School Of Digital Photography

The four most commonly used modifiers are the open reflector, the softbox, the umbrella, and the grid spot. Let us have a look at umbrellas. Umbrellas are probably the most popular light diffusing modifiers. They are extremely easy to set up and fold down, has minimum weight for such a versatile light modifier and also takes up very little space in your bag.

There are basically two types of umbrellas

Reflective Umbrella

In a Reflective umbrella you point the strobe head away from the subject and towards the umbrella, there are two versions of this product the first one is an umbrella with a single fabric that is black on the outside and has a reflective surface coating on the inside. The second and the more versatile version of this type of umbrella consists of black colour outer material and a white, silver, or gold coated inner material, this coating on the inside is what reflects back the light from the strobe on to the subject. They are available in white, silver or gold reflective surfaces. A black-backed umbrella is very useful when working in tight spaces. These umbrellas have another use, the second layer of black cloth which keeps light from going through the umbrella and reflecting from walls and other surfaces is easily removable if we wish those additional reflections. This is the best umbrella to have, but unfortunately it is also the most expensive umbrellas in the market.

By default umbrellas generally spread the light in a wider arc than a softbox. However the nicest feature of an umbrella is that you can change the quality of light from softer to harder by simply moving the strobe head closer to the umbrella. And you can change the quality of light from harder to softer by moving the strobe head away from the umbrella. When the strobe is close to the umbrella, the light reflects off a smaller area, thus creating the effect of a smaller light.

Shoot Through or Translucent Umbrella

Shoot through umbrellas are made of white plastic or nylon material and the strobe is positioned towards the umbrella which is also positioned towards the subject. Umbrella is in-between the subject and the light source, diffusing the light and not reflecting it.

In the case of Shoot through umbrellas as the light from the strobe shines through the white material; it creates a light that is broad, has a little bit more contrast than a softbox, and at the same instance reasonably soft. A white umbrella is the least expensive and also most versatile version, because we can use it in two ways. Although it is generally used as a translucent diffuser, we can also use it as a reflector only thing is the loss of light when it is used as a reflector and less control over the spill of light, but this also sometimes could be very useful as it could both light the subject and also add to the ambient fill. Wish to modify your translucent umbrella act like a reflector type, or wish to control the spill of light when it is used as a reflector umbrella, try clipping black cloth or paper to the back of the translucent umbrella.

The method of controlling the quality of light by moving the strobe head nearer or farther from the umbrella is also applicable in case of shoot through umbrellas.

In the next article we will discuss about Light Modifiers - Circular Reflector

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