> -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > I don't own softboxes. But I have white umbrellas that I can use as reflectors or > shoot through them as one would with a softbox. I get a half stop more light > shooting through them than I do using them as reflectors. That suggests that the > reflected light is more diffuse. > Paul >
Forgive me if someone else has already answered this. When you use a translucent umbrella in a reflecting orientation, some of the light passes through the material, spills out the back (away from the subject) and is lost for the purpose of the photograph. When you use the same umbrella as a diffuser, it is the reflected light that is spilled away from the subject and lost. The comparative brightness between reflecting and diffusing modes depends entirely on the fabric of the umbrella. My diffusing umbrella is the nylon fabric type that gives about equal transmission and reflectance. Returning to Don's original enquiry, my advice would be, finances permitting, to get one of every type of reflector. A small honeycomb or snoot will do instead of an optical spot which can be spendy. Don't forget barn doors either, but flag holders can be a cheaper option. Big flats are also useful (big floor standing frames that can hold reflecting OR diffusing material). An alternative to a wooden or PVC tube framed flat is a spare boom light stand (lightweight is OK) that can be used as a hanger for the chosen material. As far as umbrellas are concerned you should have a shoot through type (diffusing), a white vinyl lined one and a foil lined one. Further modification to the light quality can be made by using different types of reflector to beam into the umbrella. There's also a big double brolly that surrounds the light like a clam shell. The light fires back into a reflecting brolly, is bounced forward into a diffusing brolly and onward to the subject. They're supposed to combine the softness of a brolly with the efficiency of a softbox. Efficiency is the big argument for softboxes. Their reflecting surface is foil, and any light that is bounced backwards by their diffuser gets bounced forward again when it restrikes the foil. It's not 100% efficient because of the law of diminishing returns, but it's better than no recycling of the reflected light which is the case with an umbrella. This shot could NOT have been made with brollies: http://www.amonline.net.au/thylacine/09.htm (scroll halfway down and forgive the overcompression, it's not my site). I used 2 BIG softboxes, a 6,000WS, 200cm x 120cm "fishfryer" and a 3,200WS, 100cm x 100cm softbox. Probably also an 800WS spot pointed somewhere at the background for a bit of rimlight. When you're photographing something round AND reflective the lightsources need to be BIG!!!! But the biggest argument FOR umbrellas is portability. 3 or 4 brollies make next to no difference to the weight and bulk of a travelling light kit. regards, Anthony Farr
