Backscatter Atom Flash Wide Beam Modifier
Take Control of Your Wide-Angle Lighting
Have you ever wanted to light just one part of a wide-angle scene without lighting the entire reef? Maybe you want to make a fish stand out against a dark background, bring out the texture of a massive barrel sponge, or keep your strobes from lighting up all the particles floating in the water.
A snoot can help, but its beam may be too tight for larger subjects. And even without a diffuser, your strobe's full beam might still cover more of the scene than you want.
The new Backscatter Wide Angle Beam Modifier gives you an entirely new option. Designed for the Atom and Hybrid Flash, it lets you narrow your strobe's coverage in four steps, giving you more control over where your light falls without going all the way to a tight snoot beam.
A Wider Take on Snooting
The Wide Angle Beam Modifier fills the gap between your strobe's full beam and a snoot's pinpoint of light.
Snoots use optics to focus light into a much tighter beam, making them great for precisely lighting small subjects. The Wide Angle Beam Modifier works differently. It physically restricts the flash's coverage, allowing you to progressively narrow the beam over a wider area than an optical snoot would allow.
Think of it as a way to dial back your strobe's coverage. You can still light larger subjects, but with less light spilling onto the surrounding reef or water.
The Beam Modifier isn't meant to replace a snoot. It's for those situations when your full strobe beam lights too much of the scene, but a snoot would be too restrictive.
Wide-Angle Lighting with Intention
When shooting wide angle, it's easy to fall into the habit of lighting everything in front of you. But lighting the entire scene isn't always the best way to make your subject stand out.
By controlling where your strobe light falls, you can draw attention to your subject while allowing the surrounding reef and background to remain darker.
Imagine photographing a large barrel sponge. With your strobe's full beam, you might light the sponge and the surrounding reef around it. Narrowing the beam with the Wide Angle Beam Modifier lets you concentrate that light on the sponge itself, bringing out its texture while keeping the background from competing for attention, making the sponge pop.
The same approach works with fish, anemones, kelp, and other larger wide-angle subjects. Because the Beam Modifier maintains a relatively broad beam, you can light subjects that would be difficult to cover with a traditional snoot.
You can also use it to change the mood of an image. Keep the background darker for a more dramatic look, or allow more ambient light into the scene for a brighter, more natural result. The goal isn't always to make the background disappear. It's to decide how much of the scene you want to light.
Get Creative with Your Lighting
The Wide Angle Beam Modifier also opens up some fun creative lighting possibilities.
With a single strobe, narrowing the beam can help create more defined shadows, reveal texture, and add depth to your subject. With two strobes, try angling the beams inward toward your subject to help minimize light spill across the background.
You can also experiment with off-camera lighting by positioning an Atom or Hybrid Flash remotely. This opens up options for side lighting and backlighting that can give your images a completely different look.
For even more creative control, the Beam Modifier's filter holder accepts Backscatter Color Filters. Add color to your strobe light to create bold, colorful backgrounds or experiment with different lighting effects. The flash's target light still works through the modifier, making it easy to aim your strobe.
Reduce Distracting Backscatter
In particle-heavy water, lighting less of the scene can also mean lighting fewer particles.
When your strobes illuminate the water between your camera and subject, suspended particles can show up as distracting backscatter in your images. By narrowing the beam, you can reduce the amount of surrounding water your strobes illuminate while still providing useful coverage on your subject.
This can be especially helpful in temperate water, where particles can quickly clutter an otherwise great photograph.
It's also a useful technique for blackwater photography. Narrowing your beam helps you selectively light a small blackwater subject without illuminating as much of the surrounding water and suspended particles.
The Beam Modifier won't eliminate backscatter on its own, and proper strobe positioning still matters. But it gives you another tool for controlling where your light goes and keeping distracting particles to a minimum.
Easy to Use, Easy to Bring Along
The Wide Angle Beam Modifier attaches directly to the Atom Flash or Hybrid Flash using the same bayonet mount as a diffuser or snoot. Just line it up, twist, and it locks into place.
Its collapsible design gives you three beam settings, from the widest coverage with the modifier folded in, to the narrowest coverage with it fully extended. You can also fine-tune the size and shape of the light by changing the distance between your strobe and subject. Move closer for a tighter, sharper beam, or farther away for broader, softer coverage.
A built-in loop makes it easy to clip the modifier to your BCD when you're not using it, and its compact size means it can also fit in a BCD, wetsuit, or drysuit pocket. It's easy to bring along and switch whenever you want to change up your lighting.
The modifier also includes a built-in filter holder and two warming filters: 4500K and 5500K. These warm up your strobe light, which can help add warmth to foreground subjects, create richer skin tones for models, and shift green backgrounds toward a bluer look.
More Control Over Your Wide-Angle Lighting
The Backscatter Wide Angle Beam Modifier gives Atom and Hybrid Flash users another way to shape their light. When your full strobe beam covers too much of the scene, but a snoot is too tight, it lets you narrow your coverage while still lighting larger subjects.
Whether you're isolating a fish, bringing out the texture of a reef subject, reducing distracting backscatter, or experimenting with creative lighting, the Wide Angle Beam Modifier gives you more control over how your underwater images look.
