Lighting Modifier for Outdoor Families

[JaronRH]

I'm looking for to see what lighting modifiers people are using for outdoor family portraits (4-6 people). For years now, I've been using a 43" shoot-through umbrella. It has worked great at giving me the large, soft light I need for fill lighting but it is utterly useless on windy days (even with sandbags). I was hoping to hear what other people are using (Ex: Impact Folding Beauty Dish?) and hopefully see some sample photos. Thanks!

 

[tirediron]

Generally bare tube or a diffuser over a 7 - 12" reflector.

 

[Derrel]

Speedotron's M90 light unit has a metal, 8.5 inch reflector, and they make a nice snap-on diffuser for it...it works very well outdoors...I like it because the M90 is a small, light-weight flash head, and is not affected by the wind.

Here are a couple shots done under total darkness, so you can easily see the shadow pattern this size of metal reflector will throw from about 14 feet, when a diffuser is attached to the light.Many other similar metal reflectors with a diffuser would give about the same type of lighting effect.

As you can see, there is some shadow to the light, but if you position the light high up, you can get the effect of "sunlight" outdoors, but also have relatively soft lighting on the people. The positive though is the resistance to wind! This size of metal reflector does not catch any wind!

 

[JaronRH]

Thanks for the replies! Have you used the bare reflector yet as a fill light? For example, here's examples of what I've done:

 

[Derrel]

I do a fair amount of just plain "speedlight fill" outdoors. But when I use the M90 as my fill light, I always use it with its clip-on plastic diffusing disc, which looks a LOT like a full-sized Frisbee disc, with metal clips that hold it on.

I am old enough that I actually kind do not freak out when I see (am used to seeing?) portraits with direction to the light (either main light or fill-in light), with some actual shadow from the lighting. These days, so,so many people want a big, soft, belch of highly diffused light, like that from an umbrella or octabox or whatever, and that's fine, but I think there's plenty of situations where some direction to the light, a definite direction of origin, and actual shadows, makes for a little bit more-realistic lighting when outdoors.

 

[Casey08]

I do love Studio Lighting, all my life because I really do recognize about Broad Lighting and Short Lighting, indeed! I also love Flash Photography because I took up that only subject as a class in where I demonstrated of how I can aim forward by taking an image in different F-Stops as a Depth of Field Group Assignment and along with Apertures, including Shutter Speeds of a Second. Finally, all those are Lighting for a moment!