John Wood Photography Glossary of Terms
GoBo: Short for “Go-Before-Optic.” A gobo is a barrier which goes between a light source and an area to be photographed in such a way that it keeps some or all of the light off.
It is a term given to anything that changes the light falling on the subject. It can vary in nature from blocking all light, to reducing the light or shaping the light giving shadow patterns.
A flag is a type of Gobo which blocks all the light.
Here is a home made GoBo that I use:
It is simply an A4 sheet of felt from a craft store cut to shape and attached by slipping it under a thick rubber band. This particular one can also be used as a reflector increasing the size of the light source. It can be used to both throw some of the light forward while allowing some of the light to go upwards and bounce of the ceiling give a softer fill light.
It can also be used as a flag to keep the light of the subject or from hitting the camera lens and creating flare.
View some of the portraits which have used this Gobo.
Portrait photography? No problem! Just find a pretty girl, buy a flashgun and take her picture and hey presto you have a portrait. But do you like it? Would she pay you money for it? Facebook is full of such photographs. Our albums are full of such photographs.
This particular article is about how I found the lighting equipment I used to start with for portrait photography. It is aimed at photographers; if you want to view portrait photographs then click 