A beauty dish is a parabolic reflector used in photographic lighting to distribute light from a strobe or flash evenly towards a focal point.
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| Beauty Dish Used in Photography |
Beauty dish is similar to the parabolic standard reflector but they are usually much narrower and also larger in diameter when compared to the standard reflectors. Beauty dishes come in a range of sizes from 16inch to 30 inch diameters. It will usually have either interior surface finish of white or silver. The ones coated with white on the inside produce softer light than those coated with silver. But light output from the white coated dish will be slightly lower than that of silver coated dish. Beauty dishes have a primary reflector which reflects the light from the strobe back on the dish. So no direct light from the strobe reaches the subject.
Some beauty dishes have a diffusion material that could be attached to the front surface to further diffuse the light. With the diffuser attached, the beauty dish produces light of similar quality from a soft box of same size. And when there is no diffusion material attached. It produces light which is harsher than light from a softbox and softer than light from standard reflectors.
Beauty dishes find most use in fashion industry. As light from beauty dish give a nice appearance to the skin and also adds a wrapped, contrasted look giving a very dramatic effect to the picture.
In the next article we will discuss about Light Modifiers - Spot Lights
Some beauty dishes have a diffusion material that could be attached to the front surface to further diffuse the light. With the diffuser attached, the beauty dish produces light of similar quality from a soft box of same size. And when there is no diffusion material attached. It produces light which is harsher than light from a softbox and softer than light from standard reflectors.
Beauty dishes find most use in fashion industry. As light from beauty dish give a nice appearance to the skin and also adds a wrapped, contrasted look giving a very dramatic effect to the picture.
In the next article we will discuss about Light Modifiers - Spot Lights
