Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Snoots

In this post we will discuss snoots. How can I make one or where can I buy one? And what is their application in a real world situation?

Snoots can create very dramatic lighting effects and help isolate a subject when using a flash. They help by stopping "light spill. " Light spill is when light falls in a larger footprint than you intend it to be. (Keep reading, the illustrations will help this make sense!)

DIY (do it yourself) snoot:

First, I'm going to defer to my new blog friend, Rui Leal who has written wonderfully detailed instructions on building a snoot. Even a klutz can follow his steps and come away with a functional snoot...this guy is the Merlin of DIY projects! Not to mention his posts on technology buzz...I now know what I want for Christmas thanks to his blog. (Even though I would probably have to mortgage my house to get it...)

Buy a snoot:

If you aren't big on DIY and would rather buy a pre-made snoot, I've got you covered. David Honl has made some very nice neoprene snoots to fit most flashes due to their flexibility. There are other options, but his product seems to be focused on the market that is being discussed here. (Check out his site while your at it. He has some powerful photographs.)

Before I show you how a snoot works:

Let's go over the details of the examples so you really understand what's going on:

  1. On the following examples, you will see 5 black squares on a wall. These squares are distance markers. Each square is 2.5' away form the center square.

Light area diagram:

2. I am using 2 different lengths of snoots. One is 3" long and the other is 5" long. I will always refer the lengths of my snoot to be from the face of the flash to the end of the snoot. (To me, the portion of the snoot behind the flash is not really a snoot. It's more of a snoot holder.)

There's been some confusion on the web and snoots as to what the length is.

The argument asks how a snoot is measured. Is it the TOTAL length of the snoot? Or the length of the face of the flash to the end of the snoot?

How long is a snoot diagram:


Snoot examples:
The following images show you exactly what a snoot does and how different lengths affect the flash differently.

3" snoot fired 5' away from target:

6" snoot fired 5' away from target:
3" snoot fired 10' away from target:

6" snoot fired 10' away from target:

3" snoot fired 15' away from target:
6" snoot fired 15' away from target:
What have we learned?
  1. Distance of flash to subject directly controls how large the diameter your light will look when you take your shot.
  2. The closer the snooted flash is to the subject, the tighter the beam of light is (resulting in less light spill).
  3. Conversely, the further away your snooted flash is to the subject, the more light spill (and less control you will have over the light).
  4. The shape of the light(fall?) is determined by shape of the "mouth" of the snoot. So for a rounder light, I'd shape the end of the snoot to be round instead the same shape as the head of the flash.

Best practices:

Most flashes have the ability to zoom in and out. Make sure your flash is set to the highest telephoto setting. This way the least amount of light is being wasted by hitting the inside of the snoot.

Try to have 3 different lengths of snoots in your light bag. These snoots fold up and take up very little space in your gear bag.

Next Week:

I have a list of things to cover, but I want to hear your ideas! Use the comment feature to submit your topic requests, agree with someone else's request, or ask me to expound on a previous topic if desired.


223 comments:

«Oldest   ‹Older   201 – 223 of 223
Anonymous said...

Hi there! I just wanted to ask if you ever have any issues
with hackers? My last blog (wordpress) was hacked and I ended up losing several weeks of hard work due to no backup.
Do you have any methods to stop hackers?

Visit my website; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZOuC8FraM0

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on legitimate work from home jobs.
Regards

Have a look at my webpage - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caSEY6ykNKw

Anonymous said...

Good site you have here.. It's hard to find high quality writing like yours nowadays. I really appreciate individuals like you! Take care!!

My weblog: make money online free and fast

Anonymous said...

Incredible points. Outstanding arguments. Keep up the
good effort.

Stop by my web-site ... bedbugs

Anonymous said...

Notable slots include THE Maven OF OZ, redress speech in the casino to a local feeling in many other countries. [url=http://www.onlinecasinoburger.co.uk/]online casino[/url] uk online casino Freeroll tournaments Volunteer the chance to actor for the money they put into the website. http://www.tasty-onlinecasino.co.uk/

Anonymous said...

It's a shame you don't have a donate button! I'd definitely donate to this brilliant blog! I guess for now i'll settle for book-marking and adding your RSS feed to my
Google account. I look forward to new updates and will talk about this site with my Facebook group.
Chat soon!

Have a look at my website :: trade binary options

Anonymous said...

Thanks for finally talking about > "Snoots" < Liked it!

My weblog: http://www.
youtube.com/watch?v=fCkK9-pzu_o

Anonymous said...

When some one searches for his essential thing,
therefore he/she wishes to be available that in detail, thus that thing is maintained over here.


my web-site ... make extra money online

Anonymous said...

Hi there! Someone in my Facebook group shared this site with us so I came to look it over.

I'm definitely loving the information. I'm bookmarking and
will be tweeting this to my followers! Outstanding blog and
superb design and style.

Also visit my website; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwex99npRdc

Anonymous said...

Hey would you mind stating which blog platform you're using? I'm looking
to start my own blog in the near future but I'm having a difficult time choosing between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal. The reason I ask is because your design seems different then most blogs and I'm looking for something completely unique.
P.S Sorry for getting off-topic but I had to ask!

Visit my page; how to make extra money

Anonymous said...

I have read so many posts concerning the blogger lovers except this paragraph is actually a fastidious
piece of writing, keep it up.

Feel free to visit my page ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Al2XPf2DgwE

Anonymous said...

I almost never drop responses, but after reading some of the responses
on "Snoots". I actually do have 2 questions for you if it's allright. Is it just me or do some of the responses appear like they are written by brain dead individuals? :-P And, if you are posting at other social sites, I'd like to
keep up with anything fresh you have to post. Would you make a list of
all of your social sites like your Facebook page, twitter feed, or linkedin profile?


Stop by my web-site; cedarfinace review

Anonymous said...

Remarkable issues here. I'm very happy to see your post. Thank you so much and I am taking a look ahead to contact you. Will you please drop me a e-mail?

Here is my web page ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwex99npRdc

Anonymous said...

Awesome things here. I'm very satisfied to see your article. Thanks so much and I'm having a look forward to touch you.
Will you please drop me a e-mail?

Feel free to surf to my homepage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoRWJriSgKc

Anonymous said...

Hey very nice blog!

my blog post - sizzling hot deluxe free

Anonymous said...

Hiya very cool web site!! Guy .. Beautiful .. Wonderful .

. I will bookmark your website and take the feeds additionally?
I'm satisfied to find so many useful info here in the publish, we want develop extra strategies in this regard, thanks for sharing. . . . . .

Here is my site Pirater Un compte facebook

Anonymous said...

Do you mind if I quote a few of your posts as long as I provide credit and
sources back to your site? My blog site is in the
very same area of interest as yours and my users would genuinely benefit
from some of the information you present here. Please let me know if this
alright with you. Many thanks!

Here is my blog: book of ra kostenlos spielen ohne anmeldung online

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on buch of ra. Regards

Here is my web site :: books of ra gratis :: http://hakafa.org :
:

Anonymous said...

This is a very good tip particularly to those fresh to the blogosphere.

Short but very accurate information… Thanks for sharing this one.
A must read article!

Here is my web blog; Dragon City Cheat Engine ()

Anonymous said...

I needed to thank you for this good read!! I certainly loved
every bit of it. I have you book marked to look at new things you post…

My webpage :: Generateur de Code PSN

Anonymous said...

We stumbled over here from a different page and thought I might as well check things out.
I like what I see so now i'm following you. Look forward to finding out about your web page again.

Feel free to surf to my page: Psn Code Generator

Anonymous said...

Awesome issues here. I am very glad to see your article.
Thanks so much and I am taking a look ahead to touch you.
Will you kindly drop me a e-mail?

Stop by my web-site: Psn Code Generator

Anonymous said...

Fantastic website you have here but I was wondering if you knew of any message boards that
cover the same topics talked about in this article?
I'd really love to be a part of group where I can get feed-back from other knowledgeable individuals that share the same interest. If you have any recommendations, please let me know. Appreciate it!

My web site ... binary options trading system

«Oldest ‹Older   201 – 223 of 223   Newer› Newest»