The BEST Light Modifier EVER

I just wanted to take a moment to proclaim my love for one of the most affordable light modifiers known to photographers: the reflector. This piece of equipment comes in all shapes and sizes, but they all do the same thing: they bounce light on to your subject to fill in the shadows created by your key light. This blog post will be dedicated to looking at the positive and negative things about reflectors as well as the impact that a reflector can have on your shots.

PROS

1. Cost. Reflectors are the most cost effective light modifier that you can buy. You should be able to pick up a 5-in-1 reflector on Amazon for less than $20. With a 5-1 reflector you get 5 different ways to modify your light: a silver side for maximum reflection of light, a gold side for a warmer reflection, a black side for blocking light, a white side for bouncing soft light, and then a diffusion material for diffusing harsh light into softer light. Each side has it's use, but I've found that I mainly use the silver side for bouncing a lot of light, or the diffusion material for diffusing harsh sunlight during times where the sun is directly above the subject and there isn't a cloud in the sky.

2. Mobility.You can take these things anywhere and set them up anywhere. Even if it's one of the huge, full body reflectors, they usually collapse into a tiny carrying case that can fit in your backpack. Even when expanded, they are generally easy to handle if you have an assistant that you can dedicate as your reflector holder!

3. Light quality. Since you are just bouncing light, you don't have to worry about matching the color temperatures of different lights since the light being bounced is the same color temperature as your light source (unless you use the gold side of the reflector). This is a huge plus because matching color temperatures can be a hassle if you don't have gels on hand or you are short on time. This is when it's nice to have something you can take out and immediately have a fill light.

CONS

1. Holding the reflector. Unless you have an assistant or you're using a smaller reflector that you can hold and position with one hand, you're going to have a hard time using a reflector during a photo shoot. Sometimes I've been in a pinch and had to hold my reflector in one hand and my camera in the other, but if you do this you're going to have to crank up your shutter speed to compensate for the lack of stability you have with just one hand on your camera. In this situation I'd recommend finding something you can lean your reflector on or go in for a close up and let your subject hold the reflector.

2. Wind. Even though you have someone holding your reflector or you have your reflector attached to a light stand, it is still going to act like a sail and will blow in what ever direction the wind is blowing. It's annoying. Even the smallest gust of wind can cause your light stand to come crashing down. The only way to solve this is to carry around some heavy sand bags with you to make sure that your light stand is planted on the ground.

3. Amount of light reflected. Sometimes the amount of light reflected is just too much, especially when you're using the silver side of the reflector. What you can do to solve this is to move the reflector farther away from the subject in order to reduce the amount of light that reaches your subject. However, sometimes you might not get enough light from your reflector. Most of the time this is because you are using the white side of the reflector. To combat this problem, the best option you have is to use a longer focal length on your lens and move the reflector very close to the subject while making sure to compose the shot so that the reflector cannot be seen. This will allow you to bounce a very pleasing soft light onto your subject that works very well for portraits.

Impact of Using a Reflector

Below are some images I shot on a recent portrait shoot where I used two of my favorite reflectors. All of the photos were taken at the same camera settings within 5 seconds of each other, and the photos were also edited in the exact same way in Lightroom. The only difference is that I used a reflector in one and didn't use a reflector in the other.

With reflector.

Without reflector.

With reflector.

Without reflector.

With reflector.

Without reflector.

For these portraits I was using one of my favorite reflectors for bouncing a lot of light onto my subject. I believe that the 43" reflector is the best balance between amount of light reflected and ease of use (especially in the wind!).

 Model holding the reflector used for the portraits above (notice her facial expression; it was very windy and cold).

After shooting a few portraits with my 43" reflector, I decided to bust out my 22" reflector for some tighter shots.

My favorite reflector for up close and personal portraits.

With reflector.

Without reflector.

I hope this post was helpful in showing you that you don't need expensive lighting to get interesting portraits; sometimes all you need is a little ambient light and a reflector! If you're just starting out in portrait photography (or even if you're a pro), I'd highly recommend you picking up a couple sizes of reflectors because they're very affordable and can give you awesome results.

If you'd like to purchase the reflectors used on this shoot, please visit the links below:
-Neewer 43" 5-in-1 collapsible reflector
-Impact 22" collapsible silver/white reflector