Umbrella

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An umbrella is a light modifier for studio strobes or hand-held flashguns. They are mounted in front of the flash, so that the light of the flash falls directly on the umbrella. The distance from the flash to the umbrella should be carefully set so that the light from the flash fills the umbrella area, but does not overspill.

In construction, it resembles a normal umbrella. There are two kinds:

Shoot-through umbrellas are made of translucent, typically white, material. The umbrella is set with the outside facing the subject, so that the flash shoots though it. This produces a result which resembles (although is generally seen as inferior to) a soft-box. A shoot-through umbrella is generally placed as close to the subject as possible, as this gives the softest light.

Reflective umbrellas are opaque and have a silver inside to the umbrella, often bobbled to improve diffusion. They are set with the reflective inside of the umbrella toward the subject, so that the flash gun is facing away from the subject, into the umbrella. The flash gun itself creates a shadow in the reflection, so care must be taken not to place the umbrella too close to the subject, which would cause the shadow to be visible.

Generally, a reflective umbrella produces a sparkly, bright effect, whereas shoot-through produces a softer, more gentle effect.

In use, soft-boxes are preferred to shoot-through umbrellas where available, but are much less portable and are more expensive. Reflective umbrellas are often used in combination with soft-boxes.

Typically, a shoot-through umbrella or soft-box is used as the key light, while a reflective umbrella is used for the fill light or kicker.