Though I own and use the gold and silver versions too, I primarily use the
zebra fabric. This decision is based on several factors: (1) Silver is sometimes
too “hot” and adds too much contrast when used for glamour photography.
It tends to work better with early-morning or late-evening sun, when the in-
tensity of sunlight is lower and more golden. (2) White is great during the
middle of the day when the sun is harsher or when used as a softer fill. I’ll
often use white in the studio too, by resting the reflector at the base of the
light stand at a 30-degree angle to the subject. On that same light stand I’ll
place a monolight flash head, then attach a Chimera small or
medium strip light to the front of the head, then point the strip
light into the California Sunbounce reflector, similar to board-to-
board lighting, which helps create a kicker light effect on the sub-
ject. White is also great when you don’t have any foamcore panels
in the studio and you’re photographing a subject wearing black
against a black background. Here you place one California Sunbounce Pro,
vertically mounted on a stand, on each side and equidistant from your subject,
ensuring that the white side of each is aimed toward the subject. This tech-
nique is based on the 90 percent rule (see page 107). (3) The gold reflector
was originally invented for photographers to pump light onto their subject
when photographing their subject outdoors in open shade. The gold reflector
was designed to offset the cool (bluer) light temperature found in shady
areas—similar to modern day white balance where you set your white balance
on “shade” or “cloudy day.” It’s safe to say that gold is probably one of the
most abused reflectors; many photographers use it not only in open shade but
whenever they use a reflector.
Because a zebra reflector contains both gold and silver panels, we get the
benefits of using both silver and gold reflectors. The zebra reflectors adds
some contrast to the image, but the result is not as harsh as that created with
a full-silver fabric reflector because the gold stripes add warmth to the reflected
light. Likewise, the warming effect produced by the gold stripes is slightlyTHE CALIFORNIA SUNBOUNCE WAY 119CATCHING SOME RAYS
The crossbars and the unit’s rugged construction allow an assistant to
easily hold a California Sunbounce reflector overhead, even in windy
conditions, to re-create the appearance of natural, overhead light—not
light that comes from a car’s headlight level. Also, when the light
comes from overhead, your model will not be made to squint.It’s safe to say that gold
is probably one of the most
abused reflectors.