using a snoot for hairlight

Okay, let me start off by saying that I have very little space to work with and that is something that is not going to change, so I have to make the best of my situation. I am trying to make portraits of my young children and seated adults in my basement which has a drop ceiling.

I also recently acquired a fourth Genesis 200 to use as a hair light. Since my drop ceiling limits the height that I can mount the hair light, I had to improvise last night when playing around with my setup.

Here it is (I'll post pics later)...

1. My Boss backdrops (6x10s) are secured to a collapsible rod held in place by two Autopoles (ceiling tiles) at one end of the basement.

2. On the opposite side of my basement (where I shoot from) two Genesis 200s (I'm going for flat lighting for now) are mounted on autopoles facing the subject from both sides. They each have a Nova 22 soft boxes.

3. My subject stands about 4 feet from the backdrop with another Genesis 200 behind him on a floor stand directed up at backdrop. I'm just using the basic reflector dish on this background light.

4. My hairlight is mounted as high as possible on the right-side autopole (used for my backdrop) pointing downwards towards the back of my subject.

I was taking some test shots of a Mickey Mouse stuffed animal last night and the hairlight made such a big difference (I'll have to post pics tonight). This was the first time I used a hairlight and one thing I realized is that the only way to prevent the hairlight from spilling was to use my snoot. My snoot came with a grid and gels but I did not use them.

I also noticed that I preferred the pictures in which I had no background light at all. Even at the lowest setting possible (10 out of 60) the background lost a lot of the rich color it has. Should I move the background light off to the side and further away? But that would mean I would have to control the light spill from that source and I don't have any other grids. Maybe I can go to my local photo supply store and buy a universal 7" grid that will fit.

Any recommendations for improvement here? I know that subject to background distance is not optimal, but its what I have to live with unfortunately. I'm not looking for a miracle either...just something that is acceptable. I plan on taking some more test shots tonight, but this time with my kids.

Is there a question in there somewhere? Oh yeah, I see one! Actually, using a background light is totally up to you and what you like. In tight spaces, you sometimes get just enough light on the background from other light sources that it achieves the color you want and relatively uniform lighting. Use background lighting to change the color characteristics, blow out the background, or to make the lighting more even across the background...but there's no rule that you have to use lights on your background. Sometimes I do, and sometimes I don't.

The distance between your hairlight and subject is probably the reason you have to use a narrow source like a snoot to avoid spill. Something closer to the subject might spill less, and then it's a matter of personal preference again regarding the look you want. I happen to like using gridded softboxes and stripboxes for hair lights and create a softer, more diffused hairlight. I'll sometimes use a 7" reflector and narrow grid to concentrate the light more. I didn't particularly like the look of a snooted light, but that's just me.

sdipirro wrote in post #14712028
Is there a question in there somewhere? Oh yeah, I see one! Actually, using a background light is totally up to you and what you like. In tight spaces, you sometimes get just enough light on the background from other light sources that it achieves the color you want and relatively uniform lighting. Use background lighting to change the color characteristics, blow out the background, or to make the lighting more even across the background...but there's no rule that you have to use lights on your background. Sometimes I do, and sometimes I don't.

The distance between your hairlight and subject is probably the reason you have to use a narrow source like a snoot to avoid spill. Something closer to the subject might spill less, and then it's a matter of personal preference again regarding the look you want. I happen to like using gridded softboxes and stripboxes for hair lights and create a softer, more diffused hairlight. I'll sometimes use a 7" reflector and narrow grid to concentrate the light more. I didn't particularly like the look of a snooted light, but that's just me.

Thanks. I'll post some pics later tonight. That might make things easier.