Hairlight snoot question

Am considering either buying or making a snoot of some sort for my sunpak flash so I can use it as a hairlight. The question is how big an opening should I use to get the correct amount of light onto the subject. I will probably mount the flash on a boom and place it overhead. Thanks for any replies!

It depends on how long your snoot is, how far away from the subject it'll be, etc.. If you're making one it'll be very easy to see and adjust. Even just make a temp. one with paper or something to test different sizes, etc.

I was thinking that I could make something out of paper or cardboard that would fit over the end of the flash unit. I am not sure how much coverage I need to get the desired effect. I am guessing just enough to cover the top of the head and maybe the shoulders a bit?

I've been playing with this a bit, and I take a 430EX and using cardbord I narrow the opening to about 1/2th of the size of the 430 - that seems to work very well so far.

The one thing you have to be careful of is that the cardboard traps heat so even at 1/4 power you have to slow down a bit. I was talking to someone else who took time to exacto out a honey comb pattern above the snoot (about 3/4" width, length of the flash head) right where the head of the flash would sit in the snoot to allow for some heat dispersion. That worked for her but I have not tried it.

EDIT: Use White Cardboard, paper is not going to work. Also on the opposite side of the snoot (pointing at the subject) put black tape all around the inside of the opening. This will limit any light escaping after bouncing around and escaping in the wrong direction. I just use electrical tape, worked fine.

Don't restrict the beam too much. You want to cover a large enough area to give your subject room to move. A narrow beam would make setup unnecesarily complicated.

Really all you need is a piece of cardboard strapped to the side of the flash nearest the camera, to prevent lens flare caused by light hitting the camera directly.

Curtis N wrote in post #6566276
Don't restrict the beam too much. You want to cover a large enough area to give your subject room to move. A narrow beam would make setup unnecesarily complicated.

Really all you need is a piece of cardboard strapped to the side of the flash nearest the camera, to prevent lens flare caused by light hitting the camera directly.

How do you keep the beam larger w/o having the light spill onto the side of the face (like a kicker)?

Keep the hairlight above and behind the subject, pointed down and forward.

You still have to snoot it a bit, but I agree if you don't have a helper it will be a pain to keep running back there and the model has to keep still so you can adjust. A simple snoot (I would cover all 4 sides) would do. I don't agree with a simple gobo since the background is usually gelled to be a different color and I don't want the light from the hair light flash getting back there. If you don't gel your backgrounds than it would be ok.

u can make a snoot with a empty spaghetti box

HoRnYTuRbO wrote in post #6570829
u can make a snoot with a empty spaghetti box

What brand box works best?

You could also make a grid from some drinking straws, if you want to have better control over the light beam...

Rudi wrote in post #6572166
You could also make a grid from some drinking straws, if you want to have better control over the light beam...

That is a great idea Rudi! Never even thought about that for a grid. Thanks for the rest of the replies guys...some useful suggestions here!

Its a good idea. Just juse the largest (opening) straws you can find. McD is probably too small. I found very large ones at the local Restaurant Supply store.

a friend of mine used a pringles chips canister. just cut the endsoff and painted it black so it didn't look too hookey . works well.

CineFoil also is handy...

(Black, fairly heavy duty aluminum foil)