Cheap and effective reflector

How many times have we taken indoor available light shots of small objects and found that some part of object is correctly exposed, but some part has been covered by shadows? This normally happens if you are shooting in existing light coming from one side - possibly a window.


Using a reflector is the best way to make sure that the object is illuminated by direct light as well as shadows are eliminated by using the reflected light.


When you are pursuing photography on a budget, spending money on buying reflectors is not a good idea. This post is about making a small and effective home made reflector without burning a hole in your pocket.


Here is what you need:

1. Cardboard (1 feet x 1.5 feet)
2. Aluminium Foil (2 feet x 2 feet)


First, take the aluminium foil and crumple it - yes, you read it right, crumple it. The logic is crumpled foil reflects light better than non crumpled. Second, wrap the foil around the cardboard. That's pretty much it. You are all set!!


Align the reflector such that light comes in from front / side of reflector and therefore bounces back on the subject.


Here is an example of my iPod to close this post. Notice how the two buttons on the bottom of iPod are seen. It is because I kept a reflector to the right of iPod with natural light coming in from the left so that it bounces off light to these buttons. Else these buttons would have come in pretty dark due to lack of light.

That's it for today. Happy experimenting :-)