Turning umbrella into softbox?

photobug

Not sure exactly which forum this question fits in, but I'll give it a shot and see what happens :

I have a couple of 40" convertible umbrellas (white, with a removable black/silver cover). What's the best way of making them behave more like softboxes? (without dropping hundreds on "the real thing" like a Photoflex Octodome)

I can think of two options, both of which would require addition of some fabric:

1. I could remove the cover and shoot through them. I haven't tried that yet, but have read that will give more softbox-like lighting (and a little higher light output) than bouncing off the umbrella. The downside is if I'm outside of a studio setting (say, shooting couples' portraits at a social event), it will reflect a lot of undesireable light back into the room. That might be mitigated by hanging some dense black fabric over the open (rear) side of the umbrella (leaving an opening for the strobe to poke through, to shoot through the umbrella).
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2. Or, I could attach the cover, point the open side of the umbrella at the subject(s), bounce the light off the umbrella, and hang some translucent white fabric over the open side of the umbrella (the one facing the subject) to diffuse the light more, like a softbox cover. Has anyone tried this, and if so, what type of fabric would be recommended? (silk??)

Which option would be recommended? Or something else?

Also, would I have to worry about the stobes becoming too hot with the open end of the umbrella covered by fabric (thestudio strobe unit is fan-cooled but the flash tube and strobe reflector would be inside the cloth)?

Comments/suggestions (or pointers to old threads that I missed in a search) are appreciated...

ian408

If you remove the cover and shoot through them, you should be good.
Are you using a flash or strobe? Hopefully, a strobe.

AntoineD

you may also trigger your flash through a white sheet (not a white sheep).

It may help. Try it, and tell us.

photobug

If you remove the cover and shoot through [the umbrella], you should be good.

OK, the light will be softened, but is there any problem then with draping an opaque black cloth over the back side of the umbrella then (to cut off the light reflecting back into the room)?

Are you using a flash or strobe? Hopefully, a strobe.

I guess it would be called a "studio stobe" (Flashpoint 620). For some reason, the vendors like to refer to them as "monolights", but I haven't grokked why (is there such a thing as a "multi-light" or "poly-light"?)

photobug

AntoineD wrote:

you may also trigger your flash through a white sheet (not a white sheep). It may help. Try it, and tell us.

I may try that ... but I'll have to wait at least a couple of weeks until I have strobes again (I just sent in my initial strobe set to exchange for the 620s -- the bi-coastal round trip will take a while).

Through a white sheep, now that's an novel idea. It could provide some really interesting effects ... but I suspect there would be a fair amount of light falloff which might dramatically change the exposure

dragon300zx

It's a mono light because each head act's on it's own. The heads are not all connected on one box to get power, settings, etc.

Alienbee vs. Speedotron Black/Brown-line systems

The Speedotron systems have a seperate power supply/controller that each head connects to and the head doesn't do any thing but flash.

At least thats my understanding and how it was explained to me.

photobug

The meaning of "mono"light!

dragon300zx wrote:

It's a mono light because each head acts on its own. The heads are not all connected on one box to get power, settings, etc. ... [e.g.] Speedotron systems have a seperate power supply/controller that each head connects to and the head doesn't do any thing but flash.

Ahhhh (light goes off! -- oops, pun unintentional).

I see -- "monolight" means that everything is in one integrated unit, no separate power supply, etc. Thanks very much for solving that little mystery!

ziggy53

dragon300zx wrote:

It's a mono light because each head act's on it's own. The heads are not all connected on one box to get power, settings, etc.

Alienbee vs. Speedotron Black/Brown-line systems

The Speedotron systems have a seperate power supply/controller that each head connects to and the head doesn't do any thing but flash.

At least thats my understanding and how it was explained to me.

Right, a monolight is a self-contained unit. "Pack" lights have a common power supply and a seperate head for each flash unit, tethered by a cord. The most powerful electronic studio flash units are still of the "pack" type.

ziggy53

ziggy53

photobug wrote:

OK, the light will be softened, but is there any problem then with draping an opaque black cloth over the back side of the umbrella then (to cut off the light reflecting back into the room)?...

What you are describing is "controlling the spill". Light spill is what the stray light is called that escapes the light source.

Spill is mostly a problem when it is reflected off of a colored surface, lending a color cast to the scene.

Most of the heat from the monolights comes from the transformer and charging circuits and the modeling lights. As long as you provide some ventilation, and avoid direct contact with the modeling lights, you should be OK. I would suggest only draping the umbrella back to the reflector, to avoid any heat buildup in the body of the light.

Alternately, you can get a "Softlighter", or use a translucent drape similar to the Softlighter design. Ripstop nylon or even translucent shower liners can be used as diffusion material, (like you described).

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=42418&is=REG&addedTroughType=search

ziggy53

photobug

ziggy53 wrote:

" The most powerful electronic studio flash units are still of the "pack" type.

Probably because so much power requires a massive transformer (to step up the voltage, and carry enough current to recycle quickly) and a huge capacitor (to store the charge),. Those (esp the transformer) are likely too heavy to even think about mounting on light stands.

Good thing I don't need that kind of power .

photobug

ziggy53 wrote:

What you are describing is "controlling the spill". Light spill is what the stray light is called that escapes the light source.

Thanks for providing the right term, Ziggy.

Spill is mostly a problem when it is reflected off of a colored surface, lending a color cast to the scene.

Or when used at an event where the spill light could be distracting for the event ;-).

Most of the heat from the monolights comes from the transformer and charging circuits and the modeling lights. As long as you provide some ventilation, and avoid direct contact with the modeling lights, you should be OK. I would suggest only draping the umbrella back to the reflector, to avoid any heat buildup in the body of the light.

That sounds right to me.

Alternately, you can get a "Softlighter", or use a translucent drape similar to the Softlighter design. Ripstop nylon or even translucent shower liners can be used as diffusion material, (like you described).

Bingo! That's exactly one of the two configurations I was trying to describe.