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Diffuser over Beauty Dish?

Sharokin

New member
Has anyone tried it? I have the Profoto Beauty dish and I'm looking to add the diffuser to cut down the light and soften it.
Does it have a similar look to a soft box?

Thanks!
 

Zerimar

Member
Has anyone tried it? I have the Profoto Beauty dish and I'm looking to add the diffuser to cut down the light and soften it.
Does it have a similar look to a soft box?

Thanks!
I have a Mola Setti and Mola Demi, both with diffusors.

It makes the quality of the light significantly softer in my experience. I typically use it when I am using the beauty dish to light older subjects to be more flattering. It is definitely a more flattering light from it, I would not venture to call it soft box like though.
 

RVB

Member
Has anyone tried it? I have the Profoto Beauty dish and I'm looking to add the diffuser to cut down the light and soften it.
Does it have a similar look to a soft box?

Thanks!
The color of your beauty dish makes a difference,a silver dish will be softer with the sock,the effect on a white dish will be less visible,there is a thread on this on M.M and a lot of people think the sock is not needed.

My dealer advised me to forget about using the sock,he reckoned it was a waste,they are not too pricey so best to buy one and try it for yourself.

Rob
 

eekimel

Member
It's been my experience that the light with a sock (both 22-inch Mola an 17-inch Eli dish) is almost as soft as a soft box but with a touch more punch.
 

fotografz

Well-known member
Has anyone tried it? I have the Profoto Beauty dish and I'm looking to add the diffuser to cut down the light and soften it.
Does it have a similar look to a soft box?

Thanks!
Soft, wrap around light is a function of size not diffusers.

A 22" beauty dish with a diffuser is still 22", and at the same distance to subject compared to a 5' octa-box or standard 4' X 5' soft-box will not produce the same effect.

If you move the BD with diffuser very close to the subject for something like a head shot it will create nicely diffused and a somewhat soft effect. If used at more of a distance, the light source becomes considerably smaller and harsher ... and the catch lights in the eyes become smaller and smaller as you move the BD away from the subject.

Diffusion socks mitigate the specular nature of the light especially with silver BDs, just like the front diffusers on a softbox ... so skin pores are less pronounced, however the quality of light becomes harsher if used at distance.

Small BDs are primarily designed for closer work ... not full length figure work any more that a 2' octa box is ... or you can use a larger BD ... Mola makes them up to 43" ... with either a sock or mesh diffuser.

What is now interesting is that both black and white honeycomb grids are now available for many BDs ... each narrows the light, but each produces a different quality of light.

-Marc
 
Soft, wrap around light is a function of size not diffusers.
I think it is important to separate shadow edge transfer (soft) from highlight edge transfer (specularity) because "soft" is a word that can mean a lot of things to different people. As Marc pointed out, one is a function of the size of the size of the light and distance to the subject, while the other is more about the quality of the light. I think the type of camera you shoot with comes in to play here a little too as medium format renders specularity differently than DSLR.

What is now interesting is that both black and white honeycomb grids are now available for many BDs ... each narrows the light, but each produces a different quality of light.

-Marc
Care to expand on that or clarify it with pictures? I've never seen white grids, but am now highly curious -- especially trying a white grid in the center on a Hensel BD.
 

fotografz

Well-known member
I think it is important to separate shadow edge transfer (soft) from highlight edge transfer (specularity) because "soft" is a word that can mean a lot of things to different people. As Marc pointed out, one is a function of the size of the size of the light and distance to the subject, while the other is more about the quality of the light. I think the type of camera you shoot with comes in to play here a little too as medium format renders specularity differently than DSLR.



Care to expand on that or clarify it with pictures? I've never seen white grids, but am now highly curious -- especially trying a white grid in the center on a Hensel BD.
Hi Bill,

Black and White grid demo can be seen here:

http://www.honeycombgrids.com/

B&H carries a white and black 2 grid set for the Mola Demi v2 22"

Mola Polycarbonate 20° Black & White Grid FLXGT22V2

I also noticed that Honey Grids now carries 3º grids for my Profoto Zoom Reflectors ... WaHoo! Much desired!

So many Modifiers, so little time ... :)

-Marc
 
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