Larry's words...
I wonder if anyone has tried simulating a ring light for macro work,
by putting a studio strobe with umbrella directly behind the camera and
triggering the camera with a cable release?
In a similar vein, what is the fabric that is used for shoot through
umbrellas, soft boxes etc? It seems I could make a really big softbox
for a lot less than it would cost to buy, if I bought the right fabric,
plastic or whatever is used for the diffuser.
--
Larry Colen lrc at red4est.com sent from i4est
Larry, I did use a large softbox and a small silver umbrella behind the
camera some two or three times, but results did not get me smiling - the
umbrella gave better results for my taste, but more often I'd place the
light from a side or use the softbox as part of a light tent, not always
at the top. My tests happened in studio - it's conceivable to get some
structure to use an umbrella attached to the camera in the field,
probably even available somewhere.
A friend and teacher built a gadget with a glass panel at 45 deg from
the camera, that would receive a studio flash and reflect part of the
blast towards the subject's face. He wanted to do some portraits with a
fully frontal light, no shadows visible and wanted real power. Results
were interesting to a point, but the glass at our disposal then (1982-3,
Brasilian northeast) made him quit. I suggested a hole in front of the
lens, but he also wanted to get rid of donut shaped reflections on eyes.
As for the clothing/ plastic used on softboxes, I used white plastic,
vegetable paper and ordinary white synthetic cloth to repair or
improvise softboxes and light diffusers in the past - color casts were
the issue since most of the time I'd be using slide film, but a slight
cast was better than failing to present the pic. It helped when all
lights used the same solution. The softboxes available here in Br do age
and develop some color cast sooner or later - so I'll probably have to
repair mine soon, again.
ps: as the first try to send this msg failed, I looked at the other
answers and there is some rig to use umbrellas that way.
--
luiz felipe
luiz.felipe at luizfelipe.fot.br
--
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