How to work with reflectors… essential!

Every photographer likes natural light – reflectors give you more.

Using a reflector you can use ambient natural light and modify it to suit your needs. The 5-in-one reflector is probably one of the best buys you can make to extend your lighting.

The five-in-one reflector is a system of reflectors in one package. The system includes a white ring (42inch) with white translucent material filling the ring. The translucent ring is accompanied by reversible covers. The set provide the following properties…

  • Translucent white: creates a strong light diffuser It creates a soft light so it has a vibrant wrap-around quality. Ideal for softening hard light sources, direct sunlight and effectively creating soft shadow edges particularly on the face for portraits.
  • Silver cover: reflects silver-light for increasing specular highlights and high-contrast light reflectance.
  • Gold cover: reflects a warm golden colour for gold colour fill light which is ideal for sunsets, portraits indoors and out, and for special work like fashion highlights, jewellery and back reflection on other surfaces.
  • White cover: produces an even and neutral reflection which will be an effective fill-light for still-life, portraits, product shots and many other situations where light is needed at an angle to the main source of light.
  • Black cover: used to absorb light increasing the shadow on the side used and to dampen the softer lights in the area. Effectively applies definition to glass on the edges of illuminated glass pieces. It will also stop-down sun light and bright hard lights.

In the video the guys from ImprovePhotography go through the different reflectors and how they can be used… more information after the video.
Published on May 23, 2012 by ImprovePhotography External link - opens new tab/page

The use of reflectors is the best way to create a second light-source to produce fill-light for your shots. Reflection or diffusion softens light and reduces its intensity. This is great news because it means that the reflected light looks natural and in proportion to the main light source. It even exhibits similar tonal quality to the main source unless the reflector colours it as gold or silver for example. One side of the shot will be illuminated with ambient light from a natural source or from a flash or other light. The other side is filled by the reflected light. Reflectors are a great way to extend your lighting equipment cheaply and to create great light that is controllably in proportion to the other light in the area. Excellent!

You can buy a five-in-one reflector set on Amazon now…

By Damon Guy (author and Photokonnexion editor)

Damon Guy - Netkonnexion

Damon Guy (Netkonnexion)

Damon is a writer-photog and editor of this site. He has run some major websites, a computing department and a digital image library. He started out as a trained teacher and now runs training for digital photographers.
See also: Editors ‘Bio’.

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