Beauty, to Honeycomb or Not ... That is the Question

mike weeks

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Having taken possession of my big new 150cm Octa Pro-fold Lencarta softbox and doing some beauty shots tonight I just wondered what is better, with or without the honeycomb.

Best to put this in perspective that this are ordinary ladies i.e. not beauty models at a pamper party.

Main light will be the Octa and I have triflector etc. for clam shell type lighting if needed. I will be adding a hair light, so what would you do?

Mike
 
The main advantage of the grid is to stop light flying all over the show,and is particularly useful if you don't want any light on your background.

In fact thinking about it I'd have thought better off without it, to allow as much light onto your triflector as possible.
 
Having taken possession of my big new 150cm Octa Pro-fold Lencarta softbox and doing some beauty shots tonight I just wondered what is better, with or without the honeycomb.

Best to put this in perspective that this are ordinary ladies i.e. not beauty models at a pamper party.

Main light will be the Octa and I have triflector etc. for clam shell type lighting if needed. I will be adding a hair light, so what would you do?

Mike

The grid is only £30. One day you'll need it, even if mostly you perhaps won't.
 
A honeycomb is a specific tool for a specific purpose - controlling light spread, for example stopping light from going where it isn't wanted, like on the background, or stopping it going towards the lens and creating flare.

Depending on the angle, design and size, it also eats a certain amount of light. In the case of the Lencarta ones that's about 1.1 stops when it's square to the subject, this can be a help if you like to limit DOF by having the lens wide open but sometimes can be a disadvantage too.

Basically though, don't use it unless the shot really benefits from it. This video may help
 
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