Light Modifiers - How and Why We Use Them
Softboxes, reflector dishes, umbrellas and beauty dishes are just some of the modifiers that we have available to us as photographers to attach to our lighting to change the way it works for us. In this article I will go through the basics of modifiers and the how and why they are used. Before we talk about actual modifiers, we perhaps need to check that we totally understand how light is affected by simple rules when it comes to the quality of the light. Now, the word quality is an interesting one. What we mean by quality and the quality of light needed for one situation may be different to another situation. When I discuss quality of light to my mentoring students, I usually split it into two main characteristics with another secondary one as well. The first thing I talk about is hardness of the light. This relates to the edge of the shadow and how that presents itself. If the light source is small relative to the subject, then the edge of the shadow will be a more solid line, and clearly defined so we call that light “hard”. If the shadow is diffuse at its edge due to the light source being large compared to the subject then the light is usually referred to as “soft”. Obviously there are different levels of hardness, all dependant upon the light size to the subject. The next characteristic I talk about is contrast, which relates to the difference in stops between the highlight side and the shadow side in a portrait. The bigger the difference, the more contrast there is. Now people often call the combination of contrast and hardness as harsh light but contrast is often influenced by light position and closeness to subject and a little by the modifier. You can have soft light that is both contrasty or not and hard light that is also contrasty or not, all depends on positions and the modifier. The third characteristic that modifiers affect is the specularity or shininess of the highlights. In simple terms the lining of the modifier if silver will give off shinier highlights than if it is matt white. What modifiers should you use?
Bare Flash
The design of most studio lights is to use a round flash tube to throw the light as evenly as possible in all directions in front of the head. This is great as it helps get it more evenly spread but a nightmare to control as it does indeed go everywhere.So, bare bulb has the odd use but generally not what we use as portrait photographers
Reflector Dishes
Next up is reflector dishes. These go from tiny to fair sized. From little five inch spill kills to 18 inch maxi reflectors. They are usually silver on the inside and fit direct to the head with no diffuser, their job is to control the spill of light and funnel it all straight forward. They are very efficient and give great output to the light but unless the largest ones they are small sources and produce very hard light when used in portraiture, Great for putting spots on backgrounds but I would rarely use for normal portraits unless recreating the hard lightlooks of Hollywood in the 30’s and 40’s or punchy fashion images with models. Reflector dishes are great for maximising the power of the light if used with low powered lights.
A beauty dish is a modification of the reflector dish, comes in various sizes and with a central deflector which prevents the flash coming straight out, it hits the deflector then bounces back into the dish to then come forward again. The point of this is to reduce the hot spot in the middle. Used a lot in fashion and beauty photography, they can provide beautiful semi hard light with crisp edges to it. They work well with good make up and clear skin but can show up blemishes and skin defects a lot. For general portraiture I find personally I use mine very little though I know others that do. I prefer, using my Elinchrom system to use a 70cm deep octobox with deflector disc and single layer of diffusion to give a similar but more gentle effect. In short, reflector dishes can be useful but they are hard light unless used really really close with the larger ones.
Softboxes
Softboxes are what most people think of when they thing of modifiers. They come in all shapes and sizes from small to huge, and their purpose is to increase the size of the light source to soften and spread it. The shape affects the spread and the size affects the softness ( though you can make them softer or harder by moving closer or further away). The ones I use the most are large octoboxes and strip boxes. As you can guess, octoboxes are octagonal in shape and strips are long and narrow. The strips allow me to precisely control the spread of the light and prevent spill. The big octobox or similar is a really versatile source. It can be pulled back a little to light a family or big group or brought in really close to get super soft light, bringing it in close makes it bigger relative to the subject and bigger is softer when close.
Umbrellas
Umbrellas come in many sorts, sizes and finishes. They can be “shoot through” where the fabric is diffuse and the flash is fired directly though the umbrella towards the subject and the umbrella acts as a diffuser. The other type is indirect where the flash fires into the umbrella and bounces off the inside before coming back out. They can be white or silver or even gold to give different effects to the light. The silver or gold will give a punchier more specular light. The white inside of a bounced umbrella can be a really useful modifier as it is easy to transport, put up and position. Some come with an outer diffuser which adds another layer of softness due to diffusing the light some more. I use these a lot – in particular the Elinchrom deep white 125cm and outer diffuser. It’s easy to get a beautiful quality of light from it in close to the subject. The only downside to umbrellas at times is they are not as easy to control as a softbox and have more spill. Once mastered they are a great modifier.
What to wear for your family photographs
In my last blog I spoke about why you should have family portraits – beautiful timeless photographs around the home. But what should you do before the session to ensure they are as good as can be? Firstly, think where you are going to put your portraits. Having those amazing, printed images on your wall is what I want for you, so that you will walk past them every day and see them, the family all together and connected. If you are looking at these images every day for years to come, you want them to stand the test of time. While something might seem really great now in an image, if it is sat there in ten years’ time will you still love it? Those logos, stripes etc will date, so it is something to think about.
Ask the Photographer - What to wear for family photographs
What clothes to wear for your family photography
Outfits is a biggie. I love seeing matching or complimentary tones in images, but it is up to you. Again, for the reasons I put above, you are making an investment in time and money to have these images taken and the art on your walls, make sure you can live with them. Another thing to think about is will they match the décor in the room you wish them to hang? Talk to me about this and I will make sure we can come up to clothing colours and I’ll suggest studio background colours that will compliment to create a great image. If in doubt then neutrals like creams and beige are always great, I love denim with plain white and black. Greys work well on both light and dark but if you want bright colours, they can also work well as long as it compliments.
What about my arms?!
Sleeve length is another thing that people worry about. Quite often I find people don’t like their upper arms, if this is the case then go long sleeved, it works well if all are in the same but don’t worry too much if you have different sleeve lengths, it’s my job to make it all work in a portrait.
Feet and faces!
Footwear is a personal choice but it’s one I can help you to decide on. In my experience, shoes on or shoes and socks off work but it has to be the same for everyone in your group. Bare feet for everyone are timeless and won’t draw attention in an image. White trainers in an image of all black or dark colours will stick out like a sore thumb! If you have a more formal portrait in mind then you should encourage everyone to wear dark, smart shoes.
That’s enough of me talking about what to wear, but have a think about things like haircuts and nails etc. Mismatched nail varnish isn’t going to look great, the same as a brand-new hair style that you haven’t settled with yet. I want you to be comfortable in your images so don’t worry about all the little details, that is my job.
Which family members to include in your family portraits?
Last thing I really want to talk about it a little more personal, I often have parents, grandparents etc coming in with children for a shoot but not wanting to be in the images themselves. I hear all the excuses, wrong clothes, too much or too little make up, not lost weight or too thin… all the excuses as to why. Forget all that, It is about existing in portraits for years to come, to build that legacy behind you so that when the time comes when we don’t look like we do or in fact, we are no longer here for our children then we are still there for them in these lasting images.
If in doubt, get in touch and I will talk through things with you because, at the end of the day I want you to have the best portraits for your family at the studio in Preston, Lancashire.
How Important Are Family Photographs?
When Should You Have Family Photographs Taken?
We often have milestones in our lives, something that is important to us and we celebrate or make memories for that. In the UK we tend to have a more conservative approach to having family photographs taken than in other parts of the world. Take the USA as an example; baby portraits, child portraits, family portraits yearly, seniors’ portraits (teens), marriage, pregnancy and the cycle continues. These are all very standard for American families. In the UK, weddings, babies and perhaps one family portrait is what UK families tend to celebrate and record with photographs and in particular, professional photographer portraits.
Now as a photographer, obviously I want more and more people to have professional portraits taken. I want to encourage that and I want people to know why I say that. Of course, it’s my job, But beyond that I care about your memories because of my own experience.
I wish I had more family photographs…
I come from a large family, had the most incredible parents who loved us so dearly. My Father was my best friend growing up, he did everything he could to support me. I was 17 when I lost that best friend suddenly, leaving a huge void in my life. The only things I have left of him are those precious years of memories and photographs. I have ONE photo of my Mum and Dad together, it was taken at a family members 18th Birthday and it’s a small, blurry print. It is so important to me that I have it scanned, backed up to dropbox, on my phone and on three hard drives. The original sits in a padded envelope and is well looked after. I cannot replace that and it means the world.
I understand that you might be reluctant to get into the photo, but it’s so important.
I always do my upmost to get parents involved if they come into any portrait session. If I am photographing their child, I get a portrait or two with them. I hear all the protests, my hair isn’t right, make up isn’t perfect, I need to lose/ gain weight, my clothes aren’t right. I don’t photograph well, I have heard them all… What I say and what I say to you reading this is this, whilst portraits are important for now, what is really important is that those portraits are here in the future to support those memories we all have, to remind us of those stages in life. Let me tell you this, no child or parent of someone who is no longer with us, looks back on a photograph and says, wow, so and so didn’t have their hair done, make up right, hadn’t lost weight, when looking at that image of a loved one. They cherish the fact that they have that printed image to look back on, to remember them. THIS is what makes family portraits so important.
Family photographs are something you will treasure for years.
Yes it is an investment, time and money but, they will be there long after that latest iphone is obsolete, that fancy car is in the scrap yard, so please, make those memories for people who mean so much to you and get those portraits booked in. They don’t need to be formal, they can be casual and fun, my own style is posed but relaxed and most of all, timeless and cherished.
Don’t wait… book now
When you choose Art of the Portrait as your family photographer, you are deciding to book a multi-award winning photographer, who trains other photographers. Art of the Portrait is chosen by MANY professional photographers as their own family photographer – a testament to the quality of the images you will receive and the memorable experience that comes with it!
Take a look at some more examples of my family portraiture in the gallery, and do get in touch if you’d like to book. I have very limited weekend availability so if you have a special date in mind then book early.
What does it take to become an award winning photographer?
I’ve heard that I am, once again, an award winning photographer. A couple of weeks ago I was awarded my second international Photographer of the Year title, this time in the Commissioned Portrait category, with the Societies of Photographers. In 2017 I was also awarded international Child Photographer of the Year with them. Both of these came after a lot of hard work. I started entering competitions in 2010 or 11, very early on in my career. The reason for this is that I like a benchmark, I like to see where I stand and if I am good enough. Now in my eyes I’ll never be good enough, but this is the passion that drives me, I want to always be better, to spot more details and make better imagery. At the start I had some early success, in fact I still think with regards to number of Gold awards etc those first two years were probably my greatest. But I entered so many images – I was mega keen and not too critical – and I think by sheer weight of numbers I did well.What does it take to become an award winning photographer?
Being creative is as important as being technically correct.
A couple of years later I found I wasn’t being as successful. At the time I blamed the judges, everyone else and moaned a lot – how could I go from hero to zero? I got the odd Gold award, a few silvers and nearly stopped entering. Every time the results came out, I would have a hissy fit and tantrum and well, blame everyone BUT me. The facts were, I was actually getting better, but I was becoming too critical and stopped being creative. The technical aspects were getting better but in return I was losing that spark that made my images different. I was so hung up on getting it right and I was missing the impact I had been showing before. A good bit of time with a great friend, Paul Haley, got me back on track and before long I was doing ok again. Since then, I have had 8 or 9 POTY nominations and the two wins, won the Open Category at the Newborn and Portrait Show and had runner up, over 75 Gold Awards, passed my Fellowship and Master Craftsman qualifications and been lucky enough to judge nationally and internationally. Now I’ve bored you to tears with my back story I’ll get to the point…
My tips for winning awards
Firstly, learn, learn and practice. For the first five years I picked my camera up and shot something EVERY day, experimented, tried, learned from it and tried again, I became able to change settings without thinking about it, knew where light was going to fall from a flash without having to test it and most of all practiced people skills to get the most out of my models. I also discovered that it’s ok to get things wrong! My brain hates this, but to get better you have to fail. I sat there at the Societies Awards night in 2018 (when 2017 results were given out) with my good buddy Cass Davies of Cass Davies Photography when I was expecting to get another runner up and saying to her, I would be getting my bridesmaid dress out again (never the bride) when my name was called. I thought I had been set for another runner up, but the fact was, those failures (whilst not really being failures) had pushed me to nail everything to the best of my ability and also, to accept that if it is not meant to be, it just won’t happen. So, when I dusted myself off, I looked why others had won and learned from every single winner and runner up. I worked harder and nailed more correct details.
Practice, practice, practice.
The other thing I still do (when not in Lockdown), is I make time to shoot for myself, 1-2 sessions a month, to try things, to hone areas and just to keep trying to get better. So many photographers I speak to don’t do this and then wonder why their creativity is waning or they are shooting the same stuff all the time. Look outside the box, art galleries, street art, fashion magazines and build your own ideas.
As a judge I get sick of hearing, well, It ‘has to be’ fine art style on a textured backdrop to win. Trust me, it doesn’t. It is just that people see one photographer or style doing well and then all copy it and submit. Some do it well and end up scoring high, a lot don’t. As judges we love to see something different so don’t think you have to adhere to a style to win, any style will win if it is done well!
Which style will win?
The other thing I still do (when not in Lockdown), is I make time to shoot for myself, 1-2 sessions a month, to try things, to hone areas and just to keep trying to get better. So many photographers I speak to don’t do this and then wonder why their creativity is waning or they are shooting the same stuff all the time. Look outside the box, art galleries, street art, fashion magazines and build your own ideas.
As a judge I get sick of hearing, well, It ‘has to be’ fine art style on a textured backdrop to win. Trust me, it doesn’t. It is just that people see one photographer or style doing well and then all copy it and submit. Some do it well and end up scoring high, a lot don’t. As judges we love to see something different so don’t think you have to adhere to a style to win, any style will win if it is done well!
Learn all the time
I average between 30-50k of images a year, first few years probably closer to 70k, so I reckon over three quarters of a million images. It is practice and attention to details that will make you a winner so please, get educated, go practice and be inspired. Don’t get bogged down in trends and most of all, have a lot of fun.
If you would like to learn from me, I run group workshops and do 1:1 mentoring for photographers. I can help you to improve!