Focus On Lighting Photos Focus on the Fundamentals.pdf

But what if we don’t
have a wall or a ceiling
to use for bounce?
Maybe we’re outdoors and there
is no wall or ceiling. Maybe we’re
photographing the designer of a
newly successful microprocessor
in the newly built manufacturing
facility where the ceiling is 14 feet
high (and maybe painted black)
and the nearest wall is 30 feet
away. Don’t discount this possibility,
even if you are the mailroom
clerk. If you are a good amateur
photographer, your employer
may say, “Why bring in a $2,000
professional when we have Sally
right here?”
This happens. In those cases we
have to bring our own bounce
reflector. There are many ways
to do this, but the three common
ones are a big bounce card, an
umbrella, and a collapsible ring
reflector. By far, most photographers
choose the umbrella. Still,
we’ll talk about the bounce card
first, partly because it resembles
the walls and ceilings we’ve
already discussed, but mostly
because it is the cheapest.
The big bounce card
We want the biggest card we can
carry. What “biggest” means to
you will depend on whether you
drive a truck, ride the subway,
or do something in between.
We’ll talk about a 4-by-8-foot
card. Scale it up if you can carry
it; scale it down to whatever
size you can accommodate.
Also consider what you want to
photograph.
For the first material, overwhelmingly,
we recommend Fome-Cor.
That’s the original name, but
other manufacturers sell it under
different names. Generically,
it’s foam board: plastic foam
sandwiched between two sheets
of paper. Most makers sell two
different degrees of hardness.
The harder version is better for
purposes like building tradeshow
signage, but the less
expensive softer version is good
enough for a photographic
reflector.
For the second material,
we recommend silver Mylar
(a DuPont name). Cover one
side of the foam core board
with this mirror plastic. We
can buy it in two versions: with
and without an adhesive back.
The adhesive back version
costs more, but the ease of
application is well worth the
price. Whatever version you
find, practice attaching a small
piece smoothly to a board
before you assemble the
big one.
Tools: Now We Have Light, but How Do We Get It under Control? 35