cheap studio light diffusers?

[SusanV]

Hi,

I need to either make my own, or buy inexpensively some diffusers for
my photoflood lights. I've shot many a still life setup, but they were
just reference shots for paintings.... so the quality of the shot wasn't
all that important. In fact, a poor photo was often better for
my purpose

But... now the photo itself counts and I need to soften the lights.
Suggestions much appreciated!

Susan

[jd callow]

Using PVC tubing and fabric that is the same or very similar to what is found on photography diffusers I built a frame and had the fabric cut to shape. Sewn into the corners of the fabric is elastic to hold it onto the frame.

[Ted Harris]

If you don't want to make your own Calumete has frames/fbric similar to what JD describes. I have 4 of them and have been using them for some years. My recollection is that they are reasonably inexpensive.

[SuzanneR]

I'm not sure what type of photoflood lights you have, but I have two diffusers that attach to some photofloods, and they soften the light nicely. They come in a couple of different sizes, so you'll need to measure the circumference of the floods you are using.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...alue=48736_REG

[dinesh]

Try a shower curtain.

[SusanV]

Thanks everyone! It's always good to know what actually works... saves me charging off down the wrong path.

Susan

[ann]

go to home depot and get some of the covers for overhead flouscent lights, cut them into any size you wish and clamp them to the light source.

just another cheap method.

[GoGo]

Using 4x8 foam core board you can make any size soft box type modifier you like. Let your imagination be your guide. A silk cloth works great as a diffuser.

[digiconvert]

Not sure if this is what you're after but I bought a cheap and cheerful shoot through brolly off ebay for £5 inc p and p from China. It's cheap but doesn't soak up a lot of light !

[Lee L]

Haven't been here in months, so late to this thread.

Make a PVC frame in whatever size you need. JoAnn Fabrics (online and local) and others sell rip-stop white nylon in 60 inch widths at about $7 per yard, which is what many of the soft boxes use, as JD mentions. It's what I use. I sometimes double for even softer light. You can vary the effects a lot with a rip-stop/PVC panel by moving the light source closer or further from the panel, making the effective light source larger and softer, or smaller and harder.

You could also get Rosco diffusion materials in 20x24 inch sizes for under $6. I mount these with velcro in a frame made from a science project 3 panel foamcore background, with the side panels acting as gobos (blocking cards) for the light source. Rosco makes a number of diffusion materials, with sample photos shown on their website.

Another option often used in studios is to tape two pieces of foamcore together along one edge. Set this "V" panel up on end and point the light into the V so that it bounces back out onto the subject for nice soft, even light.

If you want a smaller diffuser panel that's not square, you can stretch rip-stop nylon on a round or oval embroidery or quilting hoop and use that in front of the light.

Lee