Project365 - Of Grids and Snoots

Introduction

I managed to collect the components of my Honl speed strap & gels system yesterday. They also make a grid, so I picked one of this up up as well. Grids & Snoots are another form of light modifier for your flash system. They don't change the colour temperature of your flash, instead they focus the beam.

Why would you want to do that ? It allows the photographer to more selectively light the scene. Imagine a photo of a model in a dark room. Perhaps you want to expose the background to look like a black backdrop. That's easily achieved, but you still need to light up the model, to show off contrast and colour. The grid or snoot will help "aim" the light at the models face, while minimizing the spillover onto the background.

 

The Setup

These are some more "goofing around" shots. None of my available models were out of bed yet, and I was getting impatient. A very simple setup, with the Honl 1/8 grid attached to the Canon 430 EX II via the Honl speed strap. The whole shebang is mounted on the hotshoe of my Canon 60D, which has my general purpose 24-105mm f/4 L lens attached. I shot handheld for quick & dirty testing.

 

The Photos

A simple before and after shot. First without the grid, followed by a photo taken with the grid.

Note the even lighting. I used no other light modifier, like a gel, as there was no other ambient light - just the flash at 1/8 power.

 

 

 

For comparison, this photo is shot with the exact same settings, and the grid in place. Note how quickly the light falls off ! The grid directs the flash down a very narrow beam.

 

 

 

Lessons Learned

The use of a grid or snoot allows more creative use of light. It provides an easy way of selectively lighting a small portion of the frame, while quickly allowing the ambient light to light the rest. I see this as very useful for fill-flash and portraiture.

 

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