What color reflectors should I get?

[keith204]

I see a bunch of reflectors... gold/white/silver/black. They come in combos of two pretty cheap. What is a good color combo to get (just starting out)?

Gold/white
Silver/white
Gold/Silver

 

[Sw1tchFX]

gold/white.

 

[Garbz]

gold/silver is my vote. White can be done using a piece of paper, silver can not.

Or why not just get a 5 in 1 to begin with which has gold silver white black and I can't for the life of me remember the fifth. But they are the same price as all the others on ebay.

 

[keith204]

3 Questions!

What's BLACK do? (seems silly)
What's GOLD do?
What's the best material to make a white one?

 

[kundalini]

gold/silver is my vote. White can be done using a piece of paper, silver can not.

Or why not just get a 5 in 1 to begin with which has gold silver white black and I can't for the life of me remember the fifth. But they are the same price as all the others on ebay.

My fifth is a diffuser.

 

[photogincollege]

Black will defuse light or make the shadows darker on a subject. Gold will reflect a warmer light and i hear a lot of people use foamboard for a white reflector but not sure.

 

[Mike Jordan]

Black is used to absorb light and keep it from reflecting. It is also used to block light, either from hitting the subject or the front lens element. I've used one in the past when I've had a light right even with the view finder of my camera to block the light from hitting the view finder and making it hard for me to see if I'm in focus.

White is always a good choice because it's neutral. Silver can cause bright spots because it reflects so well. It also cools the light down a bit. Gold is good if you want to warm the light up and put a warm gold glow on your subject (like late afternoon sun).

They all have their place and use, but you will probably use white more than anything. White will open up the shadows with giving you a color cast... as long as you are balanced for existing light color.

Mike

 

[RyanLilly]

Piece of foam core for white, That shiny reflector that you stick in you windshield for a cheap and foldable silver. Or I you are not a cheapskate like me, you could buy a set of real reflectors.

Then black is used as a flag. Thats the right term isn't it...at least it was with video. It always seemed silly to me, coming from theatre lighting...People using "flags" to block light and "cookies" to stensel or shape light. Theatrical lighting has spoiled me... Just shutter that off, Drop in a gobo, Drop a color scroller, just fill that in with 72 other light sources...WHAT DO YOU MEAN THIS IS PHOTOGRAPHY AND WE ONLY HAVE TWO FLASHES AND A PIECE OF POSTER BOARD.....LOL:lmao: