Have you heard people talking about a reflector, wondered what it does, and whether you need one? Then good news, that’s exactly what I’m going to be answering in this post!

Knowing how to manipulate the light around you is crucial as you progress in your photography journey, because those subtle nuanced shifts in light can have a major impact on your images. A reflector is simply a tool that will help you change or mould the light to suit your vision, and help you get your images to look the way you want them to.

Not bad for a $35 piece of kit :)

So in this post, I’m going to cover what a reflector is, when you might want to use one, when the right time is to get one, and if you do, which one you should get.

Before we dive in, if you’re interested in learning more about light, be sure to download our Photography Lighting Starter Guide! You'll learn all about the building blocks of light - its colour, intensity and direction - along with some ideas for using each one to kickstart your creative juices.

Got that? Great! Then let’s dive into the “meat” of the post!

What is a reflector?

Technically, a reflector is anything that reflects light, so it can be something that is already in your environment, such as a white wall, or you can purchase a dedicated reflector so that you don’t have to rely on finding a natural one.

Reflectors, both natural and store bought, work in the same way: they reflect the light back onto your subject in order to lighten the shadows on any chosen area.

When might I use a reflector in photography?

Essentially, you use a reflector to lift the shadows on your subject - so if there are shadows on your subject in areas that you don’t want them, then you can use the reflector to “fill” the shadows in that area.

Although this can happen in many ways, a really common use for a reflector is when backlighting your subject.

When you have the light source behind your subject, often your subject can be in shadow. Although we can lift the shadows just by our exposure, this will often lead to a blown out background. By placing a reflector opposite the light source, we can reflect the light back onto our subject, upping the amount of light on them. This reduces the need to increase your exposure for your subject, and helps you retain the detail in the sky!

Another example would be when you are struggling to get light into your subjects eyes - you can “bounce” the light back into them (see example below!)

Finally, you can use a reflector with any type of light - so natural, artificial or studio!

Should I get a reflector, and if so, which one should I get?

If you are just getting started in photography, learning how to use a reflector can be difficult, so it’s something that I would wait until you are confident shooting in manual mode, and you have an understanding of how light behaves. We simply can’t “see” light in the beginning, so getting the foundations right first will make using a reflector so much easier!

If you are more advanced, then a reflector can be a useful tool, even if you don’t go onto use it all the time! We recommend that all our Mastering Natural Light students purchase one, because having a dedicated reflector can help you understand how light behaves and will react in certain situations that you find yourself in - in other words, how everything around you affects the light.

I personally don’t use a reflector all that often (my style tends to be more candid) but understanding HOW to use one means I know how to mimic its effect with what I have around me, or lessen the effects that I don’t want.

So, in short, when you are ready to get more nuanced with light (which you will want to do!) I’d recommend getting your hands on a 5 in 1 reflector. They aren’t too expensive (around $35) but SO useful in learning about light behavior (important) and how to modify it (super important!!)

Unless you are only photographing small items, I’d recommend getting the 43” one over the smaller ones, as this will allow you to light a person.

Now, as with everything in photography, you can get much, much more expensive ones (like $100 for one type of reflector!) but I would recommend getting the least expensive version first, as you may not go on to use it , and honestly, the cheap one does such a great job that you might not even want to.

This is exact one I have from Amazon if you’re interested!

FIVE sides? What does each side do?!

You have 3 reflectors (white, silver and gold) which all reflect the light.

The black side does the opposite, as it absorbs light. This is also useful, because there are times we DON’T want to reflect light, instead, we want to be able to absorb it in order to deepen shadows. Remember, shadows are incredibly important in our images, because they help give the image depth and dimension.

Images that feel like you could reach out and touch them will have some shadowing in them, because it helps create a three dimensional feel. (Want to dive into this deeper? Read this post 4 Ways Shadows Can Add Impact To Your Photos)

Finally, the middle bit is called a scrim, and that diffuses light. Not often used by me, but useful when I do need it! Even if you don’t use it, it keeps the reflector sturdy :)

Again, we can do all of these things - reflect, absorb or diffuse light - without a store bought reflector (and we go into exactly how to do this with and without tools in the Advanced Light & Composition course) but having one is really handy even just for learning purposes.

Over to you!

Tell me, do you have a reflector, and do you use it? All 5 sides? Let me know in the comments below!

Plus don’t forget to download your freebie! Just click below to enter your details and it’ll whoosh into your inbox in the next minute :)

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See you next week!

xo, Audrey

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