Using Diffusers and Reflectors Outdoors
That useful device the reflector has already been covered in this techniques series. Next to the reflector, I find the large diffusion screen almost as valuable. Working in direct sun, as we have seen, is often a problem. Anything that can be used to soften its effects is a a great help. Again the DIY approach makes dealing with this easy.
My own reflectors are about 1.8 x 1.10 metres in size and I make the frames from 18x28 mm wood. A thin translucent nylon fabric is used to provide the diffusion. If you fix the framework together using coach bolts and wing nuts then the whole thing can be taken apart if necessary for transportation. If you do want yours to come apart, you should only attach the diffusion fabric to sides A and B. It is very simple piece of kit to make. The only problem with using screens like this is the question of supporting them. If you have, say three screens, they can with care support each other provided you are not working in windy conditions. Helpers if available can also be use to get over this difficultly.
There is another way. This is the small scaffold tower as used for DIY repairs to houses. If transporting these things is not a problem, because you are working near home or in your own garden, they are invaluable. By using only a few sections it is possible to make screens, tunnels or supports for your diffusion screens or reflectors. In this way you can get a screen over your model’s head which is necessary of the sun is high.
A further refinement that is useful as a time saver is to put screw eyes into your reflector’s corners. If short pieces of string are left tied to them it is quick to fix them to any support. Apart from this, the scaffold tower, with a platform in place, is useful if you need to raise your model or yourself for a particular shot. I have even used mine in the studio when I need a higher shooting angle. It is much safer than balancing on a step ladder.
Examples
Here are a couple of configurations that you can use with a scaffold tower. The larger one shows how the sections can be arranged to make a bridge over your subject. By placing a diffuser overhead and if necessary another one to the side, the sun’s direct rays can be softened. Used in this way and perhaps with additional reflectors you have great control over the contrast of your subject without effecting the way your background looks. The device in the picture is constructed from four scaffold sections and the two longer pieces, normally used as cross bracing, to form the bridge.
The second and smaller configuration shows how you can build a stand to support difusers if the sun is lower. The diffuser is hung on the upright sections of the stand. This arrangement is also useful to support reflectors or if you need some sort of privacy screen. An advantage of these systems is they are quite easy to move about. This time the unit is again made using four sections but without the long braces. If you need more height just add another section to the vertical part.
In this picture the conditions were bright overhead sun. The scaffold sections were arrange so that a diffuser could be placed over the model’s head. A second diffuser was placed to the side between her and the sun. In front of her on the ground I put a reflector. She was then sitting under an open ended tunnel through which the background could be seen from the camera but not effected. All this has softened the light on her face and produced a more flattering result than direct sunlight.
The same scaffold arrangement is used as the previous shot.This time the sun was not as strong as before but the overhead diffuser played its part. I did not need to use any other difusers or a reflector. This was because the girl was posed kneeling on a patio made from pale grey stone which worked as a large reflector and the sun was still high in the sky as well as being slightly behind her.
