Introduction
This lesson examines the light control you can achieve with the application of Grids to your light modifiers.

To give you the best comparison of control, we set our model close to the background. This allowed us to easily illustrate how the spread of light is controlled by the Grids, as well as emulating many situations in which you may find yourself shooting. We first set up a one light portrait without the Grids installed, then went through the same sequence with the Grids.

The Key Light
We set up our 7-foot OctoDome³ and attached it to a Photoflex 1000 W/s StarFlash. Then we attached the soft box and light assembly onto a Photoflex 2320Y LiteStand.

Next, we placed the light to camera left about 75 degrees from the camera. We set the height of the light assembly so that the subject was covered with light (figures 1 and 2).

When using a large light source, such as the 7-foot OctoDome³, we recommend adding a set of Casters to your LiteStand (figure 3).

This makes positioning the soft box and moving it around the studio much easier and reduces the risk of back injury when trying to lift the light off the ground to move it.

Before shooting, we dialed in the camera exposure and White Balance settings. Since we were using strobes in this lesson, we set our White Balance to Daylight (around 5500 degrees Kelvin). We set the resolution to RAW for maximum image quality and set the ISO to 100.

We then set the exposure mode to Manual. Since we were using strobes, the shutter speed would be set and left at an optimal "sync speed" - around 1/125 of a second. We then set our aperture to f/8 to give the depth of field control we wanted for this image -- keeping our subject in focus, while letting the background go soft.

With our camera dialed in and the main light in place, we synced the camera to the StarFlash with our sync cord and fired off our first shot (figure 4).

In the result image, we see the soft light of the OctoDome wrapping around the subject. Notice how soft this light is on the background, and how it gives the subject separation and added depth to the shot.

Next, we added some fill to the shot. For this, we used a Photoflex medium LiteDome with a 650 W/s Starflash head.

We wanted to further soften the light from this fill, so we placed a LitePanel Kit with White Translucent fabric attached between the fill light and the model. This gave us a very soft fill light that illuminated the full length of our model.

We set the diffuser and light set up to the right of the camera and about 45 degrees from the camera (figures 5 and 6).

With the fill light in place, we moved the assembly into the final position, controlling the contrast on the model to a 2:1 ratio (the main, or key, side twice as bright as the fill side). Then we set the model back into her pose and took another shot (figure 8).

In figures above, you can see the comparison of the first result (figure 7) and the second with the fill light assembly added (figure 8).

In figure 7, we see the strong ratio with very little detail in the shadows of the model's face. In figure 8 with the added fill, we have a brighter image while maintaining control over the contrast and the shot still shows shape and form around the face.

The Hair Light
To help gain more separation of the subject from the background, we added a hair light to our set.

Our hair light, sometimes called a separation light, was a Photoflex medium HalfDome attached to a 300 W/s StarFlash head and mounted to a Photoflex Boom and Boom Stand (figures 9 and 10).

Once we had the HalfDome set up and on the Boom, we placed it over the subject, centered on the set, and then swung it back so that the light fell on to the model's head and shoulders.

NOTE: Be careful not to position the hair light too far forward. You should not have any light fall onto the subject's face, as this can cause unflattering shadows on the face. To ensure we had the proper placement, we shot an image with just the hair light to check our placement (figure 11).

With the hair light in place, we set the model into the pose and took another shot (figure 13).

As you can see, the hair is a bit brighter with the addition of the hair light (figure 13). Although not strikingly different from the previous shot, this light will become even more apparent with a darker background.

Adding Grids to Control Light Direction
As mentioned in the introduction, adding Grids to the OctoDome will give you more control over where the light is projected. The Octo Grids narrow the light to about a 40-degree spread, as compared to about a 130 degree spread without the Grids attached. Grids simply allow you to control the place the light with precision.

In this situation, we wanted to keep some of the light from illuminating the background, so we installed the Grids onto the light and set it back into position (figures 14 and 15).

With the Grids in place, we checked our light levels with our incident light meter and found we lost about a stop of light, so opened the aperture up a stop to f/5.6 and took another shot (figure 17).

The shots above compare the first shot we made with the OctoDome only (figure 16) and the OctoDome with Grids only (figure 17). It's obvious how the addition of the Grids have added the control we were looking for. We have all but eliminated the light falling on the background in figure 17.

To balance out the contrast levels, we set the fill light and LitePanel assembly back into place and then added a set of Grids to the medium LiteDome (figure 18).

We then made fine-tuned adjustments to the position to properly fill the subject (figure 19).

We also added a set of Grids to the hair light and set it back into position (figure 20).

With all of our lights set back in position, we took a series of shots with our final lighting set-up. Here is one of the model's favorites (figure 22).

Notice how the dark shadows produced by the one light set-up (figure 21) are lit better in the three-light set-up (figure 22). As you can see, the three-light set up has a more balanced light ratio.

With and Without Grids
Figures 23 and 24 compare the results achieved with our three-light set up. The shot with the brighter background (figure 23) was lit without any Grids on the lights. The shot with the darker background (figure 24) was lit with Grids on all three lights to prevent light spill on the background.

Notice how much better the separation is between the model and the background (figure 24). This separation helps to add depth and balance to the shot, making it much more dynamic.

As you can see, Grids offer great control over light output direction, and this can be very important when photographing in confined spaces where the subject is close to the background.