My thinking is now, that i add instead a projecting "snoot".
Think of it like a slide projector in which you put metal cutout masks, that can be projected onto the background... or why not a face, or object/product in the closer range.
It creates light patterns onto a face (or background, etc) in white light or colored light. Here i believe the cooler LED model-light powered flash i bought, will be great - without heating up the snoot. With help of other flashes, or the lack there of, you steer the contrast of such projected light patterns, e.g. also how deep the shadows will be or not.
I saw this earlier, from Godox, but the whole thing was around 500 € - until i saw cheaper alternatives which went down to 200 € instead. Instantly several ideas came to my mind. It is after all a snoot, which allows greater variabilities.
I think the reason for eying at this comes from a very old, primitive attempt of mine in the 80s, using a SLIDE projector, trying to combine the projected images with taking images of people / portraits. Albeit i never really explored this other than just some casual so-so experiments...
35 years later it seems to get a new chance ;-)
Different versions

In regard of which version i jump on, out to be seen. There is plenty of time left to make a decision. I opt for the more affordable ones, instead of trying "to cover it all". A projector snoot isn't going to be my mainstream way of taking portraits - but allows me to add some interesting details to a face if i so desire.

I once used something similar in 1994

albeit at a larger scale. When I was a third assistant at Westin Studio in Stockholm Södermalm, back in 1994 - even got that image published in a Swedish photo magazine. I remember the reviewer said something that she got the impression of strong loneliness.
Behind the "Lonely Lemon"

Which was a "funny" remark, given that this was exactly my feeling at the time. As Olof T, at the time my boyfriend simply disappeared - without a word, explanation nor anything. Which left me increasingly confused, kind of lost as the weeks went on, and all attempts to get in touch with him, failed. I thought it was strange, to do something like that - when nothing at that time gave reason to behave like that.
Of course I was worried sick. My weight during that time (i think it was 6 weeks) tumbled down to a just 66 kilo. Which wasn't much for a guy of 184 cm height.
That's when the main photo with the lemon came to be.
I was using a sort of projecting mask together with professional studio flashes in truly HUGE studio... I thought it was amazing that Westin allowed us to use the studio for your own projects, when it wasn't in use. Really cool. Also from the perspective of trust, i thought it was amazing.
Anyway. You got an idea of what a "projecting snoot" can do.
A weak, projecting studio flash

I do not intend to use the projector snoot as a powerful background projection device. Simply because the new Godox MS 200 V flash with 200 Ws (with 6 stops range) isn't really powerful (but the only one i have with a model light that is coolish LED modeling light). So, when I add a snoot -which is a closed rather tight chamber over the flash - it doesn't heat up like crazy. That was the whole point of buying the Godox MS 200 V in the first place.
I see that studio flash as a "discreet snoot flash". A background player. It is good that i do have one flash that is weaker than the rest - because that allows me to use flash in situations, when i really need one with least light power - for example projecting a pattern on a face. It also allows me to weaken the light so much, that i can use large apertures ! (Which isn't possible with the other stronger flashes, unless i cover their light with additional black or gray fabrics)
Now dependent on how this all works out - i may (or may not) add later a powerful 600 Ws flash (with LED modeling light), in order to use it as a more powerful projecting snoot light.
However, since I don't know exactly if that is even needed in what I do - I don't make any decisions about that now. |