Tips on using a reflector to bounce light

written by Beckie of beckiegkengle.com

Hey all! Today I want to talk a little bit about using reflectors. (this is one of the topics that I will be discussing at the Prime Workshop this weekend)

The main purpose of a reflector is to bounce and/or diffuse light. They are really handy when you are shooting backlit images as they help to bounce light back onto your subject! For the image I’m going to show you, I actually used it to bounce light from a window in a side-lit setup.

Reflectors come in all sizes. The one I have is a 32″ round 5-in-1 setup. Not only does it have the basic white (which I use 98% of the time), it also has gold, silver, and sheer. White bounces a soft, even light. Gold creates a warm light, and silver gives more contrast. The sheer is used to diffuse the light (hold it over your subject to diffuse the light and create an even tone over their skin).

For my setup, I placed my subject (Miss Amelia, my niece’s adorable pup that we are taking care of for a while) with the window to her side (camera-right), and I placed my reflector opposite the window. Using the white side of the reflector, I bounced a soft, even light back onto her other side. This evened out the lighting a little so she wasn’t totally underexposed on camera-left.

reflector setup

And here is my final image…

BGK_4325-2

Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed my post, and would like to follow my photography, feel free to head over to my blog, or find me on Facebook!

About Beckie

I'm Beckie, a fun, think-outside-the-box mama to 2 miracle children.
I love all things photography, and being able to share in this art with others!
www.beckiegkengle.com

Comments

  1. Thanks for this article Beckie! I have finally started using my reflector and love it. But what i need to do is use that white side more. It almost gives an appearance like a soft box has been used…..

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