Fabric for blocking out light

armisiano

armisiano

Veteran
I have a lighting kit that uses umbrellas. I'm quite fond of it, but occasionally wish so much light didn't bleed.

I know the cure for what I'm looking to do would be to invest in some soft boxes, but I don't have the money right now, so, I was thinking about getting some kind of fabric to cut out and temporarily attach (and detach, maybe via velcro) from the edge of the umbrellas to the metal rim of the reflector bowls.

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Anyone know what kind of fabric would work well for this? I'm using hot bulbs, not fluorescents.
 
Blocking light? duvatyne

Blocking light that's coming from a tungsten head? How about metal? Like black wrap.

Or you can use duvatyne stretched across frames placed into stands with adjustable heads in a box formation to block off the spill... what are they called again? Oh yeah, flags and C-stands! :)

What's the wattage on those lights? Depending on how hot they are, you might be able to just get some duvatyne and clip it onto the edges of the umbrellas and bowls. But make sure you leave a vent at the top.

If that doesn't work or is out of your pricerange, then aluminum foil would also do the trick and won't catch on fire.
 
lots of trouble trying to 'capture' spill light coming off a bounce umbrella.

why not build a box out of foam core?
you can make it so one set of sides tilts in barn door like to make a shaft of light- or other variations.

trace the circumference of the reflector onto a sheet for the cutout.
that sheet, with reflector hole in center, is your 'backside'.
onto each edge of the backside you attach a sheet of foam core to make the box sides.

before anyone calls the fire department- YES- lights get hot and foam core melts and burns (i know). but- i've done this mod in a pinch and, giving yourself enough distance from the heat source, you can get something pretty functional.

duvatyne gets hot too- depending upon proximity- an it ain't fire proof either.

i've smoked a few things in my day- but i can say my 'friends' have smoked more of my stuff (by me lending it to them) than i ever have!

to 'test' for the foam core 'operating range'- take a little piece and see how close and for how long before it starts to react to the heat coming from the lamp.

good luck.
 
Thanks for suggesting the duvatyne, I'd never heard of it before. And thanks Neal for that site, what a great new bookmark to have.

I've also discovered this great Therma-flec fabric that I think I'm gonna try using. Apparently it's very heat resistant but still light weight, and happens to be silver but not translucent.

If it ends up leeking a bit too much light I may get some of that duvatyne and double them. Heck at this rate I may just build my own softboxes, :)

Anyhoo, if it works out I'll post some pics.

Thanks everyone.
 
armisiano said:
Thanks for suggesting the duvatyne, I'd never heard of it before. And thanks Neal for that site, what a great new bookmark to have.
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No problem. I had never heard of it either until searching the forums for a fabric that would prevent sunlight from coming through the windows.

Amazing stuff and relatively inexpensive.
 
NoNoob said:
lots of trouble trying to 'capture' spill light coming off a bounce umbrella.
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I don't think those are silvered umbrellas meant to bounce the light. If they were, then wrapping duvatyne around the space between the light and the umbrella would be the same as turning off the light.

My guess is that those umbrellas are actually covered with a material like a silk and are used to diffuse the light.
 
CB_Radio said:
I don't think those are silvered umbrellas... My guess is that those umbrellas are actually covered with a material like a silk and are used to diffuse the light.
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Correct. Granted I can shoot with the light bouncing back, but I prefer the look of the light I get that comes through the umbrellas.
 
CB_Radio said:
I don't think those are silvered umbrellas meant to bounce the light. If they were, then wrapping duvatyne around the space between the light and the umbrella would be the same as turning off the light.

My guess is that those umbrellas are actually covered with a material like a silk and are used to diffuse the light.
Click to expand...

the 'spill' i was speaking of is that bit you can never control properly when using an umbrella - silvered or not.
futzing with those for better control in the lighting of a scene is a waste of time.

dude obviously has a problem with it- else wise he wouldn't have asked the question.
 
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