mood_lover Posted July 28, 2017 Share Posted July 28, 2017 (edited) Hi all, found this lovely still life by photographer J. Tasker: Photo removed. Per the photo.net Terms of Use, do not post photos that are not yours. Use a link to the photo at a location where the photographer has put it. I have a small Yongnuo 560-IV speedlite with 9" soft box I would like to dedicate to this task but can't figure out how to make the triangle/cone shape of light that starts small at the top and expands as it comes down. I love how it lands behind the flower pot and is the brightest point of that light. I will be doing this for portraits, not still life. Also, I have a roll of cinefoil available (but not really sure how to use it) if that will help cut light from the sides like the reference. Is the background light a hard light? Soft light? I really don't know and would appreciate help, thanks!!! Edited July 28, 2017 by Spearhead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodeo_joe1 Posted July 29, 2017 Share Posted July 29, 2017 Soft light, as from a softbox, can't be shaped. You need to start with a hard source, such as your bare speedlight. I assume you just want a spotlight effect. Put your YN-560 to its longest zoom setting and wrap a tubular 'snoot' around it to narrow the beam even further. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chazfenn Posted July 29, 2017 Share Posted July 29, 2017 Put a snoot or barn-doors on a standard reflector head. Put the head on a boom. Leave enough room between the subject & backdrop that it only strikes the seamless. Swing the boom over & behind the subject adjusting the doors to shad the subject. Position it angled back & down onto the seamless at a sharp angle. What you're doing is angling a shaded beam down & back so the beams cross section strikes only the seamless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_bill Posted July 30, 2017 Share Posted July 30, 2017 Your speed light head is shorter top to bottom than left to right. Use the narrower dimension. Zoom out the head. To make the beam more parallel, move the flash a bit from the wall and aim it about a 1/3rd down the wall. It's easier with modeling lights. Take a test shot and re adjust. You can roll some cinefoil into a snoot and tape it to the flash head if there is alot of spill. Since the photo you posted has been deleted, I can't tell if it passed behind the subject. You can clean it up in post with a pair of hard edged gradients or use the adjustment brush in Lightroom or dodge the bright area to even out the brightness. Or like here, just make it with a pair of gradients with the edges softened and dodged in the beam. Just a quick one, didn't take much time but you get the idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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