In the past, I’ve demonstrated a clamshell setup with two photography strobes each with a softbox attached. But what if you only have one strobe with a softbox or what do you do if one of your strobes is acting bonkers? Well, you get a photography reflector and have your model or an assistant act as the lower light by bouncing the light up with the white reflector.
In these photos, I had my model hold the reflector in her lap and bounce the light back up. This still allows you to do a typical actor headshot setup however you will need to account for a few things. If you have your model hold the reflector then obviously you need to work around that factor. On the plus side, this does give the hands a job to do which in turn helps the muscles in the arm look better for the photo. Another thing you have to watch for is how the light is being reflected, you will likely have to adjust the angle of the reflector with every pose and as a result you will want to work out some sort of system with your model. Finally, keep in mind that while reflectors might not weigh much to you, depending how big they are being held they can start to feel heavy after a while of holding them so be sure to give your model or assistant a small break here or there.
The toddler photos just used one strobe with a soft box and really was more of a surprise session. Like I always say, if a toddler wants their picture taken then that’s the time do it because it will be the easiest time do it.
