Umbrella Reflector With Hotshoe Flash

[rpcrowe]

I have not used an umbrella reflector with a hotshoe flash. I have used umbrellas indoors with studio type strobes. My strobes have a socket so that the rod of the umbrella goes directly through the reflector of the strobe. Thus, the flash is aimed straight into the center of the umbrella.

I want to use a flash and umbrella outdoors which requires me to use a battery operated flash. I don't want to go to the expense of buying a studio type strobe capable of using a battery. This is especially true since I have several radio controlled hotshoe type strobes.

My question is since the hotshoe flash mounts higher than the center of the umbrella (red arrow) the flash will hit the umbrella off center (blue arrow)...



Would this offset cause any problems with uneven lighting? Or am I worrying about nothing of any importance?

I guess that I could use a softbox. I have one which I use with a hotshoe flash quite often... I shot this image with the hotshoe flash mounted on a camera bracket and modified with a rather small softbox...

[Donald]

I wouldn't have thought so. Now, I'm sure someone will come here with all the science to show either that it will not or that it will .... or both !

However, in the real world, you are throwing light onto that reflector and it is going to push it back out from all around its surface area. Even if there were miniscule differences, they're going to be so small as to be unimportant.

That's my very unscientific reasoning.

[rpcrowe]

That is my reasoning. Even light is what I want because I want the unit quite close to the subject...

I "could" try it with one of my umbrellas but, they are white and not silver (which would pump out more light)...

Of course using the white diffuser on the umbrella would even out the light. However, it would also reduce the brightness...

[Jim B.]

What about something like this?

[Manfred M]

Richard - I'm not sure why you are looking at this device rather than a traditional umbrella which you already own. I really don't see any advantage to it. My umbrellas seem to work just fine, even though the light does not hit the central spot.

The main downside I've found with speedlights outdoors is lack of power. The main downsides I've found with umbrellas is light scatter, but frankly I find that to be less of a problem with the type of shot you show here than an indoors where there are many surfaces for the stray light to bounce off.

That being said, I don't like using umbrellas out doors unless there is almost no wind around as they tend to be rather fragile and the mounts rather insecure. Normal softbox mounts (speed rings) tend to be a lot more robust, which is why my Godox Witstro 360 has become my preferred solution for outdoor photography. When shooting at full power, I have 5 - 6 times the power output of a speedlight.

[Dave Humphries]

Most heads tilt down a bit from horizontal, say 6-9 degrees, so obviously do that.

Using the flip out wide angle 'lens' will disperse it wider too, albeit absorbing some in the process, thus not aiding power achieved.

I recently bought, but haven't yet used, a triple cold shoe flash head holder, this has a central hole for the stem and the heads are spaced at 120 degrees to each other, so the (slightly) darker areas will cancel out and I'll have 3 x the power available. As I have 4 heads and only likely to use one 'light' (in a modifier) outdoors at a time, I figured this was a much cheaper alternative for the time being. My heads are all self contained RF triggering, so there's no problem firing them.

It remains to be seen whether the whole assembly (in an umbrella) might be a little heavy/unwieldy in use - and it may yet prove to be a quick way to reduce the number of working heads I have to just 1

[Cantab]

It remains to be seen whether the whole assembly (in an umbrella) might be a little heavy/unwieldy in use - and it may yet prove to be a quick way to reduce the number of working heads I have to just 1

I'm looking forward to reading how many working flashguns you have after trying out the triple header.

If I read your description correctly, you'll have 360 degrees of flash (120x3)?? My guess is that I've misunderstood something.

[rpcrowe]

I have just two RC flash with one RC trigger... I purchased this three-way cold shoe.



I think that using a pair of flashes, one on each side will give me somewhat even lighting. At less than $9.00 USD with shipping this is a pretty inexpensive way to solve my problem,

I will use my shoot through umbrella. I think that this is the least expensive way to solve my problem,,,

[Dave Humphries]

Folks can, of course, always take pictures of the flash lit umbrellas to see where the light is going, how uneven it might be, and experiment with different shaft positions and using (or not) the diffuser.

You may have to dial back the exposure and it's far easier to see with a shoot through than a reflective

After all, digital 'film' is cheap and you know what they say; "seeing is believing"

[Dave Humphries]

If I read your description correctly, you'll have 360 degrees of flash (120x3)?? My guess is that I've misunderstood something.

I don't think so, I tried to find a google image of one like mine, but mostly all I found were ones like Richard's example, where they are at 90 degrees.

Perhaps I'll actually take a picture of mine to remove any mis-understanding.

[rpcrowe]

Here is another type.



Since I have only two RC flashes, the bracket that I selected might be better for me (with the two flashes offset with the bases pointing towards each other), while I can see that the three flash unit would be best if you have three flashes to use...

[Dave Humphries]

Here is another type.



Since I have only two RC flashes, the bracket that I selected might be better for me (with the two flashes offset with the bases pointing towards each other), while I can see that the three flash unit would be best if you have three flashes to use...

Yes, that's the angular arrangement I have, chosen because I did have 3 available and I wanted a more even distribution, but as you say, for two, what you chose works best - and even if you do get a third at some point in the future, the difference is unlikely to be noticeable in shots.