As you do more Painting with light, you will probably start to discover some of the shortcomings of working with your torches – particularly doing still-life indoor shots when the beam of light may be too broad and too strong.
This is where light modifiers come in very handy. As the name implies, they modify the light from your torch to make it more suitable for the task at hand. Of course, you could buy a range of torches with different types of light beams, but that would be rather expensive, alternatively you can make the modifiers below very cheaply and easily.
Light fitting sleeve:
I do suggest that before you start making any light modifiers you think about how you are going to attach them to your torch. You may think that just holding them on, or taping them on each time, will be sufficient. But remember that you are going to be using them in the dark and, if outside, probably in the cold as well. Therefore try and choose a torch that will accept a tubular sleeve so that you can just slide it on and off.
In my case, I found a length of plastic conduit pipe in my shed, which had an inside diameter that exactly matched the diameter of my Scangrip Matchpen pen torch. It was long enough to be able to cut multiple lengths so that each of my modifiers can be permanently attached to one. If you aren’t fortunate enough to find a piece of tube of the correct diameter then use some cardboard core from inside a kitchen roll, cut it through lengthways and then roll it to the diameter that you need and tape it up.
Snoot:
A snoot is a funnel shape and narrows the light beam down to allow you to finely light individual areas for detail. These are easily made with card (or thick paper) rolled into a conical shape. The cone can then be simply cut with scissors to match the light fitting sleeve at one end and the size of the desired light opening at the other.
Shield:
If you are trying to back-light an object with the torch facing the camera you will get light trails showing in the image. To prevent this, make a shield which will hide the end of the torch. This is simply a flat, rectangular, piece of stiff card, attached to a light fitting sleeve. The size of the rectangle is largely down to personal preference.
Wand:
When doing still-life images and working quite closely to the subjects with your torch, it is easy to get ‘hot-spots’ of light, and very harsh shadows, which are difficult to blend in during post-processing. To prevent this, use a light wand – a long strip of diffused light, which you can ‘wave’ over the subjects. You can buy them, of course, but you can also make one very easily with just a few tools.
Take a length of white plastic tubing (look in the plumbing or electrical section of your local DIY store) and cut a suitable length that will attach to your torch but leave about 30cm for the actual light wand.
You then need to cut a slot down the length of the tube, whilst leaving the ends intact to maintain its shape. I used a multi-tool but you could use a sharp knife, if you are careful.
Don’t forget to seal the end of the tube to stop the light coming out
Cover the slot with a diffusing material (thin tracing paper or baking paper works well). Then wrap the rest of the tube with non-reflecting black tape. I used electrical insulating tape.
When using a light wand you will have to spend a lot more time than with your torch alone to get the same exposure, due to the light being diffused.
Prevent reflections:
In all cases, cover all of the outer surfaces of the modifier with black tape to prevent reflections on the surface being picked up during a long exposure.
The shot Poisoned Chalice (above) was lit using my set of modifiers to control the light. Curved glass is notoriously difficult to light successfully because it readily picks up reflections from any nearby light source and I found that painting with light (with modifiers) was considerably easier than using strobes in this situation.
“Blinded by the light’ was a song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen in the early 1970’s although it was subsequently sung (albeit modified) by Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, which is the version that most people recognise.
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