Reflector Disc Vs Reflecor Panel (for Portraits)

[Samriel]

I’m going to be doing more portraits from now on, mostly outdoors with natural light, and I wanted to get myself a reflector to play with. I was thinking of getting a white/silver foldable disc, but when I went to the shop I was faced with the following dilemma:
A foldable white/silver 32” (~82cm) disc costs about USD70-80 here – I can afford it, but in the same shop they have reflector panels, silver/white, rectangular shape, of a similar area as the 32” disc, and it costs about USD12. It’s not as portable as the folding disc, but portability is not a problem for me. Are there any other advantages to the disc over the panel to justify the price difference? Or what are the differences in general?

 

[Zansho]

You could simply use a piece of Foamcore. Cheap, effective and you can do lots of things with it! The biggest difference between the two reflectors that you have in mind are that they'll cover different areas differently, and produce different catchlights - some people prefer the square ones because they mimic window catchlights or softbox catchlights in the eyes.


Let me rummage about for a photo I did with foamcore as my reflection media..


Ah, here's one. I used the foamcore to bounce the flash a bit to fill out her left side (my right) a bit, so the shadows wouldn't so prominent.

 

[Mike_E]

Nice Zansho!

Samriel, you can also buy white satin (the same material that wedding dresses are made of) and stretch it over a frame of your own choosing/construction. So for not much money you can have any size you want.

Silver is rather limited imho. Unless it's very overcast the light reflecting off of a silver reflector is too harsh. And gold ones are only for vampires.

 

[tirediron]

I like using the very light-yellow posterboard that you can get at art-supply stores. It gives a light very much like the silver/gold striped reflectors. A very soft, but still warm tone. (It's cheap too!)

 

[Big Mike]

Yes, you can use just about anything as a reflector. I've even used people in white shirts. If portability is not an issue, then get something cheap.

 

[notelliot]

Yes, you can use just about anything as a reflector. I've even used people in white shirts. If portability is not an issue, then get something cheap.

I wish I had a video of this one shoot..

"we need a white reflector"
me- "k" *turns around, tears out large chunk of freshly laid drywall*
"..k, we're set"

my model and the guy I was shooting with were bug-eyed lol.

 

[Big Mike]

Nice

 

[Samriel]

Thanks for all the info guys. I guess I'll either make something by myself, or go for the cheap panels if I'm lazy. Looking forward to playing with the reflectors.

 

[ChickenFriedRyce]

I use really cheap emergency blankets from Wal-Mart and my results come out quite good. But I know you're not going to resort to that.

On eBay, there is a seller, "2dreammaker" or something, and they sell many reflector items and such for quite cheap. Good luck.