DIY Barn Doors For Flashguns

Ready to Get thrifty? Jordan Butters Shows You How to Make a Great Flashgun Modifier for Under £10 to Add Drama, Mood and Interest to Your Portraits

- Jordan Butters

When it comes to portraits, light is everything. the exact same subject in the exact same setting can be used to create all manner of different looks and images just by changing how they’re lit. You could flood them with soft light from all angles for a clean, shadow-free portrait; add gels to your flash to inject bursts of colour; or cast them into darkness and side-light them for mood and drama. it’s the latter that we’re going to explore here, and it calls for a method that controls the light precisely.

Barn doors are commonly found on film and television sets, but they’re also popular with fashion and studio photographers too. they usually consist of four flaps, positioned at the front of a light source, which can be opened and closed on hinges. this allows for great control of where the light does and doesn’t hit. By focusing the light into narrow beams they can be used to highlight one small area, or to simulate light coming in from a window, doorway or narrow opening.