Black and White with an Optical Snoot

I snagged this optical snoot from my friends at Paul C Buff. I went with their version since it was affordable priced (in comparison) and worked with all my lighting equipment which is also from Paul C Buff.

If you’re not familiar, an optical snoot is a specialized piece of photography equipment used to control and direct light onto a specific area of the subject. It works by narrowing the beam of light emitted from a flash or strobe, creating a more focused and dramatic effect. I’m fairly new to the equipment too, but after seeing Linday Alder’s work with them, I knew I needed to get one soon.

If you want the nitty gritty, an optical snoot is a tube-like attachment that fits over the front of your flash or strobe. It often features an adjustable aperture that can be widened or narrowed to control the size of the light beam. Some optical snoots, like mine, come with additional attachments such as grids or color filters to further modify the light. I was able to hit the ground running with a good variety of tools to filter the light.

One of the most common uses for an optical snoot is in portrait photography. By directing a narrow beam of light onto the subject's face, you can create dramatic highlights and shadows (see my Chattanooga senior from last year below), emphasizing their features and creating a more striking image. An optical snoot can also be used in product photography to highlight specific details or areas of the product.

While an optical snoot may seem like a simple piece of equipment, its ability to create focused and controlled light can greatly enhance the creativity and impact of your images, particularly in black and white photography.

While an optical snoot can be used in a variety of photography genres, it is particularly effective in black and white portrait photography. Black and white photography relies heavily on contrast and shadow to create depth and mood, and an optical snoot can help accentuate those elements.

It is important to pay attention to the direction and intensity of the light. By positioning the snoot at different angles and adjusting the aperture, you can create different levels of contrast and highlight specific features of the subject.

For example, if you want to emphasize the subject's eyes, you can position the snoot directly in front of them and narrow the aperture to create a small beam of light. This will create a dramatic contrast between the eyes and the rest of the face, drawing the viewer's attention to that area like the first three images below.

Similarly, if you want to create a more moody or dramatic portrait, you can position the snoot off to the side of the subject's face and widen the aperture to create a larger beam of light. This will create deep shadows on one side of the face, emphasizing the subject's features and creating a more striking image.