Light reflector useage fundamentals

[rickp1]

hey guy and gals,
Well today I purchased my first major photography accessory if you will. I bought a 5 in 1 interfit reflector. I'm hoping to use it this weekend to get some good portraits of my girlfriend and at the same time learn a thing or two.

So in that journey I'm hoping someone can give me some pointers on using the reflector.

Some of the info that I'm thinking right of the top of my had would be which reflector should I use indoor and out door. Now I know a lot of it depends on the look I'm going for so at this point I'm looking for the fundamentals if that makes sense.

The other question I have is how to place the reflector in relation to the subject. Are there any fundamentals there too?

This is my first time really shooting with any sort of lighting setup so please explain things in a simple manner.

Thank
R.

[zona5101]

Angles? Think of it like a one rail bank shot in billards. Fine tune it from there by changing that angle so less light is reflected as you see fit. White, silver, gold, light gold and translucent are probably your colors. Gold obviously warms it - it sometimes it's too much. Silver sometimes gives too much specular highlight. White is probably the one you will find yourself using the most as it doesn't tend to add much influence to the color of the light you are reflecting. The size of the reflector will influence how much area you can light evenly. -
good luck and have fun!

[Benji]

The rules regarding reflectors.

DO NOT ever use a gold reflector unless you want yellow skin on the side of the subject the reflector was used on.

Silver reflectors are used to reflect daylight (the light outdoors that is not sunlight) and sometimes strobes, depending on the light modifier attached to the strobe. Silver reflects about 97% of the light that strikes it.

White reflectors are used to bounce dappled or slightly diffused sunshine and sometimes strobes, depending on the light modifier attached to the strobe. White reflects about 90% of the light that strikes it. Both silver and white do not add any color cast (like gold does) so the light that it reflects will be the same color balance as the main light source.

The larger the subject you are photographing the larger the reflector must be to adequately cover the subject. A 24 x 24 will not reflect enough light to properly cover a person photographed full length.

The reflector should not be apparant to the viewer. It should wrap the main light around the subject. I have posted an image below and a diagram of the placement of the reflector, which was a 3 x 5 silver reflector held just out of camera range. The overhead light was blocked by the roof.

Benji

[rickp1]

Thank you guys for the info, it's what I was looking for. Now it's just a matter of setting up, getting behind the camera and having some fun while learning.

R.