Archive for the ‘Reflectors’ Category

http://clickherephotographytips.com/ Photographers and videographers use reflectors to assist in the distribution of light during a shoot.

Photography reflectors are often been thought of as being a secret weapon for professional photography as not many amateur photographers use these particular tools of the trade.

Amateur photographers at times seem to prefer taking photographs with a point-and-shoot camera rather than putting some thought and effort into their photography.

Today I will explain to you a little about reflectors, how they work, why you should use a reflector, how to use a reflector and when to use a reflector.  Hopefully, by the end of this discussion you will see the importance of this equipment and the need to include one as part of your camera gear.

Moving on…

Although reflectors can vary in size (30cm, 50cm, 76cm,95cm,120cm 1.8m x 1.2m), shape and surface textures they still have the same purpose; that is to reflect light onto one item / product or to reflect light toward a person.

Reflectors generally have a metal or plastic strip around the outside that give the reflector stability and allows the photographer’s assistant to hold the reflector in place without having the reflector bend and move about too much in their hands when there is a lot of wind in the work place.

The outer area of the reflector may have either a plastic or metal strip around at the circumference which allows the reflector to hold its shape.  In addition to this it also provides a surface that is easing to hold and decreases the possibility of damage if the reflector is throwing all dropped.

There is also an inner section of the reflector, this area holds the material that is used to reflect light toward an item or person you are photographing.  The material on this section of a reflector can range in colours and textures.

Reflectors can have the same colour on both sides, or they may very in colours and textures from one side to the other.  For example, reflectors can be gold, silver, sunfire, soft silver, or white and you could have a combination of any of these two colours on the reflector (e.g. gold on one side and silver on the other etc).

Traditional reflectors range in colour and size as discussed earlier, small reflectors can be used by leaning them against an item and available light can be reflected back into the subject you’re photographing.  The smaller reflectors are often easy to rest against an item, easy-to-use, easy to store and easy to fold.

Let’s take a moment to discuss how we would use a small reflector…

We you could lean this sized reflector against a stack of telephone books and reflect available light onto a bottle of wine.  You can use reflectors to bounce light onto almost any item such as glassware, jewellery, cutlery etc

The best aspect of using a reflector is that you are not limited to using them in a photographic studio as they can also be used outdoors, however; you really do need to have an understanding of photographic lighting in photography and how a reflector works.

Commonly used reflector sizes are approximately  76cm and 97cm in diameter.  These are most commonly used in portraiture photography, wedding photography, commercial photography and in photographic studio photography.

You should be able to easily reflect light one or two people providing they are standing next to each other or within close proximity of each other with one reflector, although this does depend upon the amount of distance that the person holding the reflector is away from the subject and the effect that you wish to achieve in the photograph.

For example, if you are photographing a wedding outdoors in a park and your assistant is standing approximately 5 m away from the people you’re photographing you should have sufficient light available to bounce light back into the subject shadow side.

Generally, reflectors are used to bounce light into an area that there is shadow, more specifically they used to even in the amount of light in a photograph.  You have probably seen the beautiful gold colour on the side of a brides face when you look through a wedding album.  This effect is achieved simply, all you need to do is to ask an assistant to hold a reflector on the shadow side of the brides face and bounce light towards the bride.

It is also very important that the assistant and the photographer work together, the assistant needs to have an understanding of how to move the reflector to the desired angle that will provide the best results for the photographer.  In other words, the assistant must be aware of the environment that they are working and the environment at the photographer enjoys working.

Good photographers assistants are worth their weight in gold, they are also another set of eyes of the photographer as they understand where they should be during a shoot, what equipment is needed, how to pose the subject and to offer any ideas or advice to the photographer or the people they are photographing.

Larger sized reflectors can be approximately 2 m in height and 1.2m in width, these are usually rectangular in shape, and it are sometimes used outdoors however; as they are so large and difficult to hold in windy conditions they do require stands, sometimes ropes and at times sandbags to hold them in position and to stop them from falling over.  These reflectors are most often used in photographic studios where there is more control over the working environment stop

Reflectors can also be used to bounce light from ground level toward a subject.  I have often seen photographers use bed sheets, polystyrene foam, steering wheel protectors, white cardboard etc as reflectors.

Almost any item that has a similar colour and surface that you require to bounce light back into a subject can be used, however; the amount and quality of light that you reflect back into the subject will be less as some of the light will be absorbed into this type of reflective surface instead of bouncing off it.

I have often used reflectors by sitting them just out of camera range to reflect light under the subjects chin up into their face.  With some assistance from a friend or photographic assistant you can place the reflector in whatever position you like and then take a photograph.

There are stands and supports available that are designed specifically to hold a reflector in whatever position you desire.

I have also used reflectors indoors near a large window when photographing a bride, the window had lace curtains with sunlight streaming into the room.  The lace curtains acted as a diffuser, so I had the bride stand as close to the curtains as possible so that the curtains were just out the shot.  From the shadow side, I then had my assistant hold a silver reflector (just out of shot) and bounce light back into the shadow side of the brides face.  The results were pleasing to the bridal couple and easy to achieve…

The best surface to use as reflectors are those designed by the people that manufacture specific equipment to meet photographers needs.  As with any photographic equipment these items can be a little more expensive than using a bed sheet, steering wheel cover etc, however; genuinely manufactured reflectors are an extremely useful item could have and you will definitely notice the effects in your photographs.

Sometimes you may notice that some amateur and professional photographers will use fill flash instead of natural light when taking outdoor photographs, perhaps you have also noticed that the cheeks and forehead of people in these photographs appear to be slightly over exposed – the skin tone does not look natural…

You may also notice that there is a ‘flash’ highlight in the eyes of the subject that you are photographing, however; by using a reflector and by having an understanding of how to obtain the correct exposure for a photograph, in most occasions you should be able to avoid the use of flash. There will be more information in relation to this aspect of photography in future blogs.

The white / white reflector can also be used as a diffuser.  You can hold it above a person’s head just out of shot to decrease the amount of light hitting the subject.  For example, going back to the park scenario that we discussed earlier you could have a bride sitting under a tree with distracting light on her face or head, by using a reflector as a diffuser it is possible to decrease the amount of distracting light hitting the subject by simply holding the reflector out of shot between the guide and the source of the light (sun).

While reflectors are generally made a very strong materials it is possible for them to occasionally become damaged as a result of the way they are treated / used, the weather conditions, by not storing them correctly or simply by dropping them of frying them.

You really need to take care of this equipment as reflectors can be a little expensive to purchase, however if you do look after them they were last year many, many years. I still use the same reflectors that I purchased about 20 years ago and they are still working as good as if they were new.  As you can see, you should get great value and many years use from purchasing a good-quality reflector.

Its decision time…

Now that you understand a little about reflectors, you should put some thought into deciding the style and size of reflector that is rightfully you, the one that will make your needs…

For example, if you like to take late afternoon photographs or wedding shots you may wish to consider a reflector with gold on one side and silver on the other, or; white on one side and gold on the other?

You will also need to consider the size of the reflector that will meet your needs, if you are taking photographs of small products in a photographic studio and you may be better off purchasing a small sized reflector.  If you are photographing items such as refrigerators, motor vehicles etc in addition to having to using studio flash lighting you may need to use larger sized reflectors.

If I were starting in photography and most of my work was portraiture, I would consider purchasing a 76cm or 95cm reflector as these sizes are reasonably easy to hold and use in most weather conditions.

You will be amazed at the difference a reflector will make to your photography; you will notice that the lighting is more subtle than using direct flash and your photographs will have a particular feel or emotion to them.

Anyway, we have now reached the end of this blog.  I hope you have found this information to be of interest as it is relevant to every photographer…

If you wish to learn a little more about reflectors, Click Here.

Remember to keep in touch by visiting my blog occasionally as there will be a lot more information in regard to things like shutter speed, ISO / ASA, exposure, Depth Of Field, wedding photography, landscape photography, portraiture, cameras, lenses and other photographic equipment etc.

If you are in searching for more information I have a number of videos in my YouTube channel that may be of interest to you, simply log into YouTube and search on the word ClickHerePhotography.

Thanks for reading this review from http://clickherephotographytips.com/ .

Enjoy your photography…

Regards

Dean.