Snoot tubes

[icicle]

How do you use them and what affect do they give?
And when is the right time to use them?
And are home made ones as good as store bought ones?
Thank you for your help on this one.

[mjs1973]

From what I understand, snoot tubes are designed to focus the light form a flash or other light source. This lets you "aim" your light at a certain spot without spilling over onto other areas. I have used a home made one a few times and it seemed to work just fine for what I was doing. All I used was a can cooler. Here is a link to show you.

http://www.diyphotography.net/drinki...ut-snooting-in

[Asylum Steve]

How do you use them and what affect do they give?

Yeah, Mike's got it right. You put a snoot over the front of a light to give a broad-beam a more narrow focus. It makes a flood light a spot.

There are any number of reasons you'd want to do this. In a studio, it creates what's called an "accent" light. IOW, a hair light, or a spot of illumination on a subject or background. This often gives the shot more style or takes the viewer's eyes to a certain area of the frame.

You can also isolate an individual in a group of people with a snooted light for a cool effect.

As for making them yourself, yeah, that beer cooler sleeve idea for an on-camera flash snoot is a good (and cheap) one.

You can also jerry-rig snoots for more expensive lights, but as with any equipment, having pro gear often has its advantages. Pro snoots specifically made for certain lights are more predictable and of course, more durable.

[Frog]

I hadn't heard of them so did a google and found this on homemade ones.
Looks pretty simple http://blog.nikonians.org/martin_joe...and-grids.html

[icicle]

Thank you all.

[JTcooper]

MJS, I like the coolzee snoot and I keep thinking why didn't I thinks of this before hehe:thumbsup: