Confessing the Fifth

Strobist extraordinaire, Bert Stephani has posted a new video detailing a recent shoot with Dirk and Sylvianne.
It's well worth a look for the detailed lighting setups, along with a little visual model directing from Bert.
So Bert, 2 assistants?

Black Snoot

I got a Wacom Bamboo Fun tablet and pen for Christmas. The first thing that struck me about the packaging was the black cardboard. Perfect for a pro looking snoot, I figured!



First off I made the decision to hide logos by putting the outside on the inside. Next I placed the flash on the card to create the folds at the right places.



Using a fold that was already in the cardboard, I added small flap that would be perfect for velcro. This meantt I can store it flat and put it together quickly.



Each fold is along the line of a corregated section. Once I've got the correct dimension from the flash I use a battery to get the fold right along the line. This battery just happened to by lying around where I was working, but any straight object will do, eg a ruler.



Once the fold was made, I bent it further to make it take properly. Running a ruler along the edge once folded, also helps.



When all the folds were made, I use a paper guillotine to tidy all the edges.



Next up I put the velcro tabs on.



Here's the completed snoot:



Here's the snoot aimed at a black background:



Another tool in the Strobist arsenal.