Lighting 101: Light Modifiers | Bergen County Photographer
Light modifiers are used to change the light, more specifically the light modifier alters the shape and output of light.
There are a lot of different light modifiers. There are a lot of different light modifiers and they all help shape the way the light spreads in different ways and this will also change the appearance of the subject.
If you are looking to create soft light (if you don’t know what soft light is check this post), an umbrella is usually the most simple and versatile light modifier you can use. Umbrellas are particularly great if you are looking to light a large area with flat even lighting. The drawback of the umbrella is that it spreads lots of light around. In all directions.
Photographic Umbrella
A softbox is also used to create soft light. A softbox is a translucent cloth attached to a light source. This cloth is white or silver on the interior and black on the exterior and is wrapped around a wire - framed box with the front covered by a diffusion panel. The softbox comes in a variety of shapes and sizes and the light flooding out of the box is evenly distributed from the top to the bottom of the box. Think of the softboxx as soft daylight coming through a window.
Softbox
The beauty dish is a distinct, circular, soft contrast light, which is perfect for lighting faces and bone structure such as cheekbones and chin light. The downside of the beauty dish is the the light fall off is very rapid creating shadows under your subjects chin and nose.
Beauty Dish
Above are three examples of light modifiers. To choose which one you are going to use, think about what is the look you are going for on your image. Are you looking looking for flat even light? An umbrella may be best. Or are you looking for a more contrasty, harder light?