Mousetrap

I called into the shop yesterday to place mousetraps on the toilet seats and as I was waiting for the ladies loo to be vacated, I got to chatting with one of the professional photographers who was standing at the rental counter. I noticed he was taking out a set of studio mono lights - a very good quality item.

The odd thing for me was I remember him taking out these same mono lights with various light modifiers all last year, and, I think, the year before. Weekday rentals mostly and some weekend rentals. Lotsa rentals...

At this stage of the game I am not at all certain whether or not his rental charges have equalled or surpassed the price of the lights when new. If so, I think he has sort of shot himself in the foot.

Rental of professional equipment is a wise move for many reasons - not all of them financial.

a. If you cannot afford the gear to do the job, but have enough money to rent it for a day or so, do so.

b. If someone else is paying the tab...ie. an actual client...go for it. The cost of doing it is buried in the fee you charge.

c. The gear is sound, and working, and you have the guarantee of the shop on this.

d. The gear is up to date - clients who base their buying decisions on your gear will look more favourably on you.

e. If the gear breaks down and it is not your fault, you are free of the worry of repair costs.

f. You can rent exotic stuff that you'll never need more than once in your career. No storing junk in the studio shelves.

But the whole system breaks down if you have spent more on getting it out than you get back for the job or if you find that at the end of the day you have spent far more renting than buying. Plus each rental and return is two trips into the shop from your working location - time is money. Rental is also  bond and insurance money paid out. You have to have that money tied up at each rental. And you can't take the rental stuff out of the state, either.

Now I've rented a lens or two in my time, for specific jobs. It was good, but I must say I was glad to give it back. It showed me that I did not want to buy it...and that negative was a good positive from a business angle.

So where this post is going... is to drive you to the rental counter for certain, but to get you to do some figuring...if you really like the stuff you rent, consider buying it. In some cases you might get some of the rent back in the purchase price.

How To Expan Your Mind

That's not a typo - there are no "d's"in Expan when Manfrotto make them. And you don't need "d's" - the apparatus is perfectly functional as it is.

The EXPAN 046 drive is Manfrotto's way of slinging the large rolls of paper or vinyl backdrop material between two supports. They are imaginative in this - there is a single hook for direct attachment to the top of a standard light stand or you can attach multiple hooks to a 035 Super Clamp and control out two or three rolls.

Studios who regularly move from white through grey to black for fashion, portrait, or product shots will appreciate the triple hooks. It is the work of a moment to run one up and another down. The users of vinyl backdrops will have to be aware they are heavier than the paper and will need to be taped more firmly to the cardboard core before full unrolling.

One thing that new users of the paper rolls do not realise - they become brittle with age. If you lay out a roll of paper for a long enough period it will start to tear at the edges and at the front. This can be minimised if it is always on an Expan holder - up and down for years. If you can keep the models' dirty feet off the paper, all the better.

For the adventurous and well-heeled, Manfrotto also make an electric-drive version of the Expan. You operate the rolls up and down from a digital control box at the side of the studio. Pure genius.

Note that it is indeed possible to change all three rolls of Superior 2750 roll paper on an Expan outfit by yourself - you need a step-ladder and a methodical approach but it is not hard. Where you store the extra rolls is another matter.

Please also note that it is possible to use Manfrotto Expan components to put a backdrop up in such a way that the heavy rolls of paper are near the floor and loop up and over a cross bar at ceiling level. A little more trouble to rig initially but the changing of the rolls is easier.

Also note that sometimes muslin backdrops can be rolled up on empty Superior cardboard cores, so save your next one after you use up the paper. Takes a bit of practise to get the muslin on it evenly.

Manfrotto are about the best manufacturer of studio gear there is - at least of gear that is readily available in Perth. You can count on the equipment to do exactly what it says it is for and if you are at all imaginative you can get it to support new ideas in ways that the maker never thought of.

Manfrotto never goes astray.

Autopoling Is Not Against The Law

Well, not against Australian law, anyway - it does, however, defy gravity. And thereupon hangs a tale.

Actually thereupon hangs a lot of stuff. Manfrotto Autopoles seem to have been around since the 1950's and have been seen in photographer's studios, designer's lofts, upmarket shops, and possibly bomb sites. They are one of the niftiest solutions for supporting things that Manfrotto make. And Manfrotto make a lot of supporting structures!

Basically they are a two-part metal tube with rubber ends that can be slid between two surfaces and then jacked outwards to wedge the tubes rigidly between those surfaces. Note that I didn't restrict myself to saying floor and ceiling - Manfrotto Autopoles can equally well be placed between two walls and locked into place - they can even be used to separate teenagers in a car on a long trip.

They come in different sizes and different diameters so you can come close to the measured span you need to wedge into before activating the mechanism. The wedging is done with a lever and roller and is surprisingly powerful. You must make sure that the two surfaces you are going to exert pressure onto are sturdy enough to take it  - no pushing ceiling panels out of place if you can help it*. Once you have positioned the Autopole, wedged it in place and locked off the lever, you are set to hang anything you like off it.

Here's where the Manfrotto 035 Superclamp and other accessory arms come in handy. You can swing 2750 Superior paper rolls between two Autopoles easily with the appropriate Manfrotto Expan drive kits. Don't be shy - I run three Expans and three rolls of Autopoles and no fear of anything falling down. And plenty of pole space left for anything else you want to clamp on.

If you are stuck in an area that has a floor but an inconveniently high ceiling, Manfrotto also make a set of tripod legs that slip over the pole and can stabilise it beautifully - again well enough to swing three 2750 rolls or other heavy gear.

Note that they can also be used for light supports if you use the 035 and side arms - in this instance they can support multiple lights and flags as well.

* I got leery of putting pressure on ceiling panels so I made a pair of big round plywood feet and support tubes for my Autopoles. Looks clumsy, but it means that even if I inadvertently lose contact with the ceiling the whole assembly cannot actually fall over sideways. There's probably a more elegant way but this will do for now.

Steve Sint - my new favourite photographer - has a plan in his book on digital still life photos for a product table made with Autopoles and a couple of sawhorses. Looks a cracker.

Finally, there are time when you need to have a camera way up high. Trust the Autopole and a side arm to do it.

Super Clamp - Super Powers Activate!

All hail the Manfrotto Super Clamp
We never shall forsake it,
It grips your bits and never splits
And you'll never ever break it.

They used to say the key to the Universe was 42*...this may be, but the key to the photographic Universe is 035.

035 is the model number for the Manfrotto Super Clamp - the single most useful mechanical device in any photographic studio. Forget the camera, forget the lights, forget the model and the makeup - all you need are enough 035 Super Clamps and you can create the world.

Now Manfrotto are a funny company - very innovative in many ways. They make changes every year to the tripods they sell, and add or remove fashionable features and styling - rather like Ferrari and FIAT with cars. As Manfrotto are Italian as well, perhaps it is in the blood. Any road, there is a steady current of good sense under the flash and this design philosophy has ensured the success of the 035.

Basically, It is a set of jaws that grasp a round pipe, square timber or metal tube, or flat board and then invites you to plug in or bolt on the rest of the studio. I do mean the rest...I have successfully attached lights, cameras, flats, backdrop holders, boom arms, umbrellas, and an f-86 Sabre Jet fighter plane to a 035 and nothing has crashed yet.

The big jaw can grasp a round or square strut. It can be modified with a small plastic triangle in the jaw - this is included with the clamp - to grasp a plank or a table edge.

There is a socket made to take further Manfrotto accessories including stand-off arms, 1/2 inch spigots for lights, and curved holders for backdrop poles.

There are 5-count-em, 5 - 1/4 inch threaded sockets for attaching anything else. I have bolted lots of things to these using standard bits from Mr. Bunnings and as we are dealing with pressure-cast aluminium the thing is sturdy.

You can even back two 035's together and bolt up a double super clamp that will deal with the intersection of two major structural members. Set building is where this comes in - rather like the scaffolding sets you see workers on building sites using. BTW it is considered unfair to undo scaffolding clamps form building sites, particularly if there are brickies up on them already...

So - provided Manfrotto do not go all stylish and exotic and turbo-charge the 035 clamp, we should all be able to make our studios work. I'm good  - I've got 9 of them already.

* only if you were a member of the Royal Highland Regiment.

Roll Wrangling - The Handyman's Guide To Taming The Backdrop

Recently it came to my notice that sometimes people have difficulty with roll backdrops for studio use. Here's a few tips garnered from years of having difficulties. Don't worry - all the bad language has long been said, so this post is safe for work.

The 2750 mm by 11,000 mm rolls of backdrop paper made by the Superior company are sort of he standard of the industry. Curious measurement...if you calculate it back to imperial standards it turns out to be 9 feet wide by 36 feet. Enough to make 2 complete smooth-transition infinity drapes in an 8-foot ceiling.

Newbies have sometimes been confronted with the problem of how to suspend the roll high enough for this - we sell portable backdrop stand sets that will do it - Manfrotto and their oriental copycats sell lots of vertical stands and crossbars that will do the same. They also make a set of hooks and drive mechanisms called "Expan" that allow an operator to roll the paper up and down easily.

There is also the option of sourcing brackets and crossbars from Mr. Bunnings - but then you have to drill into the walls and figure out how to get the roll up and down on the brackets. You will eventually acquire a folding ladder and an vocabulary to match.

However you suspend it, when you use the paper at the start of the roll it will be easy to manage. Of course - easier if you are using the Expan drive - but reasonably so even if it is just you on the ladder. The trick you'll need to remember is the weight of the paper when it is out can sometimes compel it to unroll further than you want. If it does this - clamp it off with a plastic or metal welding clamp ( Mr. Bunnings ) and all is well.

Later in the roll, this tendency to unroll will become more marked - clamp as needed, but be aware that the paper isn't actually taped or stapled onto the central cardboard core. Go too far and it all falls in a heap on you. Trick: before you get to this stage, gaffer tape the last edge of the paper to the roll. Then no surprises.

Superior make their paper rolls in two widths - 2750 mm and 1350 mm. Sometimes people need rolls of paper somewhere in between these sizes. The best way to cut down a 2750 roll is to use a sharp Stanley knife and have the paper on the floor. Do your cutting before you actually deploy the roll for he first time, so that you can make use of he factory sealing on the part you want to keep.

Run a circle of masking tape accurately around the roll and use it a guide to your first Stanley cut. Then gradually unpeel the off0cut as you go further into the roll - turning the roll on the floor. With a bit of care you can trim it evenly and get a custom size.

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Ain't It Always The Way...Backdrops Drop Back - Try Manfrotto

As a famous iconic world beating award-winning* photo legend who works mainly in his studio ( because it has a reverse-cycle air conditioner, coffee pot, and biscuit tin...) I am familiar with backdrops. Familiar enough to use abusive language.

Paper or cloth, there are issues. The paper gets dirty, rips, runs out...the cloth sheets get dirty, attract glitter, feathers, lint, and wrinkles. A solid wall with wallpaper works very well for one or two shoots and then starts to intrude into every visual idea like a nightmare.
Eventually you long for the wide open spaces or macro work.

Mind you, there are times when the Superior paper roll backdrop or the Promaster muslin drape are perfect - fresh out of the bag or box they can provide a clean space behind the subject that subtly supports the point of focus. You need to move your lights so that this happens deliberately - ignore this and the back bit can overpower the front bit very quickly.

Worthwhile making sure that your chosen suspension system is also up to scratch in a structural sense - I dropped a 2.75 metre paper roll on a sitter once when the backdrop support system tilted over and it was only by dint of fast talking and an offer to bury the body at sea that I got out of trouble. You can be certain that I have secured the rolls ever since in a Manfrotto triple hook rack with the Expan holders. You can support the paper rolls on the portable stands as well, but make sure that the tripod legs of the stands are out there doing their job effectively.

If you're going out in the field the paper is replaced with muslin drape. If it is literally out in a field beware of the uneven surface under it and of the previous users of the field - particularly if they were cows. Some stains never wash out. If it is in a carpeted interior, pin or tape the drape down at the edges - people can trip over anything.

And sometimes you are lucky - I hauled out two cloth drops and sands for last night's costume shoot - and found that the venue had enormous freshly painted off-white  interior walls. Leave the backdrops and stands in the car? Don't mind if I do!

* I won a Posture Pin in Grade 2.

Muslin Or Paper? When You Really Need To Know.

Backdrops are great things. When you shoot people, products, or pets on a clean backdrop the visual concentration goes directly to the subject. This is why Irving Penn used them in many of his fashion shots and then extended the idea out into the wilds to shoot his mud men and other traveller's wonders.

Irv was an enthusiast all right, because I've seen shots of his studio in the wilds constructed of scaffolding and canvas. They are monumental things, but they ensure the separation of the subject and control of the light.

Closed to home, and generally not of mud men. we see many of our clients taking out backdrop stand kits as purchases or from the rental department. these kits are way easier to wrangle as they are essentially two big light stands and a cross bar. the cross bar breaks down into 4 sections for packing. The frame will support a 3 metre-wide backdrop and it will generally raise it 3 metres high. Not that this is a good idea - higher you go the more chance of tipping it over - especially if you are outside. Wind is a powerful agent when it hits a sail.

So - what do you use for a drop? You can essentially choose cloth or paper. Depending upon whether you are setting up on a flat hard floor - wood, concrete, or vinyl - or a softer or rougher surface like dirt or carpet, you can cover the base of the area with the backdrop. If you put a paper roll on a rough surface it will tear quickly and be an unsafe surface to walk on. In these cases, always choose cloth.

Note as well that even if you are always unrolling paper rolls like the Superior brand repeatedly onto a hard studio floor you will pick up dirt and eventually the edges of the paper will be come brittle and tear. Look upon paper rolls as expendable items.

Muslin also becomes dirty - particularly if it is a solid colour. People pose with dirty feet, or spill things on it, or pee on it. Fortunately you can throw most muslin drops into a washing machine and eventually clean them up. If the drop is a mottled type you can extend the intervals between cleaning for a long spotty time.

Transporting a backdrop to a location is also problematical if you are using a small vehicle. The rolls from Superior are 2.75 metres long and this is just on the edge of do-ability for some small cars. My Suzuki Swift won't take a full Superior 2.75 roll. The mottled muslin drops just crumple up into a duffle bag and can be thrown into the boot easily.

If you are in the habit of taking the long paper rolls out to locations and have a car - or better a ute - with a roof rack you can make a superb roll holder from a length of plastic PVC plumber's pipe with the threaded end caps - see you local Bunnings - and you can safely transport a paper roll through a hurricane.

Whichever route you decide to take, go for safety with the thing - tape down paper rolls with gaffer tape when subjects will walk over them, and stake or staple down muslin for the same reason. People can walk funny and lurch sideways at the least opportunity and sometimes the backdrops skid under them.

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