#Reflector 2 taking forever pro#

Time to take some action! Find open shade around your house. The window light lesson is a great illustration of this.

Because when you do that, the light becomes bigger (remember…it’s all in relation to your subject). Whether you’re under a porch roof, near a window, or next to a reflector: if you want softer light, move your subject towards the light. NICE! 2) Move your subject closer to the light (or the light closer to your subject).

That big sky is now your huge light source. And if you can, choose shade where you can still see a big portion of sky. So, if it’s sunny out and you want soft light instead of harsh sunlight, head into the shade. The result, really really soft, even light. But for now, the reason open shade is so desirable is that the open sky acts as the HUGE light source. As we’ll see in the next law, light is directional. Open simply means that you can view open sky in at least one direction from where you’re taking the photo. So we know what shade is, but what about ‘open’? How bout this: Stop using the bare sun as your main light all the time.Īnother way to say it: When you want even, smooth, soft lighting (for instance to take a pic of your friend who’s got a great new outfit), you should search for a huge light source in order to get that soft, open quality of light. That tip alone will take your studio work from looking like 1982 to something far better.

It just means that you should move your normal sized soft box as close to your subject as possible.

#Reflector 2 taking forever pro#

Pro photogs, already working in the studio, get the softest light possible from a studio strobe by making the light source as big as possible. The diffusion panel disperses the sunlight across its surface, thus becoming the light source itself (and a much bigger one than the sun). In order to soften the light in the first pic, we placdd a big triangle diffusion panel in between the sun and Payson. It’s often the perfect light for photographing people, especially kids. Creamy highlights, ‘open’ shadows, and a gentle transition between the two. Its sharp contrast can make a fuss of things. This edgy light must be used with care when photographing people. Hard light has intense highlights, stark shadows, and a fast transition between the two. Which, now is a good time to explain what hard light and soft light is. The following pic was taken of Payson in direct sunlight. It’s just to help you visualize the above paragraph: Thus the effective light source is many times bigger. The diffusion fabric disperses the light evenly across the entire surface. It reflects the light inside the box and pushes it through a diffusion fabric on the front. That’s why studio photographers use ‘soft boxes.’ These contraptions are merely a box that goes over the light. Size softens light.ĭiffusion is just one method of trying to make a light source bigger. So many people (especially ‘photogs’ starting out in the studio) think that diffusion softens light. Now to reiterate, by size of the light, we always mean in relation to the subject.