Having looked at the use of one light, and seen the shadow caused by “Rembrandt” lighting, we now take steps to reduce or remove the shadow. This image is an example of the effect of introducing a reflector. A reflector is a shiny object that bounces light back towards the subject. The colour of the reflector will change the type of light which is returned. In this case we used a silver reflector held just to the left of the shot, while the principle light source was to the right. The light was similar to the set-up in lesson 4, but here the reflector is bouncing some of the light back into the face of the model. As a result, the shadows, while still present, are much less pronounced than in lesson 4.

When using a reflector, care must be taken to ensure that the reflected light does rebound onto the subject, and does not randomly spill onto the rest of the image.

Again, when looking at Jacci’s eyes, we see the evidence of the catchlights which help to decipher the lighting set-up. Her left eye shows the main light at the outer edge, with a trace of the reflector seen on the inside edge. The right eye shows the reflector on the outside edge, but not the main light as it is “hidden” by her nose.