hello,

i was in a photo store yesterday, looking for one of those umbrellas to use with studio lights. there were three kinds: one that was white inside, and others that were gold coloured or silver.

unfortunately the clerk didn't know the difference between them, so i'm asking you people in this forum: does anyone know the basic difference?

thanks,

u.

-- ulisse p (uabnoel@uab.ericsson.se), February 04, 1998

Answers

The gold or silver ones are used like a mirror: point the flash away from the subject, into the brolly, and the light bounces back towards the subject.

The white ones can be used like that, but they are transluscent, so light goes through them, so they are normally used with the flash pointing towards the subject, with the brolly between the flash and the subject. The brolly diffuses the light.

The gold brolly warms up the light, and is often used for portraits.

-- Alan Gibson (gibson.al@mail.dec.com), February 05, 1998.