Bounce vs Shoot Thru, which is your preferance

[Rosy]

hi there
I had no humans to test my OCF on so Buddy had to do
1 and 2 are bounced light off a reflective umbrella
3 and 4 are thru a shoot thru umbrella

Which do you prefer

1

_DSC1894 copy by rosy1816, on Flickr

2

_DSC1893 copy by rosy1816, on Flickr

3

_DSC1912 copy by rosy1816, on Flickr

4

_DSC1911 copy by rosy1816, on Flickr

 

[Derrel]

ALL of them are quite acceptable lighting-wise,Rosy. I liked #2, but #3 was also good. #4 looked a bit underexposed.

 

[Rosy]

ALL of them are quite acceptable lighting-wise,Rosy. I liked #2, but #3 was also good. #4 looked a bit underexposed.

Thanks Derrel! Can you tell me what you would've done, what do you prefer to shoot with?

 

[Designer]

The bounced light was stronger, because it didn't have to go through anything, whereas the shoot-through light had to go through the fabric of the umbrella, hence the difference, and perhaps you should have adjusted the exposure to compensate.

 

[Rosy]

thanks -I always walk away with awesome tips

 

[pixmedic5 4]

bounced light is great when you have the right area to bounce in. i like shoot through umbrellas or softboxes for OCF

 

[Rosy]

bounced light is great when you have the right area to bounce in. i like shoot through umbrellas or softboxes for OCF

appreciate your feedback - I'm liking the shoot thru better as well

 

[pixmedic5 4]

bounced light is great when you have the right area to bounce in. i like shoot through umbrellas or softboxes for OCF

appreciate your feedback - I'm liking the shoot thru better as well

you can get some spill over light with shoot throughs, but i havent found it to be too much of a problem. i have also looked into the shoot through/softbox umbrella combo.

 

[tirediron]

For speedlight work, I LOVE Lastolite's Ezybox line. Instant set-up, store in a small package and GREAT light!

 

[rexbobcat]

I like shoot throughs because you can get closer to the model and thus get softer light. Te light also seems to be warmer with my shoot throughs, probably because my bounce umbrellas have silver fabric behind the white fabric (it can convert into a shoot through)

 

[KmH]

Both bounced and shoot through work. Each has a slightly different look.
Shoot through can be placed closer to the subject than bounce can.

 

[CaptainNapalm]

In my opinion, 1 and 2 are best. Nice photos!

 

[Lightfibre]

Omg, your dog is so cute! :heart:

I like pictures 2 and 4 best, it really depends on what you're trying to do (which method you use, I mean.)
Picture 2 has that studio feel, whereas picture 4 has a more natural on-location feel. Both are really nice though!

 

[o hey tyler]

Supah cute dog Rosy!

 

[Big Mike]

The difference I'm seeing, is that the 'shoot through' shots have a deeper ratio (the difference between the lit side and the shadow side of the face). Part of the reason may be the efficiency of bouncing vs shooting through...you lose light either way, it's just a matter how how much. Plus there is the inverse square law to be considered.

But what I think may be happening, is that when you're bouncing out of the umbrella, you are putting more light (wider spread) across the room and that light is bouncing off of something (maybe a wall) and giving you 'fill' light on the left side (our left).

When you're shooting through, less light is spreading out across the room, thus you end up with less fill, giving you a darker ratio.

Neither way is necessarily better or worse...this is art after all. But these are things that you should keep in mind because you'll want to know how to control that ratio in order to get the photos that you want to create.