Anyone know of a source for color-corrected, translucent white cloth
for diffusing light for photographing? Or any suggestions/advice
regarding what kinds of cloth to use. Thanks.
Janet in Jerusalem
Janet;
There are several companies that make a variety of diffusion and
gels for the film/ video/ photography. The come in sizes from 8x10"
to 4X25ft.
The companies are Rosco, Lee Filters, and Great American Marketplace
(GAM)
They each have swatch books that you can pick from.
Eric
White ripstop nylon has excellent color temperature for tungsten
films. Charles
Charles Lewton-Brain/Brain Press
Box 1624, Ste M, Calgary, Alberta, T2P 2L7, Canada
Tel: 403-263-3955 Fax: 403-283-9053 Email: @Charles_Lewton-Brai1
Low tech solutions are my favorite thing. I waste way too much time
trying to create them! Read on for the most low-tech translucent
light diffusor yet…
I live off-the-grid (we generate our electricity with solar panels)
and so I have been casting about for ages for a way to photograph my
work without the very hot (ie - use a lot of power) lights and
diffusers, etc. Being in sunny Arizona, I tried Clouddome – hard to
use with my Canon D60 and I didn’t like the light at all. I tried
making my own version, but still found it cumbersome and not quite
right.
I just sent some gallery images to be posted on Ganoksin…I am very
pleased with the lighting results. I will divulge my secret and then
perhaps I get the prize for cheapest low-tech lighting solution:
I set up my pieces on a table on my front porch which faces south,
in full sun. Then I hung an old clear shower curtain from the rafter,
to diffuse the sun. Here’s the clincher: it MUST be an old one, with
lots of water deposits and I suspect dried soap residue (ick, I
know). I tried a new one and the light just wasn’t as sweet! This
setup is easy, lots of space for my work, and even portable. When I
needed to do the “treasure” photo in the dry riverbed below the
house, I employed my husband to stand in the sun holding the curtain
over the layout on the sand…he’s very supportive, I know.
I would suggest trying Pellon. I don’t know for sure about its
correct diffusion of light, but I have used it and it seems good to
me. It is found in fabric stores, used as the interfacing inside
garments like suit jackets to stiffen up parts such as collars. I
made a light tent out of it with a coat-hanger wire outer structure,
and one openly draped end for the camera to peek through. I got the
tip to use it from some very professional and experienced jewelers
in the wholesale trade show market (ACC, Rosen).
M’lou Brubaker, Jeweler
Goodland, MN
Has anyone compared cotton, nylon, parchment, plastics, etc. as a
sun diffuser for photographing jewelry?
Janet in Jerusalem
I played around with several types of fabric, the one I found that
worked the best for table-top photography with standard lighting or
my Otto lamps was Rip Stop nylon.
Terri Collier
Dallas, TX
Janet, the most color “neutral” material I’ve found is photographic
frosted mylar which I have always purchased through B&H PhotoVideo in
New York (www.bhphotovideo.com).
Frosted mylar as supplied in drafting supply stores is a lighter
weight, but I’ve used it in a pinch with no color casts.
There are so many cottons, nylons, etc that you would really have to
run test shots to see if you liked the results.
Parchment seems to often have a yellowish color to it, but I’m not
well enough acquainted with it to speak with authority. I have
always avoided it because what was available locally was so heavy it
cut the light transmission far more than the mylar.
For what it’s worth.
Les Brown