (as needed)

With the 6 in 1 kit I can shoot a single subject or a couple. I can diffuse the direct sun by one or two stops. If working in the shade, I can reflect the sun onto the subject (s) either with white/silver/gold.

Why fight the sun when you can use it. Light is light. Use what is available first. Modify it, then think about other lights.

So I will admit, I am a big fan of the Westcott kit. It works well in the studio as well, as a bounce, a reflector, or for negative fill light.

So, no pics on this post. Just had to vent...

On a personal note...

So it's been over two years since I posted anything here. No new DIY projects. Nothing...

It's not that I completely forgot about this blog, I just can't figure out what I want to blog about.

One thing that has given me pause was seeing the tracking graph which shows that a few people visit this blog even though the content is old.

I'm gonna give it some thought and see if I can up with anything worthwhile. First up will be to do some editing of what's already here.

DIY strip light / softbox

A few days ago I ran across a post about using a bread keeper to make a strip light. Here's the link: Strip light. I think of it more as a skinny soft box rather than a strip light. At any rate, it looked like a good idea to me, so here's my version. The bread keeper is by Rubbermaid. I found it at Wal Mart.

I went to Lowes to get the rest of what I envisioned I would need.

The guy who gave me the inspiration for this project used aluminum foil and glue to add the reflective surface to the inside of the box. I found some aluminum tape at Lowes. It was $7.58 a roll so I figured why not.

Here's the breakdown on what I spent:

Rubbermaid bread keeper                     $5.47

Package of #8 screws and nuts              $  .97

Package of #8 machine screws              $1.18

Wing nuts                                            $2.36

Fender washers                                    $2.30

Aluminum tape                                    $7.58

                            Materials total         $19.86

Not included in this list is the speed ring from one of my softboxes, black gaffers tape and some black foam core. I always keep gaffers tape and foam core around, both black and white.

I started by drilling 4 holes in the lid of the bread keeper for mounting to the speed ring. Then I cut out a hole for the flash head. I cut the hole using a knife, making it slightly larger than my largest flash head. I mounted the screws using fender washers on either side of the lid using a regular nut on the outside to keep the screws in place. Then I attached the speed ring using the wing nuts (for easy assembly in the field).

Next, I wrapped the inside of the bread keeper with the aluminum tape, leaving the flat side open. I also wrapped the inside of the lid with the tape.

I wrapped the outside of the box with 2" gaffers tape to minimize light spill. I made some flaps out of tape for the flash head opening. Once again to minimize spill.

I attached some velcro strips on the outside of the box to be able to mount flags. I made the flags out of some black foam core and attached velcro to those also. I made the strips long enough to be able to adjust how far the flags extend. I made sure that the flags would fit inside the box when not in use.

Here's the finished box with the flags attached.

I plan on using the box for rim lighting and for table top set ups. I may add a layer of diffusion to the open part of the box which would be easy to tape to the inside or the outside.