Beam Width
Controlling the width of the beam will enable you to sculpt a subject with the light. Painting with a broad beam will create very even coverage across the subject. While this is necessary for some subjects, at times you’ll want to narrow down the beam to highlight certain areas. A snoot or grid helps shrink the width of the beam. Remember the longer the beam stays on a subject, the lighter it becomes. The closer you are to the subject the lighter it becomes.
Here’s an example of the effects of painting with wide and also narrow beams (Figure 3.8). The image on the left shows our star painted from the right. While showing better texture than the front lit, the broad beam evenly illuminates the entire star and fence. The image on the ...
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