Walkaround Umbrella

[alvinyap]

<p>Hello!<br>

I was shooting at the London MCM Expo on saturday, us kids cosplaying :) I observed one of my fellow photogs resting a reflective umbrella on his shoulder to bounce the light forward. I couldn't see if it was a strobe or flash. I was wondering if anyone knows what the quality of light is like. A fair bit of the light is obscured by his shoulder, I'd imagine.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

<p>Regards,<br>

Alvin</p>

<p> </p>

[picturesque]

<p>Only one way to find out--try it. I would guess that it would be about the same as if he used an umbrella half the size of the one he had.</p>

<p>There used to be a Larson product called the Sof Shoulder which was based on the same idea, only the bracket held the umbrella up so it wasn't obscured.</p>

[alvinyap]

<p>Thanks Nadine! Only problem is I don't have an umbrella or flash adaptor for the umbrella :( Would like to know how the quality of light is before I put money in. May get a reflective umbrella next payday then ;-)</p>

<p>Cheers!<br>

<br /> Alvin</p>

[friskybongo]

<p>This may be what you're looking for:<br>

<a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/REFLECTASOL-THE-SOFT-SHOULDER-FLASH-REFLECTOR-UMBRELLA_W0QQitemZ370235044561QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item5633ba72d1">http://cgi.ebay.com/REFLECTASOL-THE-SOFT-SHOULDER-FLASH-REFLECTOR-UMBRELLA_W0QQitemZ370235044561QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item5633ba72d1</a></p>

[friskybongo]

<p>This may be what you're looking for:<br>

<a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/REFLECTASOL-THE-SOFT-SHOULDER-FLASH-REFLECTOR-UMBRELLA_W0QQitemZ370235044561QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item5633ba72d1">http://cgi.ebay.com/REFLECTASOL-THE-SOFT-SHOULDER-FLASH-REFLECTOR-UMBRELLA_W0QQitemZ370235044561QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item5633ba72d1</a></p>

[alvinyap]

<p>Hi Louis, thanks for the link. I'm more curious about the quality of the light though, just not sure where to find examples.</p>

<p>Cheers!</p>

<p>Alvin</p>

[picturesque]

<p>Alvin--I would think it would be easy to make a facsimile of the half umbrella. Just a white piece of paper would work A regular umbrella covered with a white bed sheet...just for the test.</p>

<p>I would think the quality of the light would be better than direct flash from a shoemount, but similar to if you used a large A Better Bounce Card, which itself is not as good as directional light from a large umbrella. The shoulder umbrella isn't far enough on one side or the other to make much of a difference in directionality. Also height.</p>

[michael_ty1]

Alvin, I've used a handheld umbrella to get soft directional lighting both indoors and outdoors. I don't use a shoulder-mounted umbrella, though. Here are some of my results:

 

Outdoors:

http://betterfamilyphotos.blogspot.com/2009/07/h2u-best-light-modifier.html

and

http://betterfamilyphotos.blogspot.com/2009/10/upping-ante-by-adding-soft-light-to.html

 

Indoors:

http://betterfamilyphotos.blogspot.com/2009/07/h2u-indoors.html

 

Best regards,

Michael

[alvinyap]

<p>Hey Michael,<br>

Thanks for the links :) BTW, is that expo mrt station?</p>

<p>Alvin</p>

[michael_ty1]

<p>That's a fair guess, but it's actually the similarly-styled Fashion Show Mall in Las Vegas :)</p>