What does the 5 in 1 reflector do?

I wrote a tutorial recently about shooting in full sun, and one of the questions I got back was which side of the reflector to use.  So, today I'm going to briefly explain what each of the sides in the 5 in 1 reflector I mentioned actually does, and when you would use each side.

White
The white side is the "standard" reflector, and it casts a soft light back onto your subject. This is perfect for if you are shooting outdoors and in situations with lots of light as the light reflected is reasonably soft and muted. In very low light you won't get much of a reflection off this one (or you will have to put it quite close to your subject) so you are better with the silver in that situation.

Silver
The silver side reflects a stronger light back onto the subject, so is better suited to lower light situations, or where you want a very strong light - it's too harsh to be used on a sunny day for example as your subject would't be able to look at it! The color it reflects back is fairly neutral. Handy to have for use indoors with low light.

Gold
Again, this casts a slightly stronger light, but also gives a warmer hue to the subject. This isn't something I use a lot as I prefer to warm things up in processing if need be, but I have heard that it is good in backlit situations when the sun is quite low in the sky. 

Black
This isn't actually a reflector but in fact the opposite - this absorbs light instead of reflecting it back. You would use this if you wanted to create a shadow - perhaps if you had light coming in both sides and you wanted to create depth in your portraits by blocking light to one side. 

Translucent Center
If you take off the reversible cover, you will see that the middle is a translucent disc, called a scrim or diffuser. You hold this above your subject to diffuse the natural light and make it softer - great in sunlight to tone down that harsh light - or you could even put it in front of a window if you wanted to diffuse some of the light coming in.

For under $30 , the 5 in 1 reflectors are a handy little bit of kit to have - I do recommend that you get one at some point in time in your photography journey, as you will want to have that creative control over your light sources.  (And they can also double as a handy backdrop in a push!) This is the one I have, the NEEWER 32-Inch 80CM Portable , and it's great - certainly more than enough for my use, in terms of size, durability and portability, although I am sure there are other great ones out there. Just so you know, the disc collapses in on itself so that it is actually very portable.

If you don't want to fork out for a reflector, a large piece of white card will work the same as the white one, or cover it with tinfoil to create a silver reflector (or gold foil for the warmer hue)  DIY reflector in minutes!

Project 52 - Week 21

Just quickly popping in to give you the themes for this week on our Project 52, and to share my photo from last week. The themes were Fairytales or Breakfast and this is mine for Breakfast.....

I must confess to not taking a great deal of time over the photo this week - our entire house is surrounded by scaffolding as we get our windows replaced so I'm not feeling in a picture taking mood!

The themes for next week are:


Tiny

or 

Fill the Frame

Will have to get out of the house to take these! Remember you can go in different directions for these depending on what you go for - it doesn't have to taken absolutely literally. As always, do both, either or just post a photo that you taken this week and would like to share!

If you are new to the Project 52 fun, you can find the original introduction here, plus all the previous themes on the category on the Project 52 category on the right hand side of this blog or here.

Look foward to sharing with all you again this week!

Mom's Sunday Snapshots: Random Photo's

I'm trying so hard to keep up with my self-imposed deadline of having each month's photos culled edited and filed by the end of that month but Ive fallen way behind this month. It was bound to happen at some point! So, instead of my usual weekly snapshots, this week I'm sharing some completely random photos from the last month or so instead.

This is the best expression I can hope for these days - most of the time when he sees the camera is out the funny faces come out - must have caught him off guard!

F2.0 / 1/800 / ISO200