Snoots on a flash gun?

MJ Stebbings

MJ Stebbings

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Has anyone ever used snoots on a flash gun before?

I have a band shoot at the end of the month and was wondering if anyone has used a snoot on a flash gun and if so, have they used them with people?

Mike
 
I have, rolled one out of a bit of a4 paper/card

just don't leave it in your camera bag forever as it goes flat and unfolds to a funny shape from then onwards. Bendy foam is meant to be better. Some way of attaching it would be handy too
 
I use the "Speedlite Snoot" from Warehouse Express and use them all the time. They seem a bit pricey for what they are, but in my opinion are far superior to the fold-flat Lumiquest snoot. They also come with a couple of honeycomb attachments.

I find them essential for any sort of creative lighting as flashguns throw light everywhere and are hard to control without some sort of modifier. I find the most control (most narrow light) comes from having the flashgun set to its widest zoom setting. Bear in mind that the pool of light will be slightly rectangular though.

They also work really nicely with a shoot through umbrella. I've used them on several portrait shoots to great effect in conjunction with brollies, either for downlights, hairlights or just highlighting a particular part of the subject.
 
-Rob- said:
I have some bendy black foam that I got from Hobbycraft for £1. Cut it to size and hold it on with a hairband. Works a treat as long as you point it in the right direction.
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:plusone: me too, exact same thing. We bought a roll of sticky velcro from the same place to attach it then you can unroll it for flat storage
 
I may have to check out the cheap option to start with actually, see if it works, and if i like the results then i might stump up the cash for a "real" one :)

Thanks for the responses so far guys.

Anyone got any examples used on people?

Mike
 
I use homemade ones all the time. Just be aware different coloured snoots produce different results.
 
I used a little fun size coco-pops box. Works really well! Just ripped one corner so it slots on the front of the speedlight. One day i'll go pro, and cover it with black tape and fill it with straws, but it works well as it is :)
 
If I remember, when I get home I'll post a shot of the snoot for you, although it doesn't look like much it gets the job done.

I too went pro and covered it in black tape :D

I also cut a slot in one side, which enables me to use gels (I got the free swatch block, and strangely have had great results using sweetie wrappers :D)
 
I want to see shots taken WITH snoots, not of snoots :lol:
 
MJ Stebbings said:
I want to see shots taken WITH snoots, not of snoots :lol:
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Ah well, you'll have to wait then as I have a serious lack of willing models right now, and I'm sure nobody wants to see yet another pic of my daughter! :D

Thing is, I don't tend to use just a snooted speedlight, I use it in conjunction with other lighting, for various reasons.
 
Looks interesting what size should the snoot be ?
 
Ste Manns said:
Ah well, you'll have to wait then as I have a serious lack of willing models right now, and I'm sure nobody wants to see yet another pic of my daughter! :D

Thing is, I don't tend to use just a snooted speedlight, I use it in conjunction with other lighting, for various reasons.
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Go on, grab your Daughter, show me what you can do! Haha!

We are going to be in a airplane hanger, so there will be some available light, but i want to darken that right down so its visible but snoot the flash so that it concentrates the light on the face, whether thats on camera or off camera flash.

Mike
 
Well that depends on how tight you want the light circle to be. The one I have made could be described as a short snoot - it protrudes about 4" past the front of the light, but with the straws it still gives a nice tight "spot" of light, or you could have one a bit longer, say around 9" long, experimentation is the key.

The length of mine (oooer missus) was dictated by how many straws I had to cut up not by any technical know how! It was really just something to do when I was bored one evening but it worked so well I kept it.
 
Ok, i'll go grab a few bits of black card and do some test runs i guess :)
 
Poundland do a "Laptop Screen Protector" that makes an ideal snoot. Can't remember how much it costs though :naughty:
 
This was taken with the cereal box snoot.

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It was in a room (with the lights on). I know it's not amazing but it shows how you can really restrict the light.
 
What that with flash mounted on the hotshoe or off camera?

FITP, why havent you got any snoots for sale? ;)
 
MJ Stebbings said:
What that with flash mounted on the hotshoe or off camera?
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My pic?

OK - the guitar was on a stand in the lounge, the flash was off camera, standing on the arm of my sofa pointing at the headstock / neck. The camera was above the guitar at an angle. Without the snoot you'd see the floor and stand etc.
 
MatW said:
My pic?

OK - the guitar was on a stand in the lounge, the flash was off camera, standing on the arm of my sofa pointing at the headstock / neck. The camera was above the guitar at an angle. Without the snoot you'd see the floor and stand etc.
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Yeah, yours. But thansk for that, just so i know :) Might seriously need a practice :)
 
I used a homemade one with my last indoor project, not shooting people though.


Quite good if you want to keep the background dark and the subject well lit.
 
Taken with my homemade snoots...
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4185145642_fb1216bd5a.jpg
 
Black straws can be aquired at your local pub (behind the bar, ask nicely, or nick them regularly), or oddly enough from Bar supply companies, who stock the bars.
 
Flash In The Pan said:
I can get them, but would people buy them, that's the question :shrug:

Honl do one for £25 if you're rich desperate :lol:
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I guess it depends what price you sell them to us lovely lot for ;)
With the amount of home made ones here and the amout of strobists we have here, it might be a good seller, and even other flash mounted gizmo's that would get the juices flowing of the strobisters among us! :)
 
The23rdman said:
Taken with my homemade snoots...
4273818915_ec5674005c.jpg


4273819165_86e21b4bd2.jpg


4185145642_fb1216bd5a.jpg
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Dude!!!
These three are the sort of things that i was thinking.
Is there any additional lighting in these, or are they just purely snooty lit? :D

If i was to use a snoot for the main lighting and then use a small reflector (the kind that FITP sells) to reflect some natural light back to the "darker" side, would that totally negate the snoot effect or just lift the shadows a little?

Answer on a postcard :)

EDIT: Dont suppose you fancy telling me what yours is made from? Straws etc
and any pics of it? :D lol
 
Matt L said:
heres a shot i took with a home made snoot aka bog roll on the end :lol:

4262470691_d3ee788fc2.jpg


need to look for a proper one thats i bit more professional than a bog roll :lol:
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But it worked well.
Was that flash on the camera or off camera?
 
I've taken to keeping flat sheets of black card in the bag, can be made into gobo or snoot as req with lacky bands. I had one made up in there but it got all squished
 
Matt L said:
Was off camera. Yeah it did work well...but cant imagine turning up for a shoot where i may need it and pulling out a toilet roll and sticking it to the flash looking very good :lol:
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If you covered it in black tape it would look professional :lol:
 
MJ Stebbings said:
Dude!!!
These three are the sort of things that i was thinking.
Is there any additional lighting in these, or are they just purely snooty lit? :D

If i was to use a snoot for the main lighting and then use a small reflector (the kind that FITP sells) to reflect some natural light back to the "darker" side, would that totally negate the snoot effect or just lift the shadows a little?

Answer on a postcard :)

EDIT: Dont suppose you fancy telling me what yours is made from? Straws etc
and any pics of it? :D lol
Click to expand...


These are all just snooted. Using a reflector works great, but you need to experiment because that light is hard.

I made mine from an insert that came in a magazine advertising some insurance company. Basically, it was white shiny card on one side. I simply folded it around my flash for a perfect fit and gaffer taped it together. It looks crap, but works great.


If you add straws it's more of a grid spot than a snoot. I've just ordered 500 from ebay to play with that as it's much more controllable light.
 
I'm going to have to have a test with a rolled paper snoot thingy, and then see how i get on i guess.
 
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