Today on the Slanted Lens, we are going to look at how to gain more control of your light and more specifically, your soft box, by using a technique called feathering.
What is Feathering?
It is really quite simple. Every light has an area of coverage or circle of coverage. In Soft Boxes 101 ( • Soft Boxes 101: A Ligh... ), we discuss that the area of coverage does not get larger with larger boxes. The light gets softer with larger boxes but it does not cover a larger area.
Feathering is maneuvering a light source’s area of coverage so that only the desired area of the subject is lit. We can use the middle to make the light harder and to light everything or we can use the edge of the area of coverage to light only the upper torso of the person and let the light fall off in a vignette.
We are making a deliberate decision about what we want to do with the area of coverage and not just plunking our soft box down and aiming it directly at the person. We feather to gain more control of the area of coverage and the quality of light. Feathering does not reduce the area of coverage it simply moves all the unwanted light off of the things we do not want to emphasize.
We can reduce the area of coverage of a soft box by adding a grid but we still have an area of coverage and need to make a decision on how to use it. Feathering in many ways can give you the same look as a grid and does not cost anything extra.
I use this feathering in the studio all the time. In my Basics of a One Light Setup ( • The Basics of a One Li... ), I show that as you feather the area of coverage toward the camera you start to light only the far side of the background. This gives you light on the background behind the shadow side of the opposite side of the face. As you feather the light more toward the camera and away from the background, the background goes dark and can now be lit if desired with a second light. We are moving the area of coverage around to allow it to only light what we want to see on set or on location.
Something to consider, if you aim the light up and there is a ceiling it will reflect back and fill the image.
Those are the basics of feathering. If you have ever looked at someone’s photo and wondered why they are getting a different result when using the same equipment, it’s usually because of finessing the light and that usually starts by feathering the light. Small adjustments will make a big difference. I hope you have learned something about finessing a soft box and how to feather. Keep those cameras rollin’ and keep on clickin’.