Collapsible Reflectors for Photography - Which Color Reflector to Use

In earlier days Collapsible Reflectors were double sided and where available in combination of Gold and White, Silver and White and Gold and Silver. But now a days these collapsible reflectors have improved and they come in variation of 3 in 1, 5 in 1 and 7 in 1.

Foldable Photography Lighting Reflector

One question most beginners ask is how we choose the colour of reflector to use. The most common combination found in collapsible reflectors is silver, gold, black, white and translucent. Each has its own purpose and modifies light differently.

White and Silver Reflectors

While shooting indoors using studio strobes or flashes it is recommended to use either white or silver reflectors. The reason being studio strobes and camera flashes are day light balanced and they produce white light, so if you use gold reflector in combination with these lights you will end up with white light on one side of the subject and much warmer toned light on the other.

These also do work well when shooting outdoors during daytime (except golden hour). The choice between Silver and White is more a matter of personal choice. In general Silver reflectors bounce more light than White and they produce a slightly hard light than White so I personally use Silver reflectors when I use bare strobes/flashes (without softboxes) or when shooting with a beauty dish. White reflector produces very soft light and so is used more in combination with softbox, it could also be used as a white background for head and shoulders portraits and for small subjects like flowers and products.

To increase the amount of light reflected back, simply move the reflector closer to the subject and vice versa.

Golden Reflector

Golden reflector adds a golden cast to the light and simulates light during sunrise and sunset (golden hour) and is the preferred choice when shooting at those times. It works well with tungsten lights and other warm light sources (also with strobes and flashes gelled yellow or orange).

The Translucent Panel

Translucent panel is designed to be used as a Scrim which is placed between the subject and the light source to soften the light. When the translucent panel is placed between the subject and the light, the panel now acts as the light source, the size of the panel is now the effective size of the light and subject to light distance is now measured from the subject to the panel and not subject to actual light. The closer you move the panel to your subject the softer will be the light and vice versa.

The Black Panel

The black panel included in the collapsible reflector has two uses; firstly it could be used as a gobo. A gobo is something you place between the light source and the subject to prevent light from reaching the subject. It is used when you need to control the areas being lit by the light. Secondly it could be used as a black background for head and shoulders portraits and for photographing small subjects like flowers and products.

Related Reading

1. Photography lighting - 12 Questions to ask yourself before clicking a picture
2. Wide Panel in Camera Flashes, What is it? What does it do?
3. Inner Diffuser Baffles in Softboxes – What is it for? What does it do?
4. The Inverse Square Law and Practical Photography
5. What Happens When Light Falls On a Surface

Read more »

Diy Flash Diffuser for Macro Photography Using Styrofoam Plate

This is perhaps the easiest flash diffuser project ever. Take a styrofoam plate, the larger the plate the better, it need not be circular even rectangle or oval shaped plates work quite well.

diy flash diffuser

Take out your lens filter, press it gently on the styrofoam plate so as to make a mark, then cut out the circle,  (cut the inside of the line so that the plate attaches tightly on to the lens filter) attach the filter back on to the lens, slid the styrofoam plate on to the filter and you are good to go.

styrofoam dish flash diffuer

There is some light loss with this setup as a considerable amount of light gets reflected back from the white surface of the styrofoam plate. But the impotant thing for us is that most of the light will pass through the plate, the surface of the plate now acts as the light source which is many times larger than the flash head also the light gets spread in all angles evenly illuminating the area ahead.

With this diy flash diffuser it is possible to get soft light very close to the lens which is not possible without it as the lens itself would cast its shadow on the subject. 

macro photography flash diffuser

This will also work with a dedicated flash unit mounted on top of the camera. The most important thing to remember is that this setup is only effective for macro photography, for subjects that is a little bit distant from the camera this wont work well due to the light loss and spread of the light beam. But for macro photography this works like a charm.

Here's a shot taken with our diy flash diffuser

flash diffuser for macro photography

Related Reading

1. How to turn any Lens into a Macro Lens the Lens Reversal Technique
2. How to Lock a Lens at a Certain Aperture
3. Stacking Lenses with Coupling Rings for Extreme Macro Photography
4. Macro Photography Using Extension Tubes
5. Lens Extension and Effective F Stop

Read more »

Inner Diffuser Baffles in Softboxes – What is it for? What does it do?

Some softboxes come with two layers of diffusion panels, a smaller one on the inside of the softbox very near to the light bulb and a large one that you place on the outer panel to cover the front.

inner diffusion panel in softbox

Not all softboxes have two diffusion panels, it is generally found on larger ones. The function of the inner diffusion panel is to spread the light evenly across the front diffusion panel. Without the primary diffusion panel light distribution will not be even across the front, there might be hotspots in the center and less light towards the corners.

What does the second diffusion panel in softboxes do

Making light pass through an additional layer of diffusion material does two things, it softens the light a bit and also lose a little bit of light. The design of the softbox as well as the light you are putting inside has a very strong bearing on how even the light distribution is across the surface. Generally the larger the lightbox, the more you need to disperse the light evenly from the main source.

Having an extra layer of diffusion material does not mean you have to use them on all occassions, for example if you are using continuous light sources like the Westcott Spiderlites then it will be a good idea to take off the inner diffusion panel, as the light from those fluorescent bulbs are already soft and it is highly unlikely that you will get a hotspot in the center. Removing the inner diffuser makes it possible to get the maximum output out of the CFL’s. But when shooting with strobes it is better to leave it in place to get soft even light across the surface of your softbox.

Related Reading

1. Photography lighting - 12 Questions to ask yourself before clicking a picture
2. Candles Oil Lamps and Flames
3. Effect of Location on Light
4. Seasonal Quality Of Light
5. Gobos, Cutters and Flags

Read more »