The other day I finally got my light reflector upgraded. Up until last week I've been using a teeny tiny 32" round collapsible reflector, and now I have a 40"x60" reflector. Wow what a HUGE difference!!!! If you've ever been at my house for a photo shoot I've probably asked you to either hold the reflector for me or seen me fail miserably trying to prop it up on a chair. This giant reflector from www.TheLaShop.com comes with an awesome stand that allows you to angle your reflector however you need it to be, and you can do this all by yourself. Here are some pictures from the first time I used the reflector at a cake smash session.
The reflector stand is super easy to use because it's a standard light stand. You attach this swiveling grip thing to it with the telescoping arm. The telescoping arm expands from 30" all the way to 79".
Then you just snap in the reflector!
OK I'm not going to lie, I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to snap the reflector in. Yes I'm a teacher and I HATE reading directions. I'd rather figure things out on my own. I get much more satisfaction that way. LOL! Now back to the grip. All you do is pull it back with your fingers and slide the reflector in. Then you let go and it's locked in place!
Here you can see the size difference between my old reflector and the new one. This reflector comes in handy for me because I do most of my newborn to 1 year old session in my house. The lighting isn't always great and I'd rather use natural light than to use flash.
Look at how much light I get using the silver side of the reflector.
Now look at all the darkness without the reflector.
Another cool thing that you can use this stand for is to diffuse harsh light. When I'm shooting newborns I need the light to be soft so that I can capture all the details of a sweet newborn. All you have to do is unzip the cover of the reflector and you get this amazing light diffuser!!!
Look at the difference in the detail in the frosting with and without the light diffuser.
The camera settings were identical in both shots. Look how much better the cake looks with the diffuser.
And what good is a post of a smashed cake if you can't see the doll that smashed it!
OK so if you're sitting at home thinking about upgrading your reflector to a 40" x 60" DO IT!!!! You will not regret it! Make sure you go to www.TheLaShop.com to buy it. The price is super reasonable and they have been so nice to give you guys a coupon code for 10% off your order. Just type in the code: BLOGGERS
