photography, these lights are often fitted with 10-, 20-, 30-, or 40-degree
grids and are used as a hair light or accent light along the side of the model’s
body. In some cases, however, they are reflected into a California Sunbounce.
On occasion, especially when photographing men, photographers will light
their subjects using light fitted with a 9- or 12-inch reflector as the main light.
This is most commonly seen in head-and-shoulders portraits. Since this type
of light tends to be more harsh and specular, it’s best to reserve its use for
photographing male subjects or models with very nice, even complexions.
However, the harshness of the light can be reduced by placing several sheets
of Rosco Tough Spun Silk in front of the metal reflector. This more diffused
light will be more flattering to your subject and will have a faster falloff than
light from a panel.Beauty Dish.
Beauty dishes are large, shallow, bowl-like modifiers with silver or white inte-
riors that are used to produce diffused light that is slightly more contrasty
than that produced by a softbox. The 22-inch models are perhaps the mostLIGHT MODIFIERS 101Genevieve was illuminated by the
300-watt modeling lamp of my
studio flash (the flash was not fired).
The flash was fitted with a 7-inch
metal reflector with a 20-degree
grid attached to the front. This
added light to the image, creating a
great addition to my “Wide Aperture”
series. (CAMERA:Canon EOS 5D fitted
with a Canon 85mm f/1.2L USM lens.
SETTINGS:85mm effective focal
length,^1 / 100 second shutter speed,
f/1.2, white balance at 3400K, ISO
320)