 Nicole P. Small |
What is the best to invest in? Hi, I am new but am geared towards fashion, beauty and glamour photography. I wanted to know which is the best to get as far as umbrellas? Would the Black and white be best or black and silver umbrellas? How about the shoot through ones?
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Mark Feldstein |
Howdy Nicole: Which interiors surfaces you get depend a lot on personal preference in terms of what kind of light effect you're looking for. For lighting with a harder look, silver interiors are good. For softer, more softbox-like lighting, white interiors do well. Also, the size of the brella makes some difference too. For commercial use, they range in size from about 32" diameters up to about 60. The larger the brella, the more it tends to wrap your subject with light, but that also depends on how many horsepower your strobes are. Photogenic or Eclipse models are both pretty durable and good for location work. Shoot through? I prefer to use a softbox instead, but for brellas, both brands I mentioned have models with removable cover shells that allow you to shoot through them with white interiors. Here's a link to the umbrella page at BH Photo. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?ci=1&sb=ps&pn=1&sq=desc&InitialSearch=yes&O=productlist.jsp&A=search&Q=*&bhs=t&shs=Eclipse BTW, to get the maximum coverage from lights with umbrellas, when setting them up in the lamp head, watch the edge of the umbrella. As you move the umbrella closer and further away from the light source, you'll see the modeling light get closer to the edge of the umbrella. The closer you get the modeling light to the edge without spilling over the edge, the more effective it's light output will be. Okie dokie?
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Michael H. Cothran |
You know, after many early years of using every type of umbrella on the market, I have made the following observation - it really doesn't make much difference. I could lay out a bunch of my images, and defy you or anyone else to pick which type umbrella was used for each shot. There's just not a whole lot of difference to be concerned over. Umbrellas are sort of the "shotguns" of lighting equipment. They scatter light all over the place, and you have no real way of controlling any light spill. You can place them almost anywhere in the vicinity of your subject and get decent images - no skill required. However, that said, I did notice an improvement in lighting quality with the purchase of my first soft box. My umbrellas, all one dozen of them, now sit quietly in the closet. I own a half dozen soft boxes in different sizes, and have been using them for the past 10-15 years. I would not ever consider using an umbrella again. Softboxes are much more directional, while still yielding attractively soft light. They are much better in controlling light spill, but they do require the photographer to have an inkling of an idea about light placement, unlike umbrellas. Michael H. Cothran
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Mark Feldstein |
Well Michael, in this instance I'm inclined to disagree with ya. Of course as a modifier, you can't usually control an umbrella to the more precise degree you can with a softbox although I think you can get closer than you suggested AND get a different kind of lighting. To some extent this depends on your modeling lights so you can predetermine where the light is going. My Bowens lights all have "spill-kill reflectors" for use with umbrellas. They direct the light into the center of the umbrella so it's not like working with an open-bulb light, and by adjusting the shaft into the mono light, you get the edge lighting I mentioned, without spilling over the edge. THEN, adjusting the angle of the flash head w/ umbrella to the subject along with the distance to the subject should wrap them with the light you're trying to do which, at the same time, solves the directional problem you mentioned, at least to some extent. Umbrellas are about 50% cheaper than softboxes, even more depending on the size you get, AND while softbox interiors can be changed, based on the kind of interior fabric they have, the quality of light an umbrella puts out can be different than a softbox and a little easier to work with. BTW Nicole, if you're looking to get a shoot through umbrella, make sure it's designed for that purpose or the ribs will show in the final shot.
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Pete H |
Hello Nicole, Which to use is a matter of personal taste AND the effect you desire. In it's (traditional) sense, "glamour" photography is "soft, airy, mysterious", as well as complimentary to the model's skin tone. If you are seeking this type of shot, you can indeed use shoot thru's, however; the softbox is a better choice as it's properties lend it well to the "wraparound" effect. This effect can be duplicated with umbrellas, but you will need more than one. All the best, Pete
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