Wow, I can’t believe I didn’t post for a whole week. I’m lame … but in my defense it’s been a CA-RAZY week. But that’s how I feel about the month of January : A whole slew of crazy days. Nonstop. It’s like groundhog day but I’m stuck in a series of repetitive Mondays every.single.day.
Whoah, that was a whole lot of complaining ;) Well, maybe not complaining … maybe more like a whole lot of dramatics (I do tend to exaggerate a teeny weeny bit for effect haha ;) So without further ado, here is a post I had luckily written a few weeks back and saved for today :) Hooray for pre-planning.

Today we’re going to talk about something that seems to be taboo in the natural light world: A reflector. Ok, so maybe it isn’t taboo, but I sure have run across a LOT of natural light photographers who say they don’t even bother to use/own one.

But here’s what I say: Reflectors can save the day in tricky situations.

Case in point: Taking pictures for Dale Jessee in a super dark recording studio with overhead lighting only. Not ideal, BUT thanks to a teeny row of windows up high and behind him, and THANK HEAVENS for a reflector we were able to get some great shots for his album. I really really wish I had taken a pic without a reflector so I could show you the dramatic difference! But instead you’ll just have to imagine Dale with super huge raccoon shadows under his eyes and highlights on his forehead and nose. It wasn’t pretty.

But since I had a reflector (and an assistant to hold it this time) I was able to make less than ideal light work for me.

Now I know what you’re saying: But Marcie, I don’t plan on taking pictures indoors with yucky light. I know, I know. BUT how about this one. See this cutie? Guess which pic (both unedited) was taken with a reflector and which was without?

It’s clear to see that having a reflector on hand on this super cloudy day gave the extra light we needed without spending tons of time in photoshop to save the picture from the shadows. So my tip of the day? Play around with a reflector — if you’re lucky you’ll always have amazing light and you’ll never have to use it. If you’re for reals, then odds are you’ll have an opportunity to pull it out, dust it off … and be grateful that you have it :)