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 Faced
with strong sunlight, the professional photographer will reach
for his reflector. These actually fold up quite small for carrying
around but not quite small enough to stick in your pocket on the
summer holiday, also you need an assistant to hold it in place
for you.
The reflectors come in a variety of surfaces, white, silver and gold
are the most usual to see. The idea is to bounce some light into the shadow
areas thereby reducing the overall contrast of the shot. By moving closer
to the subject or further away you can 'fine tune' the amount of contrast
very accurately.
The opposite piece of kit, which is black and is used in the same way
but to reflect black onto the subject, creating shaded areas, is called
a gobo.
Gobos and reflectors are used a lot in fashion and glamour photography.
Although reflectors and gobos are probably not a practical proposition
for all but the most dedicated amateur photographers, it is worth understanding
how they are used. Quite often you can find a white wall, or use a piece
of card or paper, to do the same job.
back to Photography
in Sunlight |
