Barn doors

[Steven Davis]

Ok, here's my question off my head. Since I have noone around me my town to ask, no store no nothing....

Barn doors for on camera lighting. I have a Frezzie (who I love as a company and has the greatest service ever) on camera light with a set of side barn doors. The barn doors are black, but what would technically be the impact if they were mirrors? I have an idea that you would have a rounder light, but is that about it, technically speaking?

[Don Bloom]

Inquiring mind! Never thought about it but the first thing that comes to my mind is "hot spots". Maybe.
Honestly I can't see any advantage to mirrors but then I might not be seeing the whole picture. Why not "borrow a couple of small mirrors from the wife (or GF if that's appropriate) powder compact and tape them on the barndoors to see what happens. Worst thing is it doesn't do anything or makes thing worse then untape them.
Oh yeah, if you DO "borrow" a couple of makeup mirrors be sure to ask first. I know if I tried that and didn't ask, well, my life expectancy might be shortened. ;-)

[Steven Davis]

That's a good idea. Although instead of venturing into the unknown makeup cabinet and messing something up, I might run to the Dollar Tree and pick up some. Thanks for the input Don, I was just thinking outloud. I'll give it a shot.

[Richard Andrewski]

Adding mirrors to barndoors is a trick thats done to large and soft sources like fluorescents to increase their lighting emitting surface, making them effectively even larger. This is also known as intensifying and its really only appropriate on fixtures that can't effectively use barndoors as they were originally meant to be anyway. For instance, barndoors don't have much control effect on a fluroescent or any large and soft source unless they are huge--so big as to be ungainly. That's why eggcrate filters are a far more effective control tool for side spill.

Back to the question at hand. It wouldn't generally be a good thing though to add mirrors to a hard light. You'd get all kinds of specular reflections that wouldn't be good, unless you were looking for an effect like that. The barndoors simply wouldn't function as well as normal barndoors do on a hard light like the Frezzi in question.

You can always buy some Miro reflective aluminum, cut it to size and try it on the barndoors but you'll probably think it a wasted exercise though.

[Steven Davis]

I feel much smarter, sometimes a good idea in my head is not what I believe it to be. I see what you are talking about having reflections that aren't intended. Thanks again to all.