# Do I need to modify a hair light?



## JustJazzie (Feb 11, 2014)

I went ahead and ordered a yongnuo speed light last night to complete my 3 light flash setup. I've got 2 flashpoint strobes to use for main and fill, which are obviously far more powerful than the speed-light. So my question is- do I still need to modify the speed-light if I am just using it for rim/kicker/hair lighting?


----------



## tirediron (Feb 11, 2014)

Yes. No. It depends. <- Really, that's the answer. In general I use my hair light bare tube for dark haired subjects, and for bald, or light haired subjects I put on a sock.


----------



## Derrel (Feb 11, 2014)

"It depends". You Could use it bare. You could put it in an umbrella. You could bounce it off of a wall or ceiling. You could put it in a small softbox. 

Keep in mind, when a light is fired at a steep angle toward the subject, it takes only a little bit of power to create a bright rim- or edge-light effect. For example, with subject at the 6 o'clock position, speedlight aimed at back of head and shoulder from 11 o'clock will create a strong rim light effect, even at low power. If the same light were moved off to the side, to 9 o'clock position, the rim light will be lowered in intensity.


----------



## sk66 (Feb 11, 2014)

Typically, the only modification for rim/hair is to control it's size/location.... but as others have said, it depends.


----------



## KmH (Feb 11, 2014)

I usually used a constant light as my hair light, and used a variety of modifiers with it but most often controlled the light with some kind of snoot into a fairly narrow beam.
Some times I wanted the beam to be round or square, sometimes I wanted the beam to be rectangular with the long side vertical.


----------



## WayneF (Feb 11, 2014)

JustJazzie said:


> So my question is- do I still need to modify the speed-light if I am just using it for rim/kicker/hair lighting?



The 105mm zoom is about a 20 degree beam.  I am speaking of SB-800, but Yongnuo ought to be the same.    What I do to use it for hair is to use 105mm zoom, but also wrap a sheet of letter size copy paper around it (long ways around it) with tape, to make a snoot about six inches long.  Nothing critical, just wrap around it and tape it.  It works fine.

IMO, the main thing the snoot does for it is to allow checking the aim visually, by sighting over subjects head into the snoot, to judge angle.


----------



## JustJazzie (Feb 11, 2014)

Thanks for all the great tips! I can't wait for it to come in so I can play with it! And I'm pretty stoked that my cheep boom should have no trouble holding it up. It was really struggling with the large studio strobe even with all the weights/counter weights I added.    





tirediron said:


> Yes. No. It depends. <- Really, that's the answer. In general I use my hair light bare tube for dark haired subjects, and for bald, or light haired subjects I put on a sock.


   I'd never even think of using a sock! Great idea- Thanks. And I will definitely use your note about hair color.  





Derrel said:


> "It depends". You Could use it bare. You could put it in an umbrella. You could bounce it off of a wall or ceiling. You could put it in a small softbox.  Keep in mind, when a light is fired at a steep angle toward the subject, it takes only a little bit of power to create a bright rim- or edge-light effect. For example, with subject at the 6 o'clock position, speedlight aimed at back of head and shoulder from 11 o'clock will create a strong rim light effect, even at low power. If the same light were moved off to the side, to 9 o'clock position, the rim light will be lowered in intensity.


 Thanks for the angle of light tip! I will be trying to perfect that sweet spot.      





WayneF said:


> The 105mm zoom is about a 20 degree beam.  I am speaking of SB-800, but Yongnuo ought to be the same.    What I do to use it for hair is to use 105mm zoom, but also wrap a sheet of letter size copy paper around it (long ways around it) with tape, to make a snoot about six inches long.  Nothing critical, just wrap around it and tape it.  It works fine.  IMO, the main thing the snoot does for it is to allow checking the aim visually, by sighting over subjects head into the snoot, to judge angle.


    Thanks for the homemade snoot sugestion! I'm sure I can rig something up. It's not that I don't WANT to modify the light- it's more that I can't spend any more on modifiers right now. These 10-20$ add ons are adding up quick!


----------



## Derrel (Feb 11, 2014)

Jazzie,
 Here's your NEW hairlight softbox. $2.47 at WalMart.  Cut a hole in the bottom with a steak knife, so that the flash head press-fits in there.

LIFOAM 30-Quart Styrofoam Cooler - Walmart.com


----------



## JustJazzie (Feb 11, 2014)

Derrel said:


> Jazzie, Here's your NEW hairlight softbox. $2.47 at WalMart.  Cut a hole in the bottom with a steak knife, so that the flash head press-fits in there.  LIFOAM 30-Quart Styrofoam Cooler - Walmart.com



What a great idea!! Were an hour from a walmart- but I will be on the lookout for one locally until I make it into town!


----------



## tirediron (Feb 12, 2014)

When I said "sock", I meant a reflector sock, NOT a foot sock!   A translucent shower cap, or appropriate size Tupperware-type lid will work very well however.


----------



## JustJazzie (Feb 12, 2014)

tirediron said:


> When I said "sock", I meant a reflector sock, NOT a foot sock!   A translucent shower cap, or appropriate size Tupperware-type lid will work very well however.



Thanks for clarifying that. This flash newbie did think you were talking about an actual sock. I thought it was strange, but I figured TPF experts knew best. :giggle: 

 I think I will try a snoot first out of some black poster board since I have it on hand, and I think it will fall in line with the other lighting I plan to use for my next shoot. I've got some extra diffusion panels from my hot light soft-boxes that I could probably modify somehow as well if I need to.


----------



## Braineack (Feb 12, 2014)

JustJazzie said:


> I think I will try a snoot first out of some black poster board since I have it on hand, and I think it will fall in line with the other lighting I plan to use for my next shoot.



that's all you need to make a snoot.

zooming your flash out all the way has a similar effect, just not quite as focused.


----------



## JustJazzie (Feb 20, 2014)

Well- I had a photo shoot on Tuesday and I decided to Try the snoot route for a hair light because I thought it would fit the mood of the lighting. 

It was a speedlight so no modeling lamp. Add a 5 foot 11 model in four inch heels with a 5'2" photographer trying to adjust a speedlight on a book stand just right and it was rather......hit and miss to say the least! I'll be honest- in several shots (more than if care to admit) the light pool is no where near the model. I'm thinking next time I'm gonna try more of a softbox for rim lighting hoping the pool is easier to aim.....

Ahhh live and learn!


----------



## tirediron (Feb 20, 2014)

I'm 6' 1" and I have trouble getting snooted hair lights aimed properly.


----------



## Braineack (Feb 20, 2014)

JustJazzie said:


> It was a speedlight so no modeling lamp. Add a 5 foot 11 model in four inch heels with a 5'2" photographer trying to adjust a speedlight on a book stand just right and it was rather......hit and miss to say the least!



one trick would be asking the model to make sure the flash head looks like it's pointing directly at the back of her head.

another would be to simply press the flash button to see where it's hitting, so you can visually see the light.


they really make a difference, here's a shot I did for my wife's ebay:







1-light umbrella.  Boring.


Got a second flash, and used it as a rim (bare):






much less boring.   helps pop her from the BG, even though she's standing just off the wall.


----------



## WayneF (Feb 20, 2014)

I use a short stepladder to adjust the hair light and snoot.  It is a great help if the flash has a modeling light in it, so you can see where it is aimed.  But you can just look at it from a line just over the subjects head... you can easily see if you are looking directly into the snoot or not.


----------



## JustJazzie (Feb 20, 2014)

Braineack said:


> one trick would be asking the model to make sure the flash head looks like it's pointing directly at the back of her head.  another would be to simply press the flash button to see where it's hitting, so you can visually see the light.  they really make a difference, here's a shot I did for my wife's ebay:  1-light umbrella.  Boring.  Got a second flash, and used it as a rim (bare):  much less boring.   helps pop her from the BG, even though she's standing just off the wall.



Silly me! I didn't think about firing a test flash.....

Part of my problem was she kept moving without me realizing it. I'd place it "perfect" and she would migrate to one side. Maybe I need to use a floor marker  .....


----------



## cynicaster (Feb 20, 2014)

Yeah, the problem with snooted flashes on human subjects is that they're like laser beams--if the subject simply shifts his/her weight onto a different foot, that might be enough to screw up the aim of light.


----------

