Lighting it Up with a Reflector Disc

 

This handy production device can, in a flash, rescue a low or poor-lighting situation. 

Reflector discs, like the one held by Sylvester Brown, folds down to the size of frisbee and fits in a carry bag. It's a vital tool to among a video producer's cameras, microphones and lights. 

This short video from YouTube shows a disc reflector in action.

Last week, after explaining the how and why of reflector discs, my television production students and I went outside for a demonstration. 

Sometimes you cannot avoid taking photographs or shooting video into the sunlight. This can shut down the camera's iris and make a person's face look darker than is desirable. 

Here is Sharlene Luke's "before" photo. 

Now we see her after the reflector disc is deployed. Note the improvement. 

(For Sharlene's blog post for this assignment, click here.)

Here we see the choreography of where the video camera and disc are positioned. 

Sylvester holds the large disc so that it captures the direct sunlight and bounces it into Sharlene's face. 

The reflected light can be very intense if not blinding. So you do not position it where the reporter in this case is looking directly into it. Instead, have it off to the side. 

This location also is good for casting light on a side of the face, which is a desirable look. 

Here are some more before and after bounced light examples. This is Essence Adams before. 

Here is Essence with the reflected light illuminating her nicely. 

Chasity Gilmore (before)

Chasity Gilmore (after) 

Here is Chasity from the reflector perspective. 

Here is another angle showing where the key players in this production are positioned. 

Who is the little guy, you may be wondering? 

This is Sylvester's nephew Quintin. He had his moment in front of the camera, finding the bright lights a bit much at first until he got used to them. 

Here a few more photos from our reflector disc project. I'm glad we had a nice sunny day to this, especially since as I write this before our next class it is cloudy and gloomy outside. 

This disc reflectors are an important part of a professional's production gear. And they aren't too expensive either. Amazon sells some for as little as $14.