DIY Strip boxes.

divamum · August 28, 2011

I'm trying to DIY some strip boxes for my speedlights - I had good luck with the SB I made when I first started out, so since the materials I'm using are almost free, I reckoned why not give it a go? I'll post deets if I can get it to work properly

In the meantime - having never owned/used a set - where does the flash usually go? I'm trying to figure out how to get one speedlight to fill that long, narrow space (these will be about 30x6"). If I insert at the back, I presume it will result in a hotspot in the middle with the rest of the strip underlit; might it work to insert from the top, with the light pointing downwards? I'm lining it with silver, of course, but just trying to figure out the best way to use the light available, and consequently just wondering how "real" ones work.

Tx in advance! :thumb

Bryce Wilson · August 28, 2011

divamum wrote: »

I'm trying to DIY some strip boxes - I had good luck with the SB I made when I first started out, so since the materials I'm using are almost free, I reckoned why not give it a go? I'll post deets if I can get it to work properly

In the meantime - having never owned/used a set - where does the flash usually go? I'm trying to figure out how to get one speedlight to fill that long, narrow space (these will be about 30x6"). If I insert at the back, I presume it will result in a hotspot in the middle with the rest of the strip underlit; might it work to insert from the top, with the light pointing downwards? I'm lining it with silver, of course, but just trying to figure out the best way to use the light available, and consequently just wondering how "real" ones work.

Tx in advance!

The one I use has a baffle made of the same material as the front, positioned about six inches behind the front. I believe this helps even the distribution of light as it passes through prior to hitting the front.

Not sure if I explained that well

but I think you can get the drift.:D

divamum · August 28, 2011

Thanks Bryce. Yeah, my SB has a diffusion panel like that too. Presumably this means the strip boxes are deeper than the ones I'm making - I'm use 12pk soda cartons, so they're rather shallow.

I think I'll try figuring out how to insert the flash from above; maybe I can use a pice of plastic guttering and a velcro strip to hold it on. Watch this space.

And anybody else, please do chime in with suggestions!

wolf911 · August 28, 2011

Have you seen those saberstrips? Here is a DIY pic of one - http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluemonkey08/5193191687/in/set-72157625434498432 They use the flash at one end.

divamum · August 28, 2011

Oo - hadn't seen that one! It does, however, confirm my gut hunch that it needs to be one end when there isn't enough depth+baffle to diffuse.

Off to Home Depot....

divamum · August 28, 2011

Prototype in progress... It's all just loosely taped together right now, but it seems to work - so far so good. Need to make a 2nd one so I can try them out as a pair of sidelights for portraits (which is why I want them) and see how well they actually control the light.

I need to figure out a way of stiffening the long sides slightly so it's a bit less bendy, but that shouldn't be too difficult - even plastic garden stakes duck taped into the inside corners would work. Also, of course, some black sticky-back paper or something on the outside to make it look a bit less ghetto when it's done! It won't be collapsible, but they're very lightweight and the little SB I made in a similar way has held up for two years now! Amazing what lavish amounts of duck tape will do to strengthen paper....

I did indeed use a piece of gutter connector for the fitting at the top - $2.50 each at Home Depot. It works to hold it without any additional securing (it's exactly the right size to be a snug fit for my 430ex with some velcro tabs in place), but I'll probably add a velcro strap to wrap around the top just to make sure it stays secure (not that it would be a big deal if it fell off - it's only cardboard, after all!). Rip-stop nylon for the diffuser; got lucky and there was a remnant of exactly the right size to do two boxes - $3.98. The inside is lined with tinfoil to keep the light bouncing around as much as possible.

wolf911 · August 29, 2011

cool, I went the saber route http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=204813 My next one will probably be made out of that thin walled pvc pipe. That should provide durability for a lifetime

Mitchell · August 29, 2011

Ingenious and very "ghetto" DM!!

Show me the money with some headshots.

divamum · August 29, 2011

Added some lightweight pvc gutter filter panels inside the boxes to stiffen up the sides (Lowes, $1.98 each), bringing the grand total cost for one stripbox up to about $8 (not including the price of the original sodas

). I'd have preferred to do without it since it does add a little extra weight - it will now definitely need a velcro attachment for security, ideally attached to the stand rather than the flash itself - but it does make the box itself a lot easier to handle and keeps the diffuser fabric stretched appropriately, and it's hardly "heavy".. I still need to find some black Con-tac paper to clean up the outside (I could have polka dots, woodgrain, or white, but black? Couldn't find it today

)

A couple of very quick test shots of a somewhat reluctant Mini-D.... Just one light - no reflectors or anything else, since my goal was to see how the strip itself looked. The cool thing here is that this is more or less SOOC (and contrast/blacks had NO adjustment at all) and she was only maybe 3ft in front of the black background. My other modifiers would for sure have spilled onto the BG at that distance... I like the long-line catchlights, too. I can't wait to make the second one and play with some sidelighting!

wolf911 · August 29, 2011

Lookin good, nice and soft

Bilsen · August 31, 2011

Nicely done DM.

When the cold months come and I'm stuck inside, this will be a project.

divamum · August 31, 2011

They're very easy to make - cutting the gutter plastic was kind of a pain, but it's really no big deal. Took me maybe 30-45 minutes to make. Made the second one yesterday - it came out a bit better than the first since the "design" was already worked out; I also found the black duck tape to clean up the outsides a bit (plus the extra tape makes them more solid and keeps the corners more square). The gutter filters work a treat for the inside; makes it easier to line with foil as well, since you just wrap it around those plastic inserts before putting them into the box (I then duck taped them into place along the edge, just to make sure they stayed put). They definitely need velcro straps to ensure they stay on (not that it hurts them to fall straight down - theyr'e pretty indestructible!); they're not "too heavy" for the flashes - especially since the head is in "normal" position while in use so it's not putting any particular strain on the swivel - they just won't stay in place by inertia alone and a strap will add security.

Puppy wanted to get in on the act

I am REALLY liking the effect. It's the same quality of light as my Photek softliter, except that I can choose how and where to wrap it around because it's 2 lights instead of one. These are going to be very versatile, I think, and in my small space their diminutive size is a real asset. I'm very pleased and for under $20 for the pair, I certainly can't argue with the price

Here are a couple more tests. Mini-D was the only game in town and she was definitely not thrilled, but at least it's a "live body" to test the effect! That "background" is the black side of a reflector propped up on the back of the chair she was sitting in (I had to work fast) - it can't be more than 6" away from her, so that's some indication of how easily the light can be controlled with these.

Main light is camera left - ratio was about 4:1, iirc. Pinlights are from the 7 commander.

This next one shows me how wonderfully a narrow strip is going to solve one of my biggest challenges: hair lighting. I don't have the space or ceiling height to put one where it really needs to be consistently. Best solution to date was to bounce at lowest power to turn the behind/side wall into a giant SB, but it still went everywhere, often causing quite bad flare problems. With this? Right where I wanted it, first time - no fussing around trying to place it just so, no biggie if subject moved a little. Score!

In these tests, the stands were barely out of shot so the light is very soft; I'm keen to try a few more with the lights further away to get something a little more dramatic and directional going on. The good thing, though, is that they work REALLY well. Given that even "cheap" speedlight stripboxes are over $100 (and usually require speedlight adapters that aren't included) I think these will do very nicely until the day I can justify buying some. Best of all, their footprint when attached is barely bigger than the stand itself - when space is as limited as it is for me, this is really, REALLY helpful.

dbveto · August 31, 2011

Diva could you possibly post a couple of pull backs show the light placement?

divamum · August 31, 2011

I don't have any pullbacks, but it was nothing exotic - in the first one with two boxes, they were about 30-40* to subject (so further to the side than I'd usually use a single light), maybe 18-24" away from her, and just out of shot (I was only about 4-5ft away from subject) - you can see the catchlights from each strip. In the second one, I moved the rh box further back and to the side - it's at least 90* to subject, and maybe a little further behind her than that. I think I also turned the ratio way down so that it wouldn't be too much for a hair light. First one had a tickle of ambient since it was only ss 160; 2 was ss 250, so it's pretty much all the flashes.

Next time I use them, I'll try to remember to shoot a pullback

divamum · August 31, 2011

This isn't a pullback but a badly-framed shot which shows just how close the boxes were. The one on CL was a little further away, but not much.

DIY Strip boxes.

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