6 important accessories you need for studio photography
6 important accessories you need for studio photography | ||
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Studio lighting can cost thousands of dollars—or not. A trip to a hardware store can get you studio light rigs. PVC pipe is a cheap way to make light stands and background supports. Metal reflectors with a spring clamp are cheap. For a few dollars more, you can buy the heavy duty quartz work lights already on portable stands. They can be too hot for extended use with live models, but they pour out a lot of light. For softboxes, check with a photography supply store for Rolux, a translucent material you can use to make your own softboxes that can withstand the heat of your homemade lights. Bare bulb—Used without any modification, a bare bulb produces stark, flat light and shadows, washing out detail that depends on more delicate shading. Softbox—Harnessed to the housing of a strobe, an incandescent, or a fluorescent light, a softbox, made of cloth over a wire frame, widens to enfold the strobe in a semi-translucent material. Light passing through the front layer of cloth is diffused so that the light over- laps itself and appears to come from a larger source than the strobe itself. The result is softer shadows and more subtle shading. The larger the softbox and the closer it is to the subject, the more flattering the light is. Umbrella—An umbrella has a dual use. With light shining through it from the under- side, it works like a softbox. If the light is aimed at an underside lined with a light- reflecting material, the umbrella acts like a concentrating lens keeping the light parallel, but at the same time, widening the beam of light so that it is softer. Reflector—A reflector is most often used in a single light situation, usually to reflect some of the light from the main light source so that it creates fill light in the shadows to reveal details that otherwise would have been lost. Some reflectors have a silver or gold coating to add a bit of brilliance or warmth to a subject. Snoot—An alternative to barn doors is the snoot, a cylindrical attachment to the front of a light that restricts the light to a narrow beam. Barn doors—When a photographer doesn't want light to fall on some area, barn doors are flat panels attached to a light to block light in specific directions, like blinders on a horse. | ||