Beauty dish surface

Hello,
I ran across some beauty dishes that I bought last year. 2 are 16 inch, and the other 2 are 21 inches. Most of them have an orange peel feel to the surface. Won’t the effect the way they bounce light? And, are the 16 really good for anything? I have 200 watts strobes.
I have 4 nice parabolic softboxs but the are a real struggle for me because I’m in a wheelchair and have a fractured back. They are 35 and 38 inches. I can handle beauty dishes myself without help.

The inside or outside of an orange peel? Are you describing a slightly textured surface (probably white) on a metal dish?

People use all sorts of stuff as modifiers - even ones falling apart, dented, delaminating, etc. - and they use them to great effect.

My advice: since you already own them…..try them…. Both sizes. Do YOU like the light that they put out? Are YOU happy with the results? If so, use the heck out of them and enjoy them.

Hello DMCO,
I’m referring to the outside of an orange. Thank you for all of your help when I post a question.
Regards,
Terry

You’re welcome.
The “outside of an orange peel” texture…. I had a dish like that in the past. I forget who made it. Worked fine. No issues what so ever. Although I was never a “beauty dish” fan. I simply didn’t like the results that I created with them. Everyone is different.

Since you are just learning, and given your current mobility issues, I wouldn’t hesitate to try just about any kind of modifier that you can handle. Heck, hang a white sheet of nylon up and shoot through that. Use some of that “foam core” insulation board with silver outsides (super light weight) and fashion some reflectors or 4-sided box and gaffer tape it together and mount it on your strobe. Play around. Experiment within the bounds of what your current physical limitations allow. Find out what you like and what you don’t. There are NO wrong answers.

Thank you DMC. I really like your advise.

Yes, the 'orange peel' does affect the way they bounce light. If the reflector is a perfect paraboloid it projects an image of the bulb (or whatever the illuminant is) which isn't what you want. So the lumps surface mixes things up a bit and smooths out the light. It makes it more tolerant of non-diffuse illuminants.
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Thank you Bob. Shouldn’t it be smooth like a car finish? Do you know of a brand that’s like that?

I'm sure it's not the answer to your question...
... but this is are some contraptions I've made in a pinch with a thermo-foam and some sewing needles.

this surface was really Orange-Like and diffused quite well the light... cannot find the results at the moment
I will post them if interested

( I give for free bad ideas - the good ones I keep for myself)

What matters is how large an angle the beauty dish opening subtends when viewed from the subject. Your 16 inch dishes will look about the same as 32 inch dishes twice as far away.

Oh, that’s good to know. Sounds like dishes are normal then.Thank you very much Bob.

Not really. You are not trying to create a focused beam.

Yes.
www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/38442-REG/Norman_811765_811765_8_Reflector.html/overview

I really like those. I might try that myself.

thats not really a beauty dish. More a reflector

For a Beauty Dish, it will have said Dish covering the strobe bulb. It will create a shadow area in the middle of the beam. its like a softbox just reverse, where the softbox got the brightest spot in the center, the beauty dish has its brightest "ring" at the outside.

The surface will give you different output quality,
Silver will give you lot specularity, while white will reduce the specularity. There are Beauty Dishes with a varitety of different types of inserts, silver ones, white or semi transp acrylic, doubled up or like a disc with loads of holes. this will alter the apperance of the middle area, giving you diffrent looks. I have one with a brownish insert, making the light tiny bit more orangy brownish to please skin tones.
the more shiny your surface is, the more your specular highlights will be pronounced.

Yes. Indeed. I guess I wasn't being very clear.

Incidentally, to focus a reflector like that, we'd need a means to adjust the position of the strobe bulb along the axis of the reflector. I don't know how anyone is supposed to do that.

IIUC, the OP has Neewer Q3 lights, which are bit like an AD200 with the Frenel head fixed in place. I guess it can be adapted to Bowens mount with something like a Godox S2 bracket, but I'm not sure how well that would work with a conventional beauty dish - they seem to be designed for bare bulb flashes. Maybe a softbox would work better.

the light needs to go some where, fresnel or not, it will not sneak back inside the flash unit ;) so the beauty dish will do something, if its equal to a bare bulb, i doubt that. but worth a try anyway.

i may try that tomorrow....

OR is it an UGLY DISH???

There is a lot of mythology and information about photographic lighting and lighting gear. Waht makes this more confusing is some of the nomenclature or nicknames we have placed on gear and lighting forms and styles.

So fellow lighting Mavins* and students, here's my take😁

As a commercial and portrait photographer I have accumulated many lights over the decades and still have quite an inventory of reflection of all those lights. The attached image shows only a small portion of these reflectors. I did not photogah all of my collection (hoard) because I fear for my health and safety in opening the door to that storage closet- I might be crushed- someday I'll reorganize it!

The theory or trend I am trying to dispel is that many photograher think that the softeness, hardness, concentration or diffusion, and many other properties of light are solely based on the use of specific pieces of gear. OK, I know an umbrella is not a spotlight but there are many techniques and nuances whereby various effects and be produced with one simple main light source. If you know some of the basic principles you will get more outof any given pieceof lighting gear and know how and when to change, use or employ any kind of photographic lighting apparatus and become savvier in using natural or existing light as well.

I know that t y'all artists hate rules but here are a few kinda rules of thumb that will no stimy anyone's creativity. and provide more lighting control.

SIZE: The Larger the size of the log source is in real to the size of the sub the softer the lighting effect. The smaller the harder!

DISTANCE- between the lig source and the subject. The close the softer the future the harder.

By moving the main light source closer and farther away from the subject and/ or by changing the size, you have lots of flexibility and variation of effect.

As per my experience as to the reflective surface of say a parabolic (metal) reflector, I find very little difference between a spun aluminum, satin, or pebbled surface finish perha just a bit more light output. The size and distance tables yied more noticeable changes. And all parabolic reflectors are not created equal, they can differ differe in depth.

TIME OUT FOR ANGEOF INCIDESNE. Folks think the angle of incidence is the angle at which the light from any given source strikes the subject in relation to the same position- that is true. It all applies to the angle at which the light is emitted by the flas tube, LED, quartz or incandescent lamp strips the inner surface of any reflector. the "facets of an umbrella, o or the inner surfaces of a softbox. Since the angle of incidents is equal to the angle of reflection, you can tell exactly where in the subject, the reflected beam of light will land and how it will record in the camera. Understanding control over the angle of incidence in terms of the posting of the main or light source in relati to the subject and camera enables fine control over the rendition of texture, specularity, and relative visual intensity.

Too much technobabble? OK, but as you turn on a couple of simple lights and move them around ll this theory will come t life and t y to will beg to SEE and previsualize your lighting, even before you release the shutter, and you will be able to recognize and utilize all kinds of ligh in natural lightg situations.

One more theory: FEATHERIG- A beam of light from a simple metal parabolic reflector has a hot spot that diminishes towards the edge of the beam. Rotating the ligh so that the EDGE of the beam, rather than the hot spot, illuminates the subject, there is a better rendition of texture, increasing secularity and evenness of light. The HOT SPOT has a function and seeing exactly where it is, is the key to good feathering.

All right, I can hear it now "Shapiro, for heaven's sake, what the hell does this have to do wi a BEAUTY DISH? I have been using a beauty dish since 1962, before they called it a " BEAUTY"-dish. I still have my 1950 s made "semi-psrabolic witt central deflector. But the beaut light can be an ugly light the light is ot applied with savvy. The central cap eliminates the hot spot so precise feathering is not practical and the effect is softer and somewhat lackluster as a result. The unt itself is big and ugly and utilizes a 100O watt (3200K) #4 Photoflood lamp. The beaut light will not automatically impart "beauty" on any given subject and the lighting may be lackluster unless you learn to control that central deflector- there are many differet nuances. Unless the surface is mirrorlike and highly polished the difference in effect between satin and stippled surface is minimal.

Y'all think this bad, wait till IIi writes about umbrellas softboxes, or the really hard boxes.

I really hope that this forum and this section become a place where we can discuss, analyze and share information and ideas about lighting. If there is interest I have lots of material to pitch in!

*An expert or authority (Yiddish)