highlights in the overall highlight areas of the face. Some
umbrellas come with intermittent white and silver pan-
els. These produce good overall soft light but with spec-
ular highlights. They are often referred to as zebras.
Umbrellas, regardless of type, need focusing. By ad-
justing the length of the exposed shaft of the umbrella in
its light housing you can optimize light output. When fo-
cusing the umbrella, the modeling light should be on so
you can see how much light spills past the umbrella sur-
face. The umbrella is focused when the circumference of
the light matches the perimeter of the umbrella.
It should be noted that the closer the diffused light
source is to the subject, the softer the quality of the light.
As the distance between the light source and subject in-
creases, the diffused light source looks less like diffused
light and more like direct light.STUDIO LIGHTING 29Stacy Bratton created this wonderful portrait of twins using her very large softbox. The light wraps around the face of the forward girl,
lighting the second twin—but in order to create a more dramatic lighting ratio, no fill light or reflector was used. Note, too, that Stacy
used enough light to produce a healthy depth of field and keep both girls fully sharp.