I've been sick for the past few days with a cold and had a chance to think of another way to control the light from the PLM. This technique was referenced off of Neil Nierkerk and silverlake backdrops
Black foamie thingy
http://neilvn.com/tangents/2009/11/21/t ... mie-thing/
and
Silverlake Backdrops eyecatcher light modifiers
http://www.silverlakephoto.com/home.php?cat=328
which create the idea of using indirect light to control the light on the subject's face. The silverlake backdrops are a polished product of what I was trying to go for, but I used materials lying around my home studio: string, rivets, and metal washers to strap around the umbrella tips. all in all, there are 6 pieces of string to support the slightly heavy piece of black velvet.
PLM soft silver 86" with diffusion cover (no black flag in the middle)
PLM soft silver 86" with diffusion cover (black flag in the middle). Notice the subtle shadows that create almost a natural light source.
Pardon the terrible photos, they were from a canon sx30 with the wb on auto. I'm sure if I had cranked the light output a 1/2 stop more, i'd get a more glamour-like appearance.
This was what I was aiming to create without the use of 2 strip lights:
http://strobox.com/headshot/11118
that's all for now. time to get some more rest so I can get over this cold.