The OctoDome

One of my fave mainlight modifiers is my Photoflex 5' OctoDome. (Not to be confused with a ThunderDome, a la the Mad Max sequel.) It produces beautiful, wrap-around, quality-of-light and is appropriate for shooting headshots through 3/4 body shots and, to a lesser extent, full-body shots. They call it an OctoDome because of its 8-sided dome shape. (D'uh!)

The OctoDome is like a poor man's beauty dish, especially when compared to the price of a Mola dish. I have a 33.5" Mola Euro and, to be honest, it's my absolute favorite mainlight modifier. But the Mola doesn't collapse and fold up into a small bag, making it a bit unwieldy for transporting to and from locations. And, of course, there's the price: A new Mola Euro will run you about $650! A new 3' OctoDome will set you back a bit less than a couple of hundred bucks. The 5' Octo runs about $270. (Note: I scored my Mola used from a retired photographer. Paid him six Franklins but that also included a Matthews Junior 2-riser/wheeled stand, about $300 new.)

The Octo has removable internal strips--gold and silver--which allows adding or subtracting warming and/or specular qualites. They attach with Velcro. I sometimes mix 'em up, using the gold and the silver simultaneously. You can also leave out the strips and use it with its white, interior lining. The Octo also has a removable, Velcro-attached, interior baffle, further diffusing the light source. I always leave the baffle attached.

I'd love to have the fabric grid for my OctoDome but I have a hard time rationalizing buying one as it costs almost as much as the box itself! Why are grids so freakin' pricey? Must be all that sweatshop-sewing labor costs. (j/k) Mostly, I guess, cuz plenty of people will plunk down the big bucks for them. That wasn't meant to down-play the practical and effective use of grids. I'm just saying.

As is the case with all modifiers, the closer you place the Octo to the model the softer the light will be: Large aperture light source, relative to the model, being the driving force behind that result.

The Octo takes a bit of getting used-to in terms of assembling and disassembling it, i.e., attaching or removing to and from a speed ring. It's not the easiest thing to put together but, if you follow the instructions, it isn't overly ridiculous. (Being Mister Know-It-All, I ignored the instructions the first time I put it together. Bad move!)

If you're mostly shooting close portraits, the 3' Octo should serve you well. For lighting more area, I'd suggest the 5' version. I've never used the 7' OctoDome but my friend Evan recently scored one--he got it for free--and I'll be test-driving his real soon. How'd Evan get a free, new, 7' Octo? I'm still trying to get that out of him. So far, he hasn't explained much beyond, "I met this guy who works for Photoflex." But he wants me to hook him up with the Explorer XT people! Yeah. Ok, dude. I see how you roll. (j/k E.)

If you're interested in getting your hands on a Photoflex Octodome, you can purchase one from my Amazon connection by clicking HERE or from another retailer. (Oh no! I just pimped some photo gear! Well, at least I regularly use and stand behind this lighting accessory.)

The pretty girl at the top is Nautica. I used my 5' Octo for my main, set beside me, camera-right. Off to the left, coming slightly from behind, I set a medium Chimera strip for an edge. On the right, higher up than the strip and also coming from slightly behind, I set a small, silver, umbrella. I also used a Westcott reflector, under the Octo and angled up, for a bit of half-a-clamshell fill. I used a couple of gold strips inside the Octo to warm Nautica. Not that I need stuff like that to warm a model cuz I have a naturally warming effect on them anyway. (Yeah, right. I wish.)