It’s a way for me to introduce some extra pop to the image. I also use this simple Photoshop trick when I’m using a long lens, or when I shoot families. I don’t only use this trick for when I forget a reflector. This is the final edit of this image, along with the reflector cheat edit. This is what the image looks like with and without the reflector edit. So I reduce this layer’s opacity until I get what I need from it. This is what it looks like after, and it looks like it has a ton of contrast and light. For the bottom left square, I pull it down a touch also to add some contrast, and for the top right square, I pull it up just a bit so I can bring in some light. I pull the bottom black slider in a little, and so for the white slider. From Layers > New Adjustment Layer > Curves, I then get the curves panel for my image. You can do this in ACR also, but I choose to do this in Photoshop because I like being able to reduce my opacity because it tends to be too strong for some images. From there, I head over to the layers panel, change the layer to soft light, and then I reduce the opacity until it looks like it’s just a hint of light on the image.įrom there, I add another layer, and this time, I add curves. Using a white gradient, through Layers > New Fill Layer > Gradient Fill, I pick radial and add a white circular gradient in the middle of the image. When I bring in this image into Photoshop and run my usual edits, I will do my reflector cheat. I pulled the image into Photoshop to tweak it a bit after my usual edits. But even after I did that in ACR, I still wasn’t finding my light to be desirable. And after ACR, it made my edits quick and no need to add extra tweaking or tricks to get that nice full glow, because I already did that in camera!Īs for my non-reflector image (which is a common image for me), I had to increase the exposure, and still increase the shadows. With the use of the reflector, I was able to maintain my exposure exactly where I measured it in my camera, and all I had to do was just simply tweak the white balance, and a little pop by increasing the blacks, adding some contrast, and decreasing the shadow. Here is the final RAW processed image of the reflector photo, with my RAW processing.Īnd here are the settings before and after for this image in RAW. This is the type of lighting I try to achieve in all my shoots, and also the type of lighting I try to mimic in Photoshop. I really like using the silver side because it gives a nice glow to skin. Instead, by just putting a reflector with the silver side up, I was able to bounce light unto her face. Sure, I could have adjusted my settings and made my shutter speed slower, or bumped up my ISO. I didn’t have to work with the exposure as much. This makes for another good reason to use one more often. These images have the same settings both taken at 1/400, f/1.8, and ISO 640.įor the image that used a reflector, my raw processing was much easier. Here are two images wherein one had a reflector, one didn’t, both taken at the same spot. When it comes to editing images, there’s still a bit of difference when editing images with and without reflectors. I had to come up with a trick with how to edit my images and still have that nice glow that a reflector does. I love using it, but sometimes, I just forget it, or I use too long of a lens (like my 135mm lens) that I can’t hold my reflector and shoot at the same time. I am, however, one of those photographers that notoriously forget my reflector. Often times, depending on the location and the subject, a reflector would really be very beneficial.įor example, if it’s completely overcast, it’s a great way to introduce light to your subject. For many photographers, a reflector is a great tool to use for bouncing and manipulating light.
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