Reflectors 101
So I realise I'm going to need to start using them. Initially, I just need some portable ones to do some outdoor shots - I'd like to move to something a little easier to handle than tinfoil on cardboard (!) PLUS I need to figure out exactly *how* to use them. So, in no particular order:
1. Are those ebay 5-in-1 cheapie sets with the gold/silver/white/transl/black worth getting?
2. What size do I need for general outdoor head-and-shoulders shots?
3. Which colours do what? I gather that white is softer than silver and gold warmer than either, but I'm slight mystified by the black and translucent ones (how do you use the translucent to filter light - just hold it over somebody's head?) Which leads to the big question....
4. ....HOW exactly do I use them? To reflect light back onto faces, of course, but... do I just fiddle around until the light looks right, or is there a more precise technique to incorporate, or....? Feeling a little out of my depth here. Also, I have a 420ex - do I/can I/should I use a reflector as a bounce surface and aim my flash onto that and back onto the subject?
Thanks in advance for answers (and, as always, point me to prior threads or tutorials if you have a link - I HAVE searched, but didn't really find as much as I'd hoped. Guess "reflector" is too common a word :rolleyes)
(And Jeffreaux, if you have any particular comments on this I for sure wanna to hear them because I love your reflected lighting!!)
1. Are those ebay 5-in-1 cheapie sets with the gold/silver/white/transl/black worth getting?
2. What size do I need for general outdoor head-and-shoulders shots?
3. Which colours do what? I gather that white is softer than silver and gold warmer than either, but I'm slight mystified by the black and translucent ones (how do you use the translucent to filter light - just hold it over somebody's head?) Which leads to the big question....
4. ....HOW exactly do I use them? To reflect light back onto faces, of course, but... do I just fiddle around until the light looks right, or is there a more precise technique to incorporate, or....? Feeling a little out of my depth here. Also, I have a 420ex - do I/can I/should I use a reflector as a bounce surface and aim my flash onto that and back onto the subject?
Thanks in advance for answers (and, as always, point me to prior threads or tutorials if you have a link - I HAVE searched, but didn't really find as much as I'd hoped. Guess "reflector" is too common a word :rolleyes)
(And Jeffreaux, if you have any particular comments on this I for sure wanna to hear them because I love your reflected lighting!!)
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Head and shoulder shots for a single person - You can get away with a 30" but I prefer a 48" reflector.
White - soft, neutral reflection using strobes or natural light
Silver - specular used primarily with indoor strobes
Gold - warming used to balance natural light
Black - used to absorb reflected light or act as a flag to block unwanted light (ex. positioning it so light doesn't spill into the lens creating flare)
Translucent - can be used as a shoot-thru diffuser for strobes or, depending on the density, as a flag to diffuse direct sunlight.
There are a multitude of ways to use reflectors. The most common ways I use them are:
- fill light to open shadows placed opposite the key light (sun or strobe). you can usually eyeball it to see what is the right angle.
- adding catch lights to eyes by positioning the reflector at a 45-degree angle to the subjects face from 1 - 2' above head level. Again, I eyeball the catch light to see if it is in the 10:00 - 12:00 position.
- key light by using it to bounce the primary light. Depending on affect, a second reflector may be used opposite for fill. Checkout Strobist for more info.
Play around and have fun. It won't be long before you start seeing some great results.
My Images | My Lessons Learned and Other Adventures
I'm not Jeff, but I've been known to use a reflector now and again...
First and MOST IMPORTANT: It should be a very specific need/look to point any light source DIRECTLY AT your subject. Feather the light, wheather it's by an artificial source or reflected. YMMV
1) Low priced units from Amvona work well
2) I prefer the 42" unit
3) The black side is useful if your subject is in complete shade, providing only flat lighting. Place the black on one side the face and you will start to see some modeling on the face, albeit slight.
The translucent unit: I think most photogs don't get the full use out of this one.
Take the trans unit and hold it up to the subjects face (sunny side), lets say 30" to start. Now, start moving the unit in closer to one side of the face. What do you see? Looks just like your moving a very soft light source in closer to the subject's face, meaning, you are now getting the modeling effect that your probably after. The closer you move it toward your subjects face, the more modeling you will receive, or said a different way, the light source will become stronger. If you or an assistant curves the unit around (hey, it's flexible, remember?) by your subjects head, you will see an array of lighting that is at your disposal.
I've personally only seen one other photog employ the trans unit this way, and he taught me. But then again, maybe I don't get out much
Here are some pics I shot last year only using a silver reflector. The last pic had the reflector lighting the background & the subject is lit with flash.
One last thing to know about reflected sun light. It goes a LONG, LONG WAY!
On most of these shots, the reflector was over 90' away. Out IN the sun, even though the subject and I were not. The shot by the doorway, the reflector & assistant were all the way across a main street in town.
Anyway, hope that helps...
Wow, I'd say so!
My Images | My Lessons Learned and Other Adventures
Chameleons are very well built and I recommend an assistant to do the holding of reflectors....maybe your locations are not prone to light winds (15 to 50 mph) but ks is and I hate trying to hold a reflector and shoot atthe same time.......have been thrown off balance more than once and this weeble will fall down.
Seriously? I just googled them and they're coming up at ~$65. Sounds like you got a great deal!!!
Travis -
FANTASTICALLY helpful info - thank you so much for (correctly!) assuming I need to start from ground zero and going through it all - much appreciated!
Now, what i"m trying to figure out is... how does one hold AND shoot?! (I'm not being facetious, btw - I can just see it coming up that I"ll have to try to do this without help and, while my music stand makes a GREAT all-purpose boom when I'm at home, it isn't gonna leave the house...!!!)
Intrigued.....
It most certainly does help! Thanks very much. And for posting examples (seriously, ACROSS THE STREET? Um... wow
Could you explain what you mean by "feather the light"? I assume you mean soften it in some way but could you elaborate on that for me?
Thanks!
No problem. As far as shooting and holding a reflector at the same time, it is not optimal but you will find those instances when you will need to do so. It helps to have the camera on a tripod to keep it steady although that decreases your mobility. The reason I like the Tri-grip is that it has a nice handle and is fairly balanced thus making it easier to hold. You really need to use a fast shutter speed because single handholding the camera is going to increase the degree unstableness. Best bet is grab someone nearby and enlist them in holding the reflector.
Jeffreaux posted some setup shots in another thread showing him handholding the camera and the reflector. If you ask nice, I bet he will post them again.
My Images | My Lessons Learned and Other Adventures
Presumably with the 5-in-1 setups one can only use ONE at a time. Is it better to have a couple (separate) ones so that you can use them in different places, or is generally one enough?
Sorry for ueberbasic questions - I did say I was starting from scratch on this!!
I'm not sure about the 5-in-1s but most reflectors are usually 2-sided. White on one side and silver, gold, or black on the other (doesn't apply to translucent for obvious reasons). Regardless, you will typically know which color is best for the situation. A better reason for buying more than one is to create multiple reflector setups; however, starting out I think you should get used to using 1 before making it more complex. Think of it as using a single strobe vs multiple strobes without the electricity. Get comfortable with one and then move on to more.
My Images | My Lessons Learned and Other Adventures
I don't reccomend balancing on a fence with a camera in one hand and a piece of foam core in the other.....duplicate this at your own risk!
The purpose of the reflector here was actually block the dappled light from striking my subject. That is another good reason to have a reflector handy.
The resulting shot....with fill flash...
Here is another shot. The lighter blown out part of the ground is where the sun was striking the grass...while the subject is in shade. This is an unedited tosser of a photo, but....you can see the corner of the foam core to the left of the frame as it was held by my daughter....to light Lindsey's face.
We used the foam core to bounce that blast of sunlight in sevaral photos against that wall on that day.
I don't own real reflectors.....maybe I should ask Santa?....but do keep a couple of those sheets of foam core with me most of the time. I'm not big on the look achieved with gold ones, but white silver, transluscent, and black...as stated by previous posters...definately seem to be useful.
My reccomendation would be to get the larger ones rather than smaller. By feathering...that is varying the angle....a large reflector can produce a fairly small "lit" area......A small one cannot light a larger area.
I must admit, that I am ALWAYS pleased with the results of reflected light when I am able to utilize it. The soft glow, and soft shaping shadows are a real selling point.
Foam core is available in the school supplies at Walmart in poster sized sheets. It is essentiallya sheet of 1/4" thick foam sandwiched between two sheets of poster board. Cost......a few bucks a piece. It isn't a bad way to get into reflected light at all.
Jeff
-Need help with Dgrin?; Wedding Photography Resources
-My Website - Blog - Tips for Senior Portraiture
If you look at a street light at night, especially if there is some moisture in the air, you can clearly see the "cone" of light coming from the light. On the street below the light, you see the center is the brightest, then the light tapers out (feathers out) from the center to the edges of the light. It gets softer the further out from the center of the light.
This is basically the same for most light. Now, turn this "street light" horizontal and imagine the same thing happening. You don't want the main/strongest spot to be on your subject. So, what to do? Simple: Point/aim the center of the light source away from your subject, allowing only the "feathered" light to fall onto your subject. It will be the best light, from that light. (A flashlight example would work nicely here also)
Ex: If you are in a studio & have your subject sitting on a stool, don't point the light source directly at your subject, point/aim the center of the light say, 6"~2' in front of your subjects nose. Of course these measurements will depend on several things like, distance of light to subject, size of light source, diffusion, etc... But you get the idea. Don't point the light directly at your subject unless you have a specific need to do so.
This also allows you to control light spill better. If you aim your light directly at your subject, you have light on all sides. Tough to control things like background lighting with such spill. If you are using, say the left side of the light by aiming the center of the light to the right of your subject, you can better control how much light is hitting, in this case, the background.
* About the distance of reflected light from a silver reflector: How far can you signal with a mirror reflecting the sun? Take your reflector out and give it a whirl. Don't be limited using a reflector just because YOUR not in the sun. (Unless you don't have an assistant
Remember: It's all about light - put it where you want it, take it away where you don't...
Give it a try, I think you'll enjoy the results
I'm not associated with Amvona in any way, just giving you an idea of pricing for reflectors out there that I've purchased/used. Personally, I'm not convinced the big name reflectors that I own are any better than the cheaper one listed here. ($39.00 for the 42" 5-n-1) YMMV
Foam core will work if white is what you want/need. I personally find it too fragile for me. Well not really me, but the board really didn't seem to appreciate things like my camera bag, lights, etc. getting thrown down on it in the vehicle, but I did wind up with several little "reflectors" for no extra money
Your posts here have been an excellent discussion of the use of reflectors, and light in general.
This has really helped me think about how I use these devices more effectively. Well Done!!
Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
Caroline
And Jeff, I have to tell you (since I'm pretty sure you will take it in the spirit meant and find it as funny as I did) - my 10-year old daughter saw the photo of you standing on the fence shooting and said, quite matter-off-factly "Huh. There are people out there as crazy as you are. Go figure."
Thanks again!!!!!
Now, back to the cooking frenzy (dinner rolls and cranberry sauce made, only a turkey, three sides and a dessert to go... lol)
Thanks Jim, just trying to shed some light on the subject
A big thanks to Travis for some very detailed 101 info
Just an all round excellent set of posts regarding the use of reflectors.
Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
Aha! It's what theatrical me thinks of as standing in "light spill" rather than being in the center of the light. Makes perfect sense now (especially with the rest of your detailed and wonderfully clear explanation) Thank you!
A big thanks to Travis for some very detailed 101 info
Your welcome.
As a suggestion: You might want to ponder this statement on a regular basis:
It's all about light - put it where you want it, take it away where you don't...
This applies to post processing also
Yes, that's a great thing to ponder indeed, especially since after years of training to "find my light", my instinct is to manipulate the subject instead of the light, which is kind of the opposite of what one wants when standing behind a camera!
This is great stuff
Great discussion on use of reflectors - i'm just getting to grips with off camera strobes but this is really interesting too!
Another thing on the list of things to learn
Cheers, Jase
Jase // www.stonesque.com
Do you know, it's taken me rereading this again this morning to realise that the "blown out" bit isn't CONCRETE (yes, you said that it was grass, but it's so light and straight I somehow saw it as a path).
This is really helpful, as it totally clarifies how you used it. Thanks again!
The line is sunlight pouring over the top of the wall.....showing you that it was very near high noon.
Jeff
-Need help with Dgrin?; Wedding Photography Resources
-My Website - Blog - Tips for Senior Portraiture
Thanks for the info.