I’m always looking for new ways to make my photography more creative or to really stick out. A while back I purchased these flash modifiers called MagMods. I think I briefly mentioned them on another blog post, but I’ll still tell you the basics. MagMods is a magnetic system for hot shoe flashes. There’s a rubber mount that stretches over the flash, and it has magnets built into it, so you can add accessories just by getting them close. So far I’ve used the grids for controlling light and the gels to create some cool colors. Anyway, the point of this post is to talk about the upcoming MagBeam by Magmod.
Upcoming MagBeam by MagMod
MagMod got its big start through Kickstarter. They killed their initial goal and were able to get money to expand and a following. I was unaware of the product at that time or I would have backed it. When they created a new product, they decided to go back to Kickstarter to do it all over again. I believe their original goal was $30,000 but they got that in like a day. In the end, they raised over $300,000.
Alright, so all this talk, what’s the new product? The new product is the MagBeam, and it works with the original mounting system. The MagBeam is really two products in one. One part is a fresnel lens. This concentrates the light and allows it to project further in a more concentrated beam, hence the name MagBeam. With this, you can shoot your flash a much further distance without losing power. I could see myself using this during receptions or maybe a portrait session where I can’t get the light stand close to the subject. My real interest is in the wide angle lens and the gobo. Gobos are little metal discs with patterns cut into them. This allows you to create patterns on walls or other objects. I had never really heard of these until I saw Lindsay Adler using them for portraits. She did some headshots and put these cool patterns on the model’s face. For me, I mainly plan on using it for creating different background patterns. The really cool part is that you can also mix it with gels to create lots of different effects.
I’m part of a MagMod Facebook group, so everyday I get to see how people are using all of the MagMod tools. I plan on using these more throughout the year. When the upcoming MagBeam by MagMod does come out, I’ll be sure to share some sample photos.
