Lastolite’s HiLite Background

Best I could do with out a grid...I will dig one out tomorrow and try again. The one thing I do love about the hilite is the ease of getting perfect white backgrounds like the third image.

I could easily get the hilite the colour I wanted without a key light, soon as I added it the hilite went pastel pink.

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How far is the subject from the background?

6 feet.

With out a grid I really could not direct the light to the model without it hitting the white background. Maybe with a gobo?

BCRose wrote in post #6434078
6 feet.

With out a grid I really could not direct the light to the model without it hitting the white background. Maybe with a gobo?

A gobo or flag may help but this is a perfect example of where a grid will save the day.

What aperture are you shooting at? If you've got the flexibility you might try dropping all the power levels down so that your taking aperture is something like f/4 or f/5.6 and then if you want your background 3 stops under you'll obviously need to get down to f/1.4 or f/2. Got any ND gels? That's what I use when I need to drop power below the minimum a strobe or flash will allow.

I was shooting at f/5.6 up to f/11. Not much difference. I tossed the grids I have in the garage in a box somewhere....I said to myself at the time..." why would I ever need these things "

I will dig them out tomorrow and try again. I understand the idea you conveyed and see how it will work. Just need to get the key light off the bg...easier said than done.

Just for kicks, try sidelighting the subject and use a reflector on the other side to see if you're getting the background to go dark.

..How close can a person get to the HiLite without excessive wrap? I'm using a bedsheet as a background and my subject has to stand 5-6 feet away, which leaves little to no room for me to stand.

Vascilli wrote in post #6434217
..How close can a person get to the HiLite without excessive wrap? I'm using a bedsheet as a background and my subject has to stand 5-6 feet away, which leaves little to no room for me to stand.

A quick way to get an idea of how much wrap you'll get is to stand in the subject's position, point your light meter at the background and take a reading with just your background lights switched on.

If the reading is roughly equal to your taking aperture, you'll get some wrap. If it's a couple of stops or more over your taking aperture then you'll get very strong (IMO unacceptable) wrap. If the reading is a couple of stops or more under your taking aperture then you'll get little to no wrap. BTW this is a very rough guide but should let you test how much space you'll need to get the level of wrap you want.

Vascilli wrote in post #6434217
..How close can a person get to the HiLite without excessive wrap? I'm using a bedsheet as a background and my subject has to stand 5-6 feet away, which leaves little to no room for me to stand.

You can put your subject right next to it. Very little spill.

Hermes wrote in post #6434259
A quick way to get an idea of how much wrap you'll get is to stand in the subject's position, point your light meter at the background and take a reading with just your background lights switched on.

If the reading is roughly equal to your taking aperture, you'll get some wrap. If it's a couple of stops or more over your taking aperture then you'll get very strong (IMO unacceptable) wrap. If the reading is a couple of stops or more under your taking aperture then you'll get little to no wrap. BTW this is a very rough guide but should let you test how much space you'll need to get the level of wrap you want.

Um yeah... light meter.. I have one of those....

BCRose wrote in post #6434331
You can put your subject right next to it. Very little spill.

Good. Very good.

TMR Design wrote in post #6434103
A gobo or flag may help but this is a perfect example of where a grid will save the day.

Robert,

I have a grid for my medium Photoflex sb.

I've been wanting to buy a large Photoflex sb, but man those grid's are expensive.

The medium grid cost $100, so I guess if I buy the large I should force myself to include the cost of the grid as well.

That large sb for $124 now pushes all the way up to $264.
Do you think the blinds that comes with this kit on the left will do the job?
http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …cessory_Kit.htm​l#includes
Or should one just bite the bullet?

Thanks man...

-Mario

m3rdpwr wrote in post #6435946
Robert,

I have a grid for my medium Photoflex sb.

I've been wanting to buy a large Photoflex sb, but man those grid's are expensive.

The medium grid cost $100, so I guess if I buy the large I should force myself to include the cost of the grid as well.

That large sb for $124 now pushes all the way up to $264.
Do you think the blinds that comes with this kit on the left will do the job?
http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …cessory_Kit.htm​l#includes
Or should one just bite the bullet?

Thanks man...

-Mario

HI Mario,

Yes, grids are expensive and some are unbelievably expensive. Take a look at grids from Chimera and other high end manufacturers. The prices are through the roof. Photoflex grids, by comparison are inexpensive. That's not to say that they're still not costly little items but the Photoflex are more reasonable than others.

I've never used that accessory kit with the round mask, strip mask and louvers so I can't say how good or effective they are but I can say from some DIY's I've done that creating a round mask on the front of a square softbox never really looks the same as a round box. Perhaps it was my design or the way it was mounted. I'm not sure. Louvers seem like a good idea but you don't see them being produced from many other companies and that always leads me to believe that there must be a reason. Then again, for the price of that kit it may be worth a try.

Personally I would, and have just bitten the bullet and got the grid. The Photoflex grids are well made with good stitching, both at the joints and for the velcro that goes around the outside. Unfortunately, grids are just one of those accessories that is costly and if you need them then you need them.

Being a DIY guy I've also done extensive searches and looked everywhere for materials or some sort of prefab grid and it doesn't seem to exist. I've made grids from the plastic grid used in ceiling light fixtures but the plastic is heavy and doesn't give you as much control as the fabric due to its depth. The only way I was able to use my DIY grids was to hang it from a stand in front of the box, independent of the box. It worked but was not something I pursued.

My only suggestion is to think about the size of your modifiers and their applications and only get grids for those modifiers that you'll need to control directionality based on where and what you shoot. If you're doing head shots and want to keep spill from your main light off your background then perhaps use a smaller box and then the grid is also less expensive. For something like head shots or tight portraits you can use a small box placed close to your subject to create an apparently large light source and get quite a bit of isolation. A large box or an Octa will be harder to control. So pick the modifiers and accessories based on shooting needs and requirements.

Thanks Robert.

You know what I did find a little while back though?

Amvona's large softbox is the same size as Photoflex's medium.
And Amvona's softbox is cheap and comes with grid's.

That being said, Amvona's extra large softbox is the same size as Photoflex's large.

All Amvona's come with the grid and are dirt cheap, so I've been tempted to buy their softbox just for the grid and sell the rest.

I'm hoping somone does the test for me so I'm not out the $$$...

-Mario

m3rdpwr wrote in post #6436089
Thanks Robert.

You know what I did find a little while back though?

Amvona's large softbox is the same size as Photoflex's medium.
And Amvona's softbox is cheap and comes with grid's.

That being said, Amvona's extra large softbox is the same size as Photoflex's large.

All Amvona's come with the grid and are dirt cheap, so I've been tempted to buy their softbox just for the grid and sell the rest.

I'm hoping somone does the test for me so I'm not out the $$$...

-Mario

Hey Mario,
That is exactly what I will be doing later today!
I have an Amvona softbox or three that came with grids. I will be testing a bit later today and will post some results with details.

BCRose wrote in post #6436120
Hey Mario,
That is exactly what I will be doing later today!
I have an Amvona softbox or three that came with grids. I will be testing a bit later today and will post some results with details.

Thank you!

Please let us know what size what fit with what.

Also, the quality of the Amvona grid.
As I would think they are cheap and may tear apart easy after some use...

-Mario