Shining a light directly on a subject is not necessarily the best way to illuminate it. You can often get a more diffuse, flattering effect by bouncing light off a reflective surface. You can make reflectors out of a variety of materials, depending on what light effect you’re looking for:
- Poster board: White poster board is a good, cheap material you can find just about anywhere. Thicker poster board is easier to work with because it’s rigid (meaning it won’t flop all over the place and make noise while a helper holds it). With some spray paint, paint one side of a poster board gold and the other silver. Experiment using each side to gain just the right light quality.
- Aluminum foil: Crumple a large sheet of foil, and then spread it out again and tape it to a backing board. Crumpling the foil provides a more diffuse reflection than you can get from flat foil, but its reflection is still highly effective.
- Black plastic garbage bag: Yep, black plastic bags are pretty good reflectors even though they have a dark color. As with foil, you can tape or staple the bag to a backing board to make it easier to work with.
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