Four Alternative Ways to Use a V-Flat

You might be familiar with a few common ways photographers use a v-flat for their shoot, are there other ways you can use a v-flat? Here are some non-traditional ways you can use V-Flats on set and on location. 

Photographer Jeff Carpenter (Readylight Media) and V-Flat World are back with four alternative ways you can ways to use a V-Flat.  Some of these ways won't really have any impact on your lighting in the photos as you won't actually be using them for that purpose. Another thing is all of these alternative ways to use a V-Flat are limited to these particular foldable V-Flats from V-Flat World. 

I don't know many people who travel with full-size non-foldable V-Flats, but if you do, you can definitely use them as a changing room just like Carpenter did so model Allee-Sutton could change on location. The other day in my studio, I did see a photographer use the V-Flat for the purpose of privacy for a model during his quick top-less set as he had other clients in the studio. For a quick fix on privacy, V-Flats come in very handy on set whether in a studio or even outdoors (maybe only with these foldable versions for outdoors). 

With the ability to being able to fold these specific V-Flats down in size, it makes it much more manageable for someone to hold and use the V-Flats as a fan to add a bit of motion. If you don't have these particular V-Flats, some small foam boards or stack of cardboard (maybe taped together if they are no longer stiff) can do the trick as well if a fan isn't available or looking for less force. 

Using the foldable V-Flat as a makeshift table to add some bounce fill is the only method in this series that actually has an impact on the lighting of your subject. 

Comparison with and without bounce fill for headshots.

I personally loved the creativity of using the V-Flats for the background in the last demonstration but that requires you to have more than one set of these V-Flats. 

Are there any other alternative ways you can think of on how to use these V-Flats not shown in the video? Leave your answers below.

All photos used with permission of Jeff Carpenter.

Alex Ventura's picture

Staff writer Alex Ventura is a professional photographer based out of the Houston area that specializes in automotive and glamour with the occasional adventures into other genres. He regularly covers automotive related events for Houston Streets & Spekture with some publications in the United States.

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2 Comments

For the love of gaud, another v-flat article!

What, April the first so soon? Purile pap.