need suggestions for flagging

I am looking for any ideas/suggestions on flagging my studio space to prevent spill from bouncing off my walls/ceilings and hitting my backdrop. In the photos below you can see my current setup. Part of the problem is that my small 16x22 softboxes aren't gridded. I currently have on order a 48" octobox and a 32x48 softbox (both gridded) which will replace the softboxes you see in the photos, and be much closer to the subject to obtain faster light falloff.

I went to Michael's craft store yesterday and looked at the available foam board. For $3 I can get a sheet of 20"x30" white foamboard with a 3/16" thickness. Once I paint them black I can gaffer tape four sections together to get a 80"x30" which I can suspend from my drop ceiling (how is still TBD). So for about $12 I can almost cover from the ceiling to floor and 30" across. Doing the math...for every 5 feet of width, it will cost me $24. Assuming I want to flag 10 feet of my wall, that's $48 plus supplies.

Does this sound like a reasonable plan? I have carpeted floor so propping v-foam boards is not such a great idea, not to mention I don't know where I would be able to purchase larger foam boards.

The other thing I would need to consider is the ceiling. I'll wait until I get my new light modifiers to see how much spill I still have on the ceiling.

Working in tight spaces really sucks!

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'text/html' | Byte size: ZERO

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'text/html' | Byte size: ZERO

I found black foam core for $1 a sheet, minimum order 50 sheets. Saves you from painting, and enough to cover the ceiling too ( I think, didn't do the math ).

http://www.dollartree.​com …-20x30-/p310686/index.pro

breal101 wrote in post #15551673
I found black foam core for $1 a sheet, minimum order 50 sheets. Saves you from painting, and enough to cover the ceiling too ( I think, didn't do the math ).

http://www.dollartree.​com …-20x30-/p310686/index.pro

Illustration board comes with a matt black side, & you don't need to buy them in quantity at most any art store.

Just got in touch with a local art supply store. They carry 4x8 black flat-finish boards for $55. I'm thinking that would work better for me than painting small boards and taping them together. Would cost me more, but would probably better in the long run.

The guy said he could cut them on one side only so I can fold them in half lengthwise to fit them in my car (and easily store them when not in use). I'll probably buy two for the wall so I would have an 8'x8' area covered by black. I'm thinking about just gaffering the sheets flat against the wall rather than suspending them as I originally planned.

Just a question about the physics of light hitting a black surface...what happens to the light that hits the surface? isn't it reflected no matter the color of the surface?

4X8 will work better but the price seems high. I used to buy it for less than $20 a sheet, actually around $15 IIRC. Try looking for a store that sells store display items, mannequins, display cases, etc. That was where I used to get mine.

Look at your local home center for foam insulation board. A bit thicker than foam core but a similar product. You can spray paint it. Cut a 4x8 sheet in the middle lengthwise and make your v board that free stands. I'm not sure your concern about carpet. Trying to cover your wall is counter productive. One smaller flag close to your light will block more light than covering an entire wall a few feet away.

gonzogolf wrote in post #15551915
I'm not sure your concern about carpet.

It will just tip over on carpet I think.

coeng wrote in post #15551923
It will just tip over on carpet I think.

Its a right angle made of two bit of foam board, it would be as steady on carpet as it would be tile.

gonzogolf wrote in post #15551930
Its a right angle made of two bit of foam board, it would be as steady on carpet as it would be tile.

Not nearly a right angle, right? I'm imagining a couple of sheets folded like one of those room privacy changing thingies (not sure what they're actually called) to block my wall.

Or do I not need something that large?

coeng wrote in post #15551980
Not nearly a right angle, right? I'm imagining a couple of sheets folded like one of those room privacy changing thingies (not sure what they're actually called) to block my wall.

Or do I not need something that large?

You hinge the two boards, it can be 45, 90, whatever you like? You dont need to block an entire wall. You just need a physical barrier close to the light. Imagine it working like a giant barn door.

Yup check home depot or lows or the likes for the pink foam board, much thicker sturdier stuff and alot less expensive, you can get flat black paint there too

I would start with covering the ceiling and walls with black to reduce/eliminate the bounced light and see where that gets you. This can be done using black seamless paper.

Next step would be to move both your lights (with the exception of the bg light) and subject farther away from the background.

Simply flagging the light may keep the light off a portion of the bg, but not all of it.

• If you remove the ceiling tiles (same as you removed the one with the magic arm poking through) that would help matters somewhat.
  
• If you don't like the idea of lightweight foamcore panels, get a couple of interior doors and hinge them together. One side painted white, the other black will give you weight, stability and flexibility of flagging or reflecting as required.
  
• Hinge the foamcore boards as previously mentioned, then put a bar of some description between the two unattached sides. Put a weight on the bar.
  

I was able to get the normal art supply foam core sheets at the local dollar tree. For something like this they would work fine. They come in white and black. The black has a white foam center, but I don't suppose that really matters. That said if I was doing a whole ceiling I might look at larger sheets just to make it simpler.

Regarding the ceiling, I'm not looking to pop out the tiles every time I setup my studio. As you can see my kids used the basement for play and right now they're complaining that I've had my stuff setup for too long.

I'm looking to design a quick and easy system in which I can just slide black foam boards into place without having to remove ceiling tiles. I just need a little time to design it. Any suggestions are welcome.