The portrait plate is known to photographers under many names: a light converter or soft reflector, a “beauty dish” or just a “plate”. There are two key characteristics of plates:
- color;
- diameter.
Portrait plate - what is it and why?
The soft reflector is sometimes equipped with additional equipment: a diffuser made of fabric and honeycombs. In essence, this is a normal reflector, but "brought to mind." The diameter of the plate is larger than the standard reflector, there are several additional design features.
To make Profoto portrait plate better reflect light, in the center it is equipped with a divider (deflector). This part evenly distributes direct rays throughout the plate. A recess is provided for directing light. The most accurate and efficient light distribution will help the cell. You can put them on a portrait plate, if there is a border.
The most common diameters for portrait plates are:
- from 400 mm to 410 mm - these are the smallest;
- from 550 mm to 560 mm - these are classified as medium-sized;
- from 680 mm to 700 mm - large flash plates.
The diameter of 850 mm and more is almost impossible to find. Experts recommend stopping on medium-diameter plates. Small soft reflectors are useful in small photo studios, but medium ones are most in demand if the shooting space is spacious. Large soft reflectors are suitable for taking group portraits.
The portrait plate for the on-camera flash of the largest size is the guarantee that the light will be soft. This is ensured by the fact that the object will be lit by a plate at each of its points, and this will lead to softening the shadows. You can compare it with sunny and cloudy weather. If the sun's rays are forced to break through the clouds, partially reflecting from them, they illuminate all the objects on the street at different angles.
How to choose a beauty dish?
If the studio is relatively small, you need to remember that it will not work to put the plate at a sufficiently large distance from the subject. However, this will not be a problem if you need to photograph, for example, just a portrait, but full-length photographs are no longer needed. In this case, a small diameter portrait plate is suitable. Flashes will be leveled with glare at high quality shooting. With regard to specific figures, the height of the head, as a rule, is within 30 cm, and the distance from the top of the head to the chest is not more than 1000 mm. When choosing a 50 mm lens in a small studio (2-3 meters across a long wall, 1.5-2 meters wide), you can safely use a 410 mm portrait plate.
Small diameter soft reflector is an ideal choice for a home photo studio.
For an average studio, that is, rooms from 3 * 5 meters or more, it is recommended to stay on a portrait plate of medium diameter, that is 560 mm. An even larger size is needed when the studio is really spacious and it is assumed that the model will need to be shot at full height.
Plate for every situation
The most popular portrait plate for fashion photos. Here, as a model, there is a young girl with beautiful, clean, well-groomed skin. You can most effectively submit it by resorting to the arrangement of equipment "butterfly". This allows you to get a drawing light.
Another important point is the color of the portrait plate. It is necessary to pay attention to the recess. It is recommended to take a plate in which it is painted in silver, as this increases the ability to reflect light. An effect similar to this can be obtained if a very high-quality white paint is applied, which many manufacturers do.
Portrait plate: with what to combine?
To narrow the light beam reflected from the plate, you can install special cells for the soft reflector. By choosing a good honeycomb, you can completely replace the spotlight. In the modern photo industry, the effects of a portrait plate with honeycombs are very widespread.
Honeycombs are quite expensive, and the most profitable and reliable option is to buy them complete with a plate. Separately, this will result in an even larger amount, but no one can give a guarantee of compatibility. Popular among professional photographers kits, including:
- a portrait plate;
- reflector;
- honeycombs.
Another important addition to the portrait plate is the white diffuser. Having installed it, thereby the photographer gets at his disposal a full round softbox. Professionals rarely resort to the diffuser, however, manufacturers almost always include it in the kit for the plate.
Plate and Umbrella: A Great Duet
You can use a portrait plate complete with an umbrella. It is simple to assemble and disassemble it, it takes a few seconds, and transportation does not cause problems, so this kit is really common among modern photographers.
When choosing an umbrella for working with a portrait plate, you need to remember that the diameter should be at least one and a half meters. The combination allows you to get incredibly soft shadows - such using only one plate is impossible to achieve. In this case, the plate provides accurate geometry, since it reflects light in parallel, but the umbrella gives diffused light. You can choose an umbrella with a matte surface that reflects the rays of light. In combination with a portrait plate, this will achieve a very soft light. True, there will be slight loss of light.
But a silver umbrella when working with a portrait plate is completely useless. He gives the effect exactly the same as the plate, without strengthening or weakening it. But you can take an umbrella to the light. The size of the light source from the umbrella will not change, but this can be adjusted using the portrait plate. True, she will not be able to soften the light, and just an umbrella to cope with this. It eliminates the appearance of shadows in the center of the frame and smooths out the shadow that the plate can create.
Do-it-yourself soft-reflector: is it possible?
Making a soft reflector for an external flash is not a very difficult task. You should have at your disposal:
- two bowls made of plastic (20 cm and 12 cm in diameter);
- soldering iron;
- a very strong thread;
- instant glue;
- foil.
You can buy almost everything in any hardware store, it costs literally a penny. What to do about it?
How to make a “beauty dish” yourself?
A portrait plate is made with one's own hands as follows. First you need to take a larger bowl and glue it with foil very carefully from the inside using instant glue. The edges must be treated with adhesive tape so that the foil does not bulge. A small bowl should be glued on the outside, also with foil and also very neat. Next, make a hole in the bottom of the bowl more - so that the flash head could enter there. In this case, four plastic petals should be obtained. They need to be saved. As a rule, plastic bowls are made of rather thick material, but brittle, so the petals can not be bent just like that, first you need to warm up the bend. This is where the soldering iron comes to the rescue.
If it was possible to comply with all sizes, the nozzle will be worn tightly. In this case, you do not need to make any additional fasteners, and you can proceed to the next task - installing a bowl of a smaller diameter inside its larger counterpart. There is no secret here. First, with a soldering iron, three holes are made in the edges of both bowls, then a very strong thread is taken and threaded through the holes obtained. The thread must be pulled evenly, then adjust the position of the inner bowl.
The system is completely ready, you can start testing.
If everything was done correctly, you can notice that the shadows when using the nozzle became less dense, their sharpness decreased, but the glare lost its brightness. The image obtained when using a homemade plate is more contrast than without it. The edges of the shadows are softer, they are scattered, and the density remains in the center of the shadow, providing expressiveness, reality, and picture depth.