Umbrellas

Umbrellas

Photography umbrellas come in lots of different sizes and configurations, but there are two main types it is worth being aware of – reflective and shoot-through, also referred to as black and white respectively. White umbrellas are constructed from a translucent fabric, and are placed between the light source and the subject (hence, “shoot-through”). This produces a very diffuse lighting effect, spreading the illumination over a large area – it’s great for group portrait shots where you want to produce a nice, even lighting effect over everyone in the picture. You can also get the light nice and close to a subject and still get that softened effect.

Black umbrellas are only black on the outside – inside, they are made with a white reflective material. You fire your flash in and it bounces back onto the subject, nicely diffused and softened – though not to the same extent as with a shoot-through, so it’s useful when you want a more focused light. Some reflective umbrellas have a silver interior for increased contrast, while others use gold that warms up the quality of the light, creating more pleasing skin tones.

Certain umbrellas also have removable or swappable covers, meaning they can be converted from one type to another, depending on the situation.

Umbrella size is an important consideration – the larger the diameter of the dish, the more powerful its light-diffusing effect will be. A large umbrella is handy if you’re using a very powerful flashgun – but bear in mind that too small a light source may end up too diffused to be useful.

There are also different umbrella shapes to consider – regular and parabolic. Regular umbrellas are shaped much like standard ones you’d use to keep the rain off, while parabolic umbrellas are more rounded, with a greater number of panels designed to throw the light forward. This throw effect can also be adjusted by varying how far open the umbrella is, allowing the user to get precise with the quality of your light. Light from parabolic umbrellas is often preferred for portraits as it has a more naturalistic, wrap-around quality. It’s useful for when you want lighting that doesn’t look like lighting.

Umbrellas are generally used on their own dedicated lighting stands with the flashgun attached, allowing for freeform positioning independent of the camera. Bear in mind that if you’re using your umbrella on location, you may want a sandbag or other type of ballast to weigh down the stand and ensure a gust of wind doesn’t tip it over.

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