10 Different Types of Light Modifiers in Photography or Videography
- Scoop
It is a reflective light modifier. It is a hard light that generates high contrasts. There are several types of scoops; the angular ones have greater coverage and produce more diffuse shadows, and the normal scoops have less coverage. The light is more directed and generates more defined shadows.
- Snoot
It is an adaptive light modifier. It is used to create a focused, spot beam of light that has the full intensity of the light source.
It is a tube that fits on the front of a studio light, a strobe light, or a handheld flash. Its shape can be circular, square, or rectangular in addition to different diameters and depths. All this will depend on the needs of the photographer.
- Grid
Also known as honeycomb (honeycomb) is a light modifier that has a circular, hexagonal, or square shape that is composed of hexagonal cells in the form of a honeycomb. This modifier is placed in front of the different light sources, for example, in the snoot. And, just like the snoot, it offers a concentrated and directed beam of light.
Depending on the width of the cells and their thickness, the grid or honeycomb offers different shapes of the light beam. The thicker the honeycomb (greater depth of the cells), the smaller the angle of the light beam, that is, the more concentrated it will be.
Grid spots produce a tight, focused light. I love using grid spots the same way I use beauty lights.
- Reflective or Specular Umbrellas
It is a reflective light modifier that, when firing the flash inside the umbrella, all the light is reflected directly to the subject. The reflected light beam is caused by the umbrella shape. The concentration of this beam will depend on the curvature of the umbrella.
A deep umbrella will produce a narrower, more focused beam of light that will be more intense in the center with sharp edges out. A shallower umbrella will give a wider beam of light that will have more diffuse edges.
- Translucent Umbrellas
Unlike reflective or specular umbrellas, these umbrellas act as a diffuser. The translucent white material scatters light rather than directing it, which will result in much softer lighting with softer shadows.
- Softbox
It's a modifier you use to increase the size of a light source, as well as make it more diffuse. It controls the shape and direction of light more than an umbrella, as well as preventing light leakage to the surroundings. This is one of the mild modifiers that maximum faithfully reproduces the impact of gentle sunlight hours coming in via a window. What I love most about this light modifier is that it's subtle. The light slowly fades into the shadows. They are generally rectangular, which gives them the advantage of being used to mimic the shape and light of a window. Remember, just like reflective or specular umbrellas, the inside of the softbox can also have textures and colors (like gold), which will change the light characteristic.
- Beauty Dish
It is an essential method to create soft light. This modifier works by using two reflectors. The first is a small reflector that is in front of the light source, which will allow all the light to be reflected the main reflector or ¨main dish¨, and this will be reflected directly to the subject.
Unlike other light modifiers, Shell provides a unique circular light with soft contrast, perfect for illuminating faces and defining bone construction such as cheekbones and jawline.
The beauty dish also creates a round catchlight that looks perfectly natural to the model's eyes. The downside of beauty dishes is that they go from light to dark very quickly. This often results in shadows under the model's chin and nose. You can compensate for shadows by adding a fill plate, like a white reflector, to bounce light off your subject's face.
The beauty dishes I had were pretty cheap, so I knew I didn't have to spend a lot of money on every device. I like it because it works with speedlights, Elinchrom monolights, and battery flashes.
- The scrim
Once you've laid down your umbrella training wheels, the next step is to use the scrim panels.
A scrim is a square or elongated frame over which a fabric diffusion material is stretched.
Scrims are a great way to create large areas of soft, diffused light, such as when shooting next to a large window or when there are clouds above the sun. It's also great for strobing light, steady light, and diffusing sunlight.
- Fresnel light
Fresnel is a focusable light modifier. They were first utilized in lighthouses, and then the generation became advanced in non-stop lighting fixtures for movies and television.
The freight modifier makes the portrait soft, clear, and very clear. A Fresnel light was placed slightly to the right of the camera to create shadows. I softened the light with an umbrella to make it sunny.
- Octabox
Fresnel is a focusable light modifier. They were first utilized in lighthouses, and then the generation became advanced in non-stop lighting fixtures for movies and television.
The frewlight modifier makes the portrait soft, clear, and very clear. A Fresnel light was placed slightly to the right of the camera to create shadows. I softened the light with an umbrella to make it sunny.
