Modifier Monday: Nylon Ripstop Diffusion Material

I guess today is a good day to talk about dreaming big.  Sometimes a Softbox is just not big enough, or too big to carry to a remote location.  Sometimes you have a huge window that is just bringing in too much light, and you need to diffuse it.  A nice big sheet of Ripstop Nylon is a great thing to have in your bag.  Clamp it or use Gaffer Tape to secure it to a doorway, window, between two trees or have two bystanders if you got 'em... like I said, dream big.

Put the sheet between your subject and the sun, or place all your small strobes behind it and you can make a very large, very soft light source just about anywhere, anytime.  And you don't have to lug a 7 foot Octabank up the side of a hill to have big, soft light.  It weighs next to nothing, takes up hardly no space.  It's cheap, so you don't have the worries of an expensive soft box.  If the wind blows it over, no fear of your model  or yourself getting a concussion.

I keep one with my strobes.  I bought a 60"X78" sheet from B&H for around $18.  (click on image for page).  One of these days I'm going to take a 40% off coupon into Jo Ann Fabrics to see if I can get something even bigger.  I'm told you can also get various colors, but I've not confirmed if those are translucent enough to use for photography.  It would be great to try though!

Those Lucky enough to have today off for Martin Luther King Day, get out there and Shoot!  For the rest of us, there's always after work!