January 2020DigitalSLR Photography 61
LASTOLITEEZYBOUNCE
DIRECT:A LastoliteEzybounceis a popularconfigurable
bouncecardthatfoldsdowntopocket-sizeandcanbe
manipulatedintoa varietyofshapesusingthebounce
concepttosoftenlight.Straight-on,thelightontheface
is sufficientlydiffused,buttheshadow underneath the
chinremainsquitestrong.
45°ANGLE:Whenpositionedat a 45°angle,the
Ezybouncebecomesevenharsherthana globe,which
showsitslimitationsasa diffuser.Contrastis strongwith
definedshadows,butskindetailis maintained.It’smuch
moreeffectivethanundiffusedflashat 45°, but the
shadowsare almost as pronounced.GLOBE
DIRECT:A globeis a happymediumbetweenusing
bounceflashanda softbox.Withdirectlightshadowson
thefaceareminimalbuttheshadowbelowthechinis
morepronouncedthanwhenusinga softbox.This
optionis bestusedin tightspaces that are too small for
evena softboxtobeused.
45°ANGLE:Globesaremoreeffectivestraight-onthan
at a 45°angleastheshadowstheyproducebecome
muchmorenoticeableoncethey’repositionedtothe
side,astheimagebelowreveals.A globemodifierusedat
a 45°anglewouldbenefitfromtheadditionofa reflector
toonesideto help reducethedensityof shadows.
RINGFLASHATTACHMENT
DIRECT:Ringflashis alwaysbestwhendirectandthelens
is positionedthroughthecentralhole.Theresultis a
silverysparklein theskin,withnovisibleshadowsonthe
model’sfaceorbody,dependingontheframing.What
youwillseeis a faintshadowallaroundtheoutsideof the
modelif they’restandingclosetoa background.
45°ANGLE:Usinga ringflashat thisangleis completely
pointlessbecauseyoulosetheevenlightproducedby
positioningyourselfstraight-onwiththelensthroughthe
centralhole.Ata 45°angle,you’dgeta muchbetterresult
usinga softboxora reflectiveumbrellabecause these are
designedfor this – a ringflashisn’t.DIRECT 45 ° DIRECT 45 ° DIRECT 45 °SHOTPRIMESTUDIO/SHUTTERSTOCKCONTROLY O U RF LASH
Usingsimplemodifierslikea softbox
cantransformthelightfallingonyour
subject and elevate your portraits.6 7 8