that diffusion panel they give you with an LED- useless, right?

rayortiz313

rayortiz313

Active member
Not that it matters, much, but:

That diffusion panel they often include with an LED light- useless, right? Size is what determines how soft a light is, no? If you just put something in front of a light and it doesn't increase the size/surface area of the source, you're not making the light any softer, you're just cutting back the output.

I think they include the panel just for folks who may not know any better, and who may be hesitant to buy the light because they think it cant cast a soft light. Funny that you'd include something just to assuage someone's lack of information.

Not a big deal (it comes free), just riffing here.

Correct me if I'm wrong.
 
No, not useless. The main point is not to soften, but to reduce the multiple shadows issue that comes from all the beads.
 
Whenever I'm lighting a face and using my diva-flo as a primary source I usually put the 'diaper' on. It makes a big difference. diffusing a light does actually spread it out - you can use clothes-pins with diffusion paper right in front of a kicker or any light for that matter and it will diffuse, spread and make the light softer.

I can't speak to the thing in your kit, but def hang on to it.
 
ozmorphasis said:
No, not useless. The main point is not to soften, but to reduce the multiple shadows issue that comes from all the beads.
Click to expand...

This. And it's actually very important if the light is placed close to your talent. It can look horrible without it.
 
It does make the source larger in that it spreads the output, as a result more of the output hits the ceiling, floor, and walls, and the percentage of the total light hitting the subject that comes from the source is reduced.

But yeah, the main purpose is to make the multiple emitters into more of a singular, seamless source that does not produce numerous hard shadows.


" Size is what determines how soft a light is, no? Size relative to the subject. A 4' x 4' source is the same size to the subject as a 1' x 1' source is to the subject when that 4'x 4' source is a distance further away form the subject than the 1'x1' source.

The surface of the moon may be a gazillion times larger than the surface of a lightbulb but the light from the moon, as a result of position relative to the subject, isn't any softer than is the light from a household lightbulb.
 
I would never use a LED source without diffuser as it's to harsh on the subject. If something really soft is needed from a small source bouncing is the way to go.
 
JPNola said:
The surface of the moon may be a gazillion times larger than the surface of a lightbulb but the light from the moon, as a result of position relative to the subject, isn't any softer than is the light from a household lightbulb.
Click to expand...

The surface of the moon isn't a light source, but rather a reflector -- reflecting the light of the sun. So by nature it's a diffuser, and not a good comparison to the surface of a light bulb for this purpose.

What is interesting to note is that the moon and the Earth are both essentially the same distance away from their light source -- the Sun. Therefore, the same exposure factor (ISO/shutter speed/f-stop) is used to set proper exposure to photograph both a bright sunny day on the Earth OR the moon in the night sky. The principal that applies here is that exposure is determined by the distance between the light source and the subject, not the distance between the subject and the camera.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled program, already in progress...
 
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