Silver bounce cards outside?

[jgastelb]

Hi,
I have been playing around with lighting scenes outdoors during the day. I have been shooting in the shade and trying to use the white side of a photoflex card to fill in more light. What I'm trying to understand is how to use the silver side without blinding people. Is the silver side mainly used to light the background/inanimate objects (that do not squint)? Should I have the silver side farther away so as to dim the light source? I'm just curious as to how to best light scenes outside with just the bounce/reflector cards. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Jgastelb

 

[j]

tell them to stop whining.

That works some times. Another thing that I do is raise the bounce/fill card (shiny boards usually) up about 3-4 feet above eye level. That helps a lot. Low enough to fill in the eyes, but not in their direct line of sight. It also looks more natural as it preserves the natural shadow under the chin and nose.

 

[tumbleweed]

Using the shiny silver side can be very harsh. In my experience the white side is more useful unless it's a cloudy day. Also, gold looks very nice on dark skin tones. Another option is if it's a host stand up or an interview, put them in direct sun - BUT, use some flags or a silk to diffuse the light. The advantage of doing so is that you may be able to use an interesting sun drenched background without it getting completely blown out. If you're shooting a wider scene, then you may need a crew to fly a silk if you need them in the sun. Also consider large white styrofoam boards. They tend to give you more bounce than a flexfil - but they aren't like using a shiny reflective mirror to the eyes! There are so many things to consider. Hopefully this has given you atleast one useful idea. I don't claim to be an expert in lighting, but I have shot many interviews, standups and scenes outdoors. Good luck.

 

[jgastelb]

The silver is pretty harsh. I did a shot today with the camera pointing at me as well as the silver side and I had to make sure I didn't look at that one point of light cause it was pretty strong.

I guess is one thing to have a static scene where two people are sitting and having a dialogue for a while. I can do this pretty easily if there's no wind but if I wanted to do a walking scene say in a park then I guess it comes down to having at least one walking crew member to bounce some fill with actors' back to the sun. Something of this nature. Not to mention that the fill side seems inefficient unless is close enough to the actors. I want to get me some silk like material to place over some pvc pipes and be able to shoot with the light being diffused and so forth. Sorry! Thinking aloud.


Thanks for the tips.

 

[jansik]

Hard Bounce

Hard Bounce

Shooting within a shade...
you can introduce hard shafts of light with the Hard Side (silver) of the reflector.
Your actors will just move through it and this will add on the esthetics in your shot. Generally try to avoid lighting people with this technique as the quality of this light is more suitable for creating highligths in the scene. This technique is good for any Noir (Low Key) approach and good treatment for a Master. Once you go for CU bounce off the white card.... You can throw it Hard from Silver into a White Card and Fill in softly from the White Card on CU or MED CU.

 

[jgastelb]

Shooting within a shade...
you can introduce hard shafts of light with the Hard Side (silver) of the reflector.
Your actors will just move through it and this will add on the esthetics in your shot. Generally try to avoid lighting people with this technique as the quality of this light is more suitable for creating highligths in the scene. This technique is good for any Noir (Low Key) approach and good treatment for a Master. Once you go for CU bounce off the white card.... You can throw it Hard from Silver into a White Card and Fill in softly from the White Card on CU or MED CU.

Thanks!