Fabric Grid + Flags

T

themagichoof

Active member
I'm about to get a fabric grid for my softbox. I haven't seen the grid in person yet so my question is, if I use a grid, can I use a cutter on top of it and still get the full effect? My softbox may be a bit too big and spill light where I don't want it so that's why I ask. Dumb question maybe, but I was thinking that maybe the ends of the grid can't be blocked with a flag since it's controlling the light there on the ends than in the middle, or something.
 
The light hits the diffusion panel then travels through the grid. The grid limits the off-axis light or that light radiating to anywhere other than in front of the softbox. You could certainly place a flag in front to limit the output, or you could use fabric over part of the diffusion panel prior to attaching the grid, although the latter approach would make it difficult to adjust the output.
 
To answer your question you can mask egg crates at the expense of output.

But on another note, cutting them with a flag can cause hundreds of overlapping shadows, especially on walls.

I have egg crates for all my boxes, but use them sparingly. You might just try black wrapping your box instead.
 
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You can cut a box like most any light - keep in mind that the light - flag - subject distances have a lot of interplay for the hardness of the cut. Even with a softbox.

The grids do a little more than "aim" the light - they really can give a cool quality in the way the light 'wraps' a face. You really have to watch for reflections in glasses though. A bit of white rectangle that doesn't block the pupils - we'll accept that as viewers. A zillion white squares is pushing it...
 
I'm going to guess that you are talking about an egg crate on a chimera or something similar.

To control a large soft source, you need large flags. The egg create helps tremendously. The tighter the crate the more it will kill the spill, but they will reduce your stop a bit. Yes you can still cut them and may even need to depending on what your shot is. I would not worry about multiple shadows. The egg crate is right against the diffusion, which will make very soft little cuts. The glasses issue is a concern, just raise the light to get it out of the reflection.
 
Yes, when flagging a softbox (or other large source) anything that can see any portion of the luminous surface with or without eggcrate will be lit. So, if you're trying to flag the softbox's output off a wall, for example, you get a lot more done with a 4X4 solid close to where you want the cut than a 4X4 next to the softbox.
 
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