Lighting Accessories and Reflectors Buying Guide
Lighting and colour are the key aspects of photography. Reflectors are one of the photographic lighting accessories that allow the photographer to modify the intensity and direction of light.
Types of Lighting Accessories and Reflectors
- Dome-like Reflectors are shaped like polished bowls which are fitted around the source of light to gather the light around the source and direct it in the required direction. These reflectors are available in different sizes and curvatures to focus the light at a particular spot or to spread it across a wider surface.
- Reflector panels are used around the shooting scene to reflect light onto the subject. These are large lightweight portable panels and typically come in white for creating a soft glow, silver for intense light and gold for warm light. They are ideal for use in outdoor shoots to reflect sunlight.
- Gobos are the same as reflector panels but with a black surface to filter light or create shadows where required. Reflector panels are available in different sizes or as a combo-kit with panels of different colours.
- Softbox is a lighting accessory that is attached to the strobe head to control light, shadow and hot spots on reflective surfaces. The lighting created is based on the size of the softbox and the distance between the source of light and diffusion surface in front of the softbox. Smaller the softbox, more intense is the light; Greater the distance between the source of light and diffuser, softer the light.
- Umbrellas are inexpensive photographic accessories to produce diffused lights with circular highlights.
- Diffusers are plastic or cloth discs which when placed in front of a light source or reflector to help spread the light evenly.
- Barndoors are frames with two or four doors to control the spill of light.
- Gels are gelatine filter sheets that control the intensity of lights or add colour to the scene.
- Scrims are metal screens placed in front of the source of light to decrease the intensity of light.
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