Expensive but Attractive Barn Doors and Gobos

Barndoors & Gobos
If you are unaware of what purpose do these barn doors and gobos serve then you have come to the right place and you are welcome here. A barn door looks a lot like a box that has about two or sometimes four side flaps and has no bottom or top. Each of its flap moves without depending on anything that is very much independently from one another allowing the photographer to select as much light as he wants to permit in chosen areas.

This type of accessory of photography kind of softens a lot of intense and extreme light. The softened effect can be won by moving a flap out and the nearer flap in slowly moving toward the direction of light while the other side will get some time to stay intense.

In older movies of Hollywood these barn doors were used a lot and looked more like flaps of big boxes or like very huge black colored cards that cover the light and stands behind the cameramen in most situations. Many photographers still use these photography accessories to restrict intensity of light and to spread it too.

The barn doors are supposed to slide over a source of light. They generally cover mono lights or the strobe lights and some of these are also taken as a solution for lighting. The manufacturers of barn doors are many like Smith Victor, NRG, DeSisti and Bescor. Out of these, Desisti gives away as in sells four panel barn doors in square shapes so to fit over broad lights and they too are square in shape.

On the other hand, gobos appear in black or very dark colored cards that are humungous and gobos are a short form for go between. Gobos hinder the light from the focuses target when placed in front of where the light is coming from. These gobos are used in any size of light and used for different light diffusion effects and shadowing purposes by the photographers. The photographers and hobbyists may feel that they are expensive but they are worth the money and effort which is put into getting them. Some also refer to them as cookies because they are more like a film plate made of metal and with some sort of a shape that is cutout and then passed over a source of light. The shape is then switched onto the target or usually it is a background. Many a times the words are taken away that is cut from that steel plate and positioned over the light to give off the words like some sort of a greeting just like “Happy Wedding Anniversary” or so on some screen or onto some wall.

For photography you can make your own gobos and barn doors all by yourself by using some of your witticism and intelligence. There are many forums on many sites that convey a lot of information regarding the barn doors and gobos as to how to use them in movie making and while having photo-shoots.  All you need is going through the many available brands and style thoroughly and off you will go.