So I have an SB600 Flash and decided to go and make a beauty dish today. In my efforts I spent $5 and think it came out okay and have one problem. The infrared sensor isn't working when its on the flash, due to the fact that is covers up the sensor. also, does anyone have tips and tricks for using a beauty dish? I am very familiar with lighting, but never used a beauty dish.

might want to look into ebay radio triggers since infrared need line of sight. same rules apply for beauty dish lighting. further away the harsher the light. have fun with it and don't forget to post up some samples!

I've made my own and I've used real ones, and I will say that there's a world of difference between a homemade "beauty dish" that might be 8-10" across, and a real one that's 18-22" across; both in size and in light quality.

Real beauty dishes can be white or satin silver on the inside, they can be used with or without a grid, and with or without a sock. Using a diffusion sock on them basically turns them into a round softbox. Even without the sock, a white beauty dish is like a slightly harder softbox or umbrella. To really get the most out of a beauty dish, you need a grid, as that cuts down on light spill, and it gives you a crisp, controllable, directional light. Otherwise, it's basically a more efficient softbox.

Stephen Eastwood is the man, and he has a great tutorial on using real beauty dishes: http://www.stepheneastwood.com/tutor...beautydish.htm (link might be semi-NSFW - I'm not about to check while at work).

what cover is on your camera?

It's a Camera Armor case. I got it only because it was like $10.

Thanks for all your help guys! How do you build the dish with a grid though?

Thanks for the link too! I am going to check it out right now!

Originally Posted by Alex

It's a Camera Armor case. I got it only because it was like $10.

Thanks for all your help guys! How do you build the dish with a grid though?

Thanks for the link too! I am going to check it out right now!

Generally speaking, you don't build a dish with a grid. You buy a dish, and then you buy a grid for it, assuming one is made for it. Sometimes the dish manufacturer doesn't offer a grid, and third parties will occasionally step up and offer custom grids to fit them. For example, Kacey Enterprises makes grids to fit the Mola Demi, since Mola doesn't make one. Kacey also offers their own reasonably priced dish (but no grid for it - hmm), and they have good samples of it in use on this page: http://www.kaceyenterprises.com/?page_id=461

Here's a decent thread (with links to other threads) on using a beauty dish with a grid: http://www.flickr.com/groups/741447@...7605551352839/

If you really wanted to make your own for a DIY dish that will only be used with speedlights, you could pick up some coroplast or a bunch of thick black straws. You could also try to hunt down a sheet of black honeycomb online, and then cut that down to size, as it will take you forever to glue enough straws together, and it'll probably fall apart if you don't sand them down first.