How to Soften a 5 in 1 Spotlight
Employee spotlights are a great way to showcase staff and their skills. They can be shared across your company’s website, social media, and video platforms.
The spotlight effect is a psychological phenomenon that causes people to overestimate how much attention others are paying to them. This can lead to anxiety and social discomfort.
1. Soften Hard Light
Whether you’re using a 5 in 1 spotlight or any other light source, there are a few things you can do to soften it up. One of the easiest is to add diffusion. This can be as simple as clamping some diffusion paper to the barn doors of your light. Other options include using a large piece of white or black silk, or even a bed sheet or window curtain. (Just make sure you don’t use wax paper with a tungsten light, as it may catch fire!)
Another way to soften hard light is by increasing the size of your light source. If you point a small light at a large piece of fabric, the fabric will become the new light source and it will be much softer. This is also why many photographers use shower curtains or bed sheets as diffusion — they’re cheap and easy to come by.
Finally, the proximity of your lights to the talent will have a big impact on the quality of the shadows they cast. Hard shadows created by un-diffusiond light will exaggerate flaws in faces, while soft shadows can make your subject look more beautiful and enticing.
2. Bring Detail Into Shadows
If you are working with a subject that has heavy shadows, such as a person with a double chin, you can use a reflector to bring some detail into those areas. If you place the reflector parallel to the subject and bend it to fit around the subject, it will give a curved surface that will fill in shadows that a flat reflector would not be able to do.
Spotlights are a special type of light that will concentrate light in a cone Outdoor Wall Washer like shape at a specified target. This differs from other light types that will brighten things up in general like ambient or directional lighting, and even cylinder lights that can focus a light ray into a particular area.
When creating a spotlight instance, there are a number of arguments that can be passed into its constructor function to set various relevant properties. These include the color of the spotlight, its intensity, but also a few values that are specific to spotlights such as the width of the spotlight’s cone, its penumbra and decay value.
3. Shape Your Light
The Godox Spotlight does an amazing job of controlling its light into a tight beam thanks to the huge purpose-built lens on the front. Its incredibly controllable and is perfect for using with a GOBO to project shapes or patterns into your scene or onto your subject.
This is also a great way to get a flattering chiseled face on your subject. Just be careful when using this technique on anyone with a double chin or heavy-set face, as it will draw the focus to that area and may not be particularly flattering.
The other great thing about this modifier is that its not rigid, allowing you to shape it and fill in areas where a flat reflector may not reach. Its almost like a soft lightbox in that regard, but the advantage here is that you don’t need 30ft ceilings and cherrypickers to get your softbox in position. Simply hold two opposite sides of the diffuser and bend them inwards to shape your light and create a more filling effect. This will also help you to soften shadows that would otherwise be unaffected by a flat reflector.
4. Fill in Shadows
A 5 in 1 spotlight, when used with a silver reflector on the floor, can be used to fill in shadows under your subject. Just be Single Row Led Light Bar careful not to light up anything that isn’t flattering – like a double chin or heavy-set features.
The Stencil Size slider controls the width of a virtual stencil disc that always fits the Spotlight’s beam exactly, similar to real-life gobos. This allows you to have different textures filling in the shadows of your subjects, while retaining the correct shape and proportion.
5. Soften Hard Light
Getting the right light can really make or break an image. Soft light is great for beauty vloggers and food photographers, but hard lighting can also give an interesting look to a shot.
The easiest way to turn a hard light into a soft one is by using a diffuser. This can be a white reflector from your 5-in 1 or even a piece of paper or wax paper. The idea is to cover the front of your light to soften the shadows that it creates.
Another option is to bounce your light off of something. A white or silver reflector can do the trick, but a more interesting and natural option is to use shade. This can be a tree, building, or just a large piece of fabric. Bounce your light off of it to increase the size of the light source, making it softer. Keep in mind that bouncing your light off of a surface will decrease its intensity, so you’ll need to compensate for this. This is a good reason to bring a reflector with you on set!