GE softlites...soft enough??

The softness of any light is a function of the size of the light relative to the subject. An unfrosted light bulb has a tiny hot filament so it is hard; that is, it produces strongly defined shadows. A frosted bulb, like the GE "softlights," has only a marginally larger size, so it's not really a soft source. Often such sources produce a soft effect because what's really lighting the subject is the very large wall the light is bouncing off.

You should learn to understand completely the "softlight rule:"

"The softness of the light is directly proportional to the relative size of the aperture of the light relative to the subject."

As an example, a 2'x2' soft source becomes softer as you move it toward the subject and harder as you move it away. Such a fixture is softer than a 4'x4' fixture that is twice as far away. It's the law of squares.

You can easily see this by lighting a subject with a single source in a totally darkened room and moving the light toward and away from the subject while you view the results on a monitor or with your camera.

I'm afraid you will see little change with a bare bulb of any kind because the aperture of the light is so small it's rather hard no matter how close it is; it's always much smaller than the subject's face. No fixture smaller than about a square foot is much of a "softlight."

I hope this helps.

Leo

What I meant to say...would 20 bulbs produce a light as diffuse as a single bulb shot through some diffusion material (say an umbrella) 20 times the size of the single light bulb.

Hi Charles,
You're on the right track, however...

Unless the bulbs were so closely packed together that they were no longer a bunch of tiny sources, you might get a lot of hard shadows from the individual sources.

Here's the low cost, easy way to achieve a beautiful softly lit portrait:

1. Stretch a frosted shower curtain between two stands. Place it as close as possible to the subject at about a 45° angle. The side near the lens should be just out of frame.

2. Put a open-faced fixture behind the shower curtain, far enough away so you don't burn it and so that it covers the curtain but does not spill past it.

There you go. Guaranteed results with very low-cost equipment. A 1000 watt fixture should be sufficient for most situations. If you can add it to your budget, a 4' x 4' grid cloth is better and really not very expensive.

If you want the ultimate in softness, use a very large sheet of unbleached muslin; a bed sheet will work just fine. You will, of course, need a larger light to punch through.

Good shooting!
Leo

Hi Charles,
OK, here's the deal; you need a lot more help than we can give you in a forum. I suggest you let us know where you are located and ask someone in your area to spend some time with; perhaps they will invite you to their studio to show you a few things.

I feel a bit like I'm selling a sports car to someone who doesn't know how to drive, but here's a link to a Mole Richardson Mickey for sale on eBay; it's a very versatile fixture that will work for your needs; well, at least it will do what I described in my previous post:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=900620374

I don't know anything about the seller, so you're on your own on that; I did note that, while they have a lot of positive feedback, they also have a high number of negatives. If you search around, you may be able to find a used Mickey Mole elsewhere.

Good luck,
Leo

There must be someone near Lansing who can help...

How about it, you guys and gals out in the pasture; who's going to pay their civic rent and spend some time with Charles? Perhaps you can take him along on a shoot and let him observe, maybe even pitch in...

Leo