 Angela E. Wright |
Which Umbrella to Choose? Hello, For general-purpose lighting for portrait, baby toddler, candid, etc. ... would white shoot-through umbrellas be best, or would the black with silver on the inside or would the black with white on the inside be good? I was thinking that if I just got the white shoot- through ones they would be good overall, but what is the difference with all of the other ones? I know about the use of silver vs. gold, but other than that?? These will be used with a slave flash and not continuous lighting. Also, when I am buying a set-up, do I have to buy the stand AND the bracket to hold the umbrella and flash, or are there stands that have it ready to go? Thanks!
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BetterPhoto Member |
Angela- I think you will be happier with a white shoot-through umbrella that has a removable black back. If you use a shoot-through umbrella, a lot of your light goes through the umbrella and is lost out the other side. With the black backing you can reduce that light loss. You can also use the shoot-through like a light box. I personally don't like silver-lined umbrellas, because they are more contrasty. I much prefer a softer directional light for photographing people. Most strobe lights have something for holding the umbrella.
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Angela E. Wright |
thank you for your response. I think I will get the umbrellas with the black backs. Is there a dif. in getting a 38" umbrella vs. a 45" other than just the size? Also, (I guess I just need to go to a studio somewhere and look things over) I was wondering if you could tell me, is a stand set up with an umbrella interchangeable from a strobe light to continuous lighting? Or are the set ups different? Also - being new to artifical lighting, what is the dif. between setting up a slave flash - and a strobe flash? is there an article anywhere that you could point me to? I really appreciate your help!
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BetterPhoto Member |
Angela- One rule: The more light spread you need, the bigger the light source. If you are photographing one person with an umbrella, you can use a smaller 24". If you are photographing a larger group of people, you want a bigger umbrella like 48". There is not much difference between 38" and 45", but I would go bigger. The stand set up is the same whether you are using strobe or "hot lights". Both types of lights have an area where an umbrella connects. A slave flash and strobe are the same. These larger flash units are called strobes and most monolights come with a built in slave to fire them. So if you are shooting a portrait using three lights, you will run a PC cord from the light closest to your camera and plug it into the camera. When you snap the shutter it will fire the strobe that you 'hard wired' to your camera. The slaves in the other strobes will see that first stobe flash and will fire themselves at teh same time. Keep an eye at Betterphoto as I am writing a course "Introduction to Lighting for Commercial Photography" that will be offered starting winter term. You might enjoy it.
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