Comparing Primary Reflectors

To illustrate the need for a reflector, we set up our strobe without the standard “bell” reflector installed. This is called a bare bulb light. Without the bell reflector to control the light from the strobe, the light output goes uncontrolled all over the studio.

This can cause several problems, including lens flair, and is very inefficient.

We set up our bare bulb light to the right side of our set at about a 45 degree angle to the subject and about 45 degrees above the set.

Once we had the light set, we took a light meter reading (1/60 @f/11) to establish an exposure standard to compare to as we go through our set ups. We set the camera according to the reading and shot our first image.

In figures 3 and 4, we see the unruly results.

In figure 3, the hard shadows and the uneven highlights are not what we want.

The close up in figure 4 shows the hot point highlights and all the flaws in the metal of the ice bucket created by the uncontrolled lighting.

The "Bell" Reflector

Without moving the light, our next step is to install the 7” bell reflector. The idea behind a bell reflector is to control and reflect the majority of light from the source onto the subject. In figure 5 you can see the inside of the 7” reflector with the reflective surface designed to control the light from the unit.

Figures 6 and 7 show the strobe head with bell reflector in position on the set.

Since we have changed the light set up, we took another light reading (1/60 @ f/11-พ). From our reading, we see that the reflector alone has increased the light on the subject by พ‘s of a stop. So we made our exposure adjustments and shot the next image.

In our result set, we still see the point highlights although the reflector has increased the size of the highlights, and we still see all the imperfection in the metal due to the hard, or contrasty, type of lighting.

In figures 10 and 11, we can compare the results of the bare bulb and the 7” bell reflector. The bell reflector has controlled the light and focused it more on the set; this is most apparent in the top of the ice bucket. The reflector has increased the light on the background, bouncing the light from the background on to the top of the subject. The result is a general softening of the shadows.

In figures 12 and 13, we have cropped in on just the reflection/highlight created by the two light configurations so far. Figure 12 is the bare bulb. Notice how the size and quality has changed when we installed the 7” reflector in fig 13.

The Umbrella Reflector

Next, we will look at the umbrella as a reflector, using the same light source. First, we turned the strobe around and changed its orientation. Then we installed a 30-inch Photoflex ADW umbrella . In figure 14 we see the light created with the strobe in the umbrella which is now our new light source.

We placed the light in the same basic position as in the first set of shots. The light source is now the umbrella, not the light itself. So when we measure the light to subject distance we measure from the umbrella.

We set the light so that the umbrella was 40” from the subject.

Figures 15 and 16 show the position of the umbrella and light on the set.

Since we have changed our lighting, we checked our exposure with the light meter and found we lost a little more than a stop of light (1/30 @ f/11). Therefore, we made our exposure adjustments and shot the next image.

Figures 17 and 18 show our results image. Notice how increasing the size of the light source, in this case the reflector, softens the light on the subject and the shadows. We see how the size of the light has also improved the look of the subject, the flaws and scratches are much less apparent.

Although we still have issues with the overall contrast, this shot looks much better than our first set with the point source of light. We will examine the control of contrast in a separate lesson.

In figures 19 and 20, we can compare the results of the 7” bell reflector and the 30” umbrella side by side. We can see the improvement of the contrast and quality of the light and how this has effected the look of the subject.

The Soft Box Reflector

Next, we will look at the soft box as a reflector. When we remove the inner baffle and the diffusion face of the box, we effectively create a large reflector (figure 21).

We removed the umbrella from our strobe unit and turned it back around to point at our subject. Then we assembled a Medium LiteDome soft box, without the baffle and the diffusion face, to the connector designed for our light. Then we installed the soft box assembly onto our strobe and placed it to the right side of the set in the same position and height.


Figures 22 and 23 show the position of the soft box and light on the set.

Since we altered the lighting set up, we must take a reading to check our light levels and exposure settings for the new set up (1/60 @ f/16). Because we were using the light as a direct source, the exposure has jumped up two stops. We reset the camera and shot the next photos (figures 24 and 25).

The results show roughly the same quality of light on the subject, but the shadow behind the subject looks harder than that of the umbrella. This is because we bounced the light off the umbrella to create a larger indirect light source.

The light quality of the soft box looks much the same because we are getting both reflected light from the interior of the soft box as well as direct light from the undiffused flash tube. Because we are using this as a direct source, the imperfections in the subject are showing up again. In the close up shot, we can also see a reflection of the interior of the soft box.

In figures 26 and 27, we compare the umbrella and the soft box as a reflector side by side and see the changes for the better.

Without moving the light we installed the inner baffle. For safety reasons, we recommend that you switch off the unit before you install the baffle (figure 28).

Figures 29 and 30 show the position of the soft box and light on the set.

Because we added diffusion to the soft box, we took another reading (1/60 @ f/11 ฝ). We have lost ฝ a stop of light due to the addition of the diffusion, so we made our corrections to the exposure setting and shot a picture.

In our results (figures 31 and 32), we see further softening of the light and shadows without the harshness of the direct light from the flash tube. We have started to control the overall contrast of the shot by adding the diffusion. This allowed for more detail in our shadows and softening of the imperfections in the subject.

We compare the light with (figure 34) and without (figure 33) the inner baffle installed in the soft box. We can see the improvements to the overall contrast and the look of the highlight.

The last step in this lesson was to install the diffusion face onto the soft box (figure 35). Again, we strongly recommend that you switch off the light before you perform this action.

Since we have added an element to the light, we have changed the lights output, so we made another reading, adjusted to the exposure, and shot our last set of image.

Figures 36 and 37 show the positioning of the soft box and light on the set.

Because we added an element to the light, we have changed the lights output. We made another reading, adjusted the exposure, and shot our last set of images.

Our final results (figures 38 and 39) show off the ice bucket well. We have soft shadows and clean highlights hiding some of the imperfections. The contrast and light ratio are under control so we can now see detail in the highlights showing the etching work on the ice bucket. We can also see detail in the shadows.

Figure 40 shows the result of the soft box with the inner baffle installed. Figure 41 shows the result with both the inner baffle and the diffusion face installed.

Adding the second level of diffusion in the form of the diffusion face has cleaned up the shot and controlled our contrast.