Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

Paul, how come you or no one makes an umbrella with slits or panels for wind control?

I find golfers and some NYC walkers own them, but they aren't suited to photography being colored fabrics, and the shafts are too big.

Had one launch an Ultra 1200 into the wind yesterday and crashed it into a stream. Bullet-proof Ultra still works as does the Vagabond-Mini. Umbrella not doing so well, but it may have cushioned the blow of the other stuff. Happened twice in one day in the water even with weights (rocks) on a modified tripod stand due to amount of boulders. Regular light stands were to unstable for the boulders.

Mack

I can't say for sure, but I would imagine this would affect light patterns, especially silver. Additionally, it would increase cost and complexity of manufacturing. The more they cost, the fewer they will sell, affecting economies of scale. And, how much benefit will there be? An extra 1mph wind gust? 5? 10?

There may be other issues at play, but these are my suspects.

Hi, Mack

There are a few things I resort to when the wind becomes that much of an issue. They can be consolations depending on if there is a particular shape to the light you want, but I'll throw them out there anyway in case they are helpful:

- If the wind is blowing right into the "bowl" side of the umbrella, use a shoot-through umbrella so you can face the umbrella the other way and let the wind wrap around it instead of grabbing it like a sail.

- Use a softbox instead of an umbrella, face the softbox into the wind of course, and weight the bottom of the lightstand. Also, instead of positioning a leg of the lightstand underneath the softbox as you would normally do in studio, position it away from the wind and it in the opposite direction. It's hard to describe in words so I hope it makes sense, because it will give a little added resistance.

- Instead of using a mod on your Ultra, shoot it nearly bare through weighted down light panels. I don't have an exact example of this, but here is the idea: https://www.flickr.com/photos/92211832@N04/14016309469/

This was for an indoor shoot, so for outdoors in the wind there would be no modifier on the monolight except for maybe a simple reflector, and some weights at the base of the stands holding the white fabric. I have used the approach in high wind situations that would blow down a light with any kind of modifier. It moves the risk away from your light(s) and over to spare light stands. If you let the base of the white fabric angle back and away from the stands and the wind by a foot or two, the panels will hold up to much more wind than you could ever expect from any umbrella or softbox. What you see here is home-made from 5' lengths of PVC and white rip-stop nylon from a fabric store. You could even use shower curtains. I hope the fine staff at PCB don't mind that I show this, because I don't mean to offer it as a replacement for any of their light modifiers. They aren't. I don't use these exclusively, but never go to a shoot without them, either. They are versatile and great to have on hand.

- Last, when the wind makes all else futile or too risky, use reflectors. It's still a pain and a battle against the wind, but no lights, stands, or subjects are put in harm's way.

Craíg
http://www.craigwasselphotoart.com

Thanks for the ideas Craig.

Someone suggested using a shoot-through umbrella facing into the wind, and also a silver umbrella behind it with the flash pointing into the silver and reflecting forward through the shoot-through one.

His idea was the flash is enclosed in a sort of dome between the two umbrellas so the wind cannot catch the umbrella from any direction. Sounds interesting in theory though.

I don't know though. I've had the square/rectangular softboxes get twisted up in their frames and mounts. Didn't fall over, but I've had them rip off the front locking-tangs of the Ultras which seems impossible to do (Plate bends on softbox and there it goes.). One gust is all it took.

Tried tying stuff down, but moving lights a bit becomes a chore. Can't win.

Your simple "flag of silk" and separate light stand away from the flashes stand might work too (Just let it blow?), just need to haul more gear.

Mack

Hi, Mack

My pleasure. The softbox is definitely not always a solution, but I have found mine to be somewhat more stable in wind than an umbrella in bounce position. As you said, though, the wind can reach a point where it just rips your softbox apart and destroys it, which is then usually a more expensive loss than a wrecked umbrella.

When I tested the "flag of silk" idea on a day with enough wind that I would not risk umbrellas or softboxes, I was suprised at how well they did. Letting the flags just flap in the wind helps a lot, or angle the bottoms of the flags back and maybe weight down the bottom corners down but at an angle. I don't think doing either hurts the quality of the light, and makes them even better in the wind.

As you also said, the downside of this approach is hauling more gear. You don't necessarily have to use two flags at once, but using even one obviously does require taking at least three stands. I've always hauled my gear in a utility wagon, so it isn't much of an issue for me:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/92211832@ ... 737389606/

Craíg
http://www.craigwasselphotoart.com

Your wagon wouldn't fit in my small car. Might be hard getting into areas I shoot in too (Canyons, Rocky streams, etc.).

But your "silk flag blowing in the wind" idea is intriguing.

Maybe a semi-circle top bar attached to a separate light stand, say 36" wide, with some small snaps like on shirts/blouses to snap the silk onto. Leave the silk in a 36" circle and weight the lower portion not snapped to the bar with some heavy rope in the lower seam to give it some wind resistance? Could be cut in two portions to wrap around the pole if it got too gusty.

Of cost necessity, virtually all photo umbrella and other fabric goods are made in Asia. They don't understand items that deviate from what they are accustomed to making and communications/development is very difficult. It took us years to get the PLM series developed because of this.

The cost of doing this work in the USA would result in $500 umbrellas!

Hi, Mack

The wagon I have is the biggest they make: it has a 24" x 48" bed, and I drive a mini-van making it easy to haul. They do make smaller ones and the sides do fold down, but with the terrain you have to navigate that probably still would not matter or help :-)

For where I live and shoot, though, it makes it a breeze to move my e640's, VMLs, and plenty more including umbrellas, softboxes, and the light panels.

The "flags/light panels" I made are a modified version of what I saw a photographer named Thorsten Ott use (I think that's the spelling of his name). I can't seem to come up with the link to his vids, either. That's a real interesting idea you have for another variation of the same concept. Thanks for sharing it. I've never met a modifier I didn't like (or want, LOL), and I love having a big variety to choose from on my gear racks.

BTW, although indoors, this is one of the portraits that resulted from the setup photo I showed earlier using those light panels:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/92211832@N04/14199570881/

So although they don't look fancy, they work very well.

Craíg
http://www.craigwasselphotoart.com

Did somebody say Light Panel???

https://www.flickr.com/photos/67835420@ ... 224010226/

This is about a 7 foot high by 5 foot wide panel. I am pretty sure I shot into a reflective umbrella and then through the panel to diffuse the light even more.

BTW: The lights are my original WL10,000 Coffee Can strobes.