[BTS Video] Tips On The Best Way To Use And Position A Photo Reflector

If you are like me, then you might have jumped straight into studio lighting without paying much attention to manipulating natural light. If that is the case, now is a great time to play around with reflectors outside especially since the sun is lower on the horizon this time of year. Jay P Morgan heads to the ultimate graveyard with the lovely Liz Hernandez to show just how effective reflectors can be in place of strobes.

Jay is using a few of the Photoflex 5 in 1 Reflectors in various sizes to manipulate not only the size of the reflected light but also the color. Unlike when using strobes, when using a reflector you really need to pay attention to where the sun is shining so you can maximize the amount of fill light bouncing back into your subject (backlighting your subject is a good starting point). The other major selling point of using a reflector over a strobe not mentioned in this video is your ability to shoot wide open at 1.4 or 2.8 for shallow depth of field. Unless you are using something like the Pocket Wizard Flex System, strobing outside is usually going to force you into the > f8 category which destroys the wide open aperture look. Hope this helps those who haven't used reflectors as much and good luck shooting!

Patrick Hall's picture

Patrick Hall is a founder of Fstoppers.com and a photographer based out of Charleston, South Carolina.

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5 Comments

A very informative video! Thanks for posting.

Ps. Your BH Photo Video links are missing http:// from the start and are thus broken at the moment.

hand holding at 1/100...! wild man.

Did he say they were shooting in Altamont (graveyard)?

Ahhh never mind.  Ultimate Graveyard in Mojave, CA.  

Very interesting tuto as per usual, though in your intro you mention about wide open shoots whereas he is shooting mostly around f13. Also no mention of the beautydish set up in the in the old aircraft fuselage. Lastolite skylights can also be a good option as they can be handle/stand mounted with a heavy duty stand.
Thankyou for all your high quality posts. They are still the best way of learning the business.