The best idea is to experiment and see what results you prefer. This producesa nice fall-off, allowingyou to play with the shadows more. Heres another method of modifying the beauty dish clamshell setups: Set your beauty dish above the subject, then add a grid, as shown below. The grid will focus the beam into more of a spotlight pattern, which can be used to create some interesting effects. We won't share it with anyone, 8 Tips for Breathtaking Forest Photography, 7 Tips for Beautiful (and Meaningful) Engagement Photography, Weekly dPS Photography ChallengeYour Choice, 10 Tips for Stunning Street Market Photography (+ Examples), Upcoming: Nikon Full-Frame Camera and Lenses to Be Released in 2022, Mylio Photos Review: Manage All Your Images in One (Safe!) What now? A sock is a piece of diffusion material that looks like a shower cap (see the image in the Why are beauty dishes useful section above), and it goes directly over the beauty dish. Remember that the light tends to spread farther when it leaves the tool, which is beneficial for larger subjects. The effects are quite different. Privacy Policy Terms of Use. Check the price of the Westcott Switch Beauty Dish at B&H. Its more consistent. Also, to adjust the amount of fill light, youll need to push the reflector closer or pull it away. With a 20.4-inch diameter and a depth of 7.7 inches, the interior of the Broncolor Beauty Dish Reflector is coated with a deep white color thats designed to reflect light evenly on your subjects while producing deep shadows with soft edges. Have a look at these two photos below for comparison. This allows me to vary the amount of shadows on the face, depending on where theyre looking. 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This 16.5-inch beauty dish comes in silver or white interior versions and produces a soft look with just a touch of crispiness for fashion and portrait studio sessions. This is a great beauty dish for getting hair and makeup to look right so dont be afraid to use it to prep your model before a shoot. This will produce fewer shadows. When you set this up, make sure you can see catchlights in the top of your subjects eyes (try taking a test shot or two and zooming in on your LCD). It doesnt reveal the details of the inner workings of the lighting tool,asyou can notice in the following photo. Without a grid, the light bounces into the back of the dish, reflects around the sides and then out the front. The beauty dish will give you very nice light on your subjects face, so get that set up first. 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In general, it makes sense to use an aperture of around f/8 to f/11 and an ISO of 100, then adjust the lighting power to achieve the right exposure. You geta harder light with the grid on I try to soften it by havingthe light source a little closer. So if youre hoping to shoot still life photos, product photos, or even studio pet photos in addition to standard portrait shots, a softbox is the better buy. But you can take advantage of this vignette in different pictures. This has left a strong shadow across her neck while illuminating the rest of the scene. Beauty dish vs softbox: which should you use? Digital Photo Pro may earn a small commission if you buy something using one of the retail links in our articles. Beauty dishes are generally reserved for portraits, for reasons I explain in the next section. In the photo below, the beauty dish is roughly three feet above the models head, without a grid. I chose to shoot the photo like this because it suited the background. If you want to please your clients by capturing striking portraits with flattering and/or dramatic lighting, you should strongly consider trying (and buying) a beauty dish from our list. That can be wireless or wired. Youre likely to choose a favourite, but they are both beneficial. I prefer placing the dish nice and close to the subject. Digital Photo Pro is the leading source of new ideas, new techniques and new ways of seeing for professional photographers, showcasing innovative concepts in still and motion image capture, in-depth equipment reviews, business and legal insights and the latest advances in imaging technology. First of all, the beauty dish is a light source that has a parabolic disk attached to it. While it costs more than some similar products, the Profoto White Softlight Beauty Dish Reflector is extremely well made and will likely become your go-to light shaping tool for decades to come. We guarantee youll regret it in the long run, which is why weve created this product guide to our five favorite beauty dishes for studio photography. Although more light escapes out of the back, the majority is channelled forwards into a single point. You can make the light harder when you use a grid, which youll see below, helping to add to theversatilityof the modifier. By Dan Havlik Beauty dishes are versatile, too; you can change the quality of the light by selecting a dish with a silver or white inner surface (the white surface will reduce specular highlights on the subjects face). The Switch in the Westcott Switch Beauty Dishs name is for how quickly you can set it up whether youre using studio strobes or portable speedlights (even if theyre made by different brands). You may also want to use another lighting source to have less dramatic effects. Then I raise the stand and point down on the subject for more shadows on the hair, eyes, lips and neck. Plus, the light falloff is quite rapid, which allows you to emphasize facial features and deemphasize surroundings. This way, you dont notice any of the inner workings of the dish in the photo. ExpertPhotography is part of several affiliate sales networks. Check the price of the Profoto White Softlight Beauty Dish Reflector at B&H. (It literally takes up no more room than a folded umbrella and comes with a carrying bag.) So if you havent already, go out and buy (or make!) The first photo is without a grid and second is with one. Need more info? Without a grid, the illumination isnt directional. A diffusion sock is included if you want to further soften the light. And then do a photoshoot! The harder light makes for a more interesting effect, in my opinion. Designed for Profotos B1 and B2 OCF heads, the Profoto OCF Beauty Dish ($199) is a 24-inch beauty dish that comes in white or silver interior colors. They dont tend to appreciate that too much. 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Updated April 20, 2022 Here are 3 of the 7 steps we uncover in this 21 minute video: When it comes to portrait lighting, the options for gear and setup can be overwhelming. Here is one of my favourite techniques when it comes to beauty dish lighting. Designed for portrait or beauty photography, the Broncolor Beauty Dish Reflector is a good alternative to softboxes, providing light thats more directional but still soft and flattering. I guarantee youll get some beautiful shots. Add in the counter reflector on the interior, and youll be able to sculpt a persons face with light while defining specific features such as the chin, nose or forehead. Were guessing pretty rarely, which is strange since beauty dishes are downright indispensable lighting accessories for portrait and fashion photography. Rememberthis is still harder lighting than a softbox. There are lots of nice shadows on the face which provide detail and make the image look more three dimensional. The dish should be close enough to your subject to produce soft light, generally within two to four feet. Sign up for the latest photo news and tips for taking your images to the next level. Designed by pro photographer Joel Grimes, the Westcott Switch Beauty Dish ($290) works with dozens of inserts (sold separately) that are compatible with a range of strobes and speedlights, letting you switch rapidly between them for different looks and increased mobility. Thanks for supporting Digital Photo Pro. Serious pros dont skimp on their cameras or lenses so why buy a cheap beauty dish from a manufacturer with no track record of making modifiers just to a save a few bucks? You will need to shoot with your flash off-camera if you want to use a full-sized one. While both these lighting modifiers work great, they do come with several significant differences, so its worth carefully considering your options. But you dont have to specialise in those areas to use them! The portrait below demonstrates this. ExpertPhotography is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. When the light is facing directly into the face of the model, its going to appear harder. The Camera Diopter: What Is It, and How Can You Use It? Meanwhile, an interior deflector plate bounces the light backward and distributes it throughout the dish to prevent hotspots while producing natural catchlights in your subjects eyes. It provides just the right amount of shadow on the collarbones, cheekbones, nose and eyes. Posing Tip for Portraits Which Way Should Your Subject Lean? This will help minimize shadows under the chin and will add a catchlight at the bottom of the eyes. If Im using a beauty dish without a grid, I tend to use it with fill light (such as daylight). There are two main ways of using a beauty dish: with or without a grid. When you include a grid, a similar thinghappens. How do you plan to use a beauty dish in your next photoshoot? They can be picked up with a lighting stand and gridfor less than $70. Depending on the power of your lights, you can use a beauty dish as a main light or fill light. 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A beauty dish is a light source which is often used for portrait and fashion photography. Also, beauty dishes produce stunning catchlights in the eyes (beautiful, circular highlights that draw the viewer into the portrait), and they produce nice shadows under the jaw line. And for a more sophisticated effect, try adding a background light or a rim light to make your subject stand out. You can expect this sort of shadows. So youve decided to use a beauty dish and maybe even purchased one. When in use, this Profoto dish creates a classic beauty light effect, with crisp but creamy illumination for eye-catching portraits. A beauty dish is a circular lighting modifier with an opaque center, like this: Like most lighting modifiers, you can combine a beauty dish with a studio strobe or speedlight. You can buy beauty dishes for most lights, and theyre usually less expensive than other modifiers but if you dont want to spend extra money, consider creating a DIY beauty dish (many plans exist online, and Ive actually made them out of aluminum turkey pans!). Because beauty dish lighting is relatively hard, you can sculpt the subjects face and show texture in their skin, but without straying into bare-flash territory. When the light is farther away, its angle decreases, and we have more shadows. This reflector sends the light back around the edges of the grid. I recommend a sandbag to anyone who wants to use a beauty dish on a lighting stand. Ask the subject if they can see directly through the grid to the light source.). I used a grid and positioned the dish 45 degrees off the centre of the face. Take a look at her right arm, for example. [ExpertPhotography is supported by readers. Hopefully, you can now confidently use a beauty dish. When used with the separately purchased OCF speed ring, set up is a breeze: just pop the rods in before they are tensioned and then snap them into place. You can see this process in the two portrait photos below. First, Id suggest you only use a beauty dish setup on clients or models with very good skin, because the harder lighting can show off imperfections like wrinkles and blemishes. It is an extreme example, and I only show it here for demonstration purposes. At the same time, it functions like a traditional beauty dish when opened fully, producing soft but crisp reflected light thats ideal for beauty or portrait photography. This lighting setup is similar to the clamshell pattern I shared above, except you use a strobe in place of the reflector. (The easiest way to check this? I also make sure that the light is just out of frame. So how do you set up a beauty dish for excellent portraits? His biggest passion is sharing his photographic knowledge through workshops and his online photography classes. They begin as our bedtime stories but become our favorite books and films as, Use a Beauty Dish Without a Grid for Larger Subjects, Use a Beauty Dish With a Grid for Direct Light, How to Use Beauty Dishes for Excellent Portrait Photos. As you notice, much more direct light is produced. The circular shape of the light is still very much there. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. It is good when you want it to be obvious that lighting tool has been used, rather than trying to hide it. You can also select your interests for free access to our premium training: I love using beauty dishes. As for the technical details: Id recommend a lens in the 85-200mm range so you can zoom in for tight headshots. 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You can also control the spill of light with a grid and further soften the light by adding a sock over the front, like this: If youre just getting started with studio portrait photography, you might be struggling to decide between a beauty dish and a softbox. Do, From our earliest days, fairytales have excited and ignited our imaginations. If you want top-of-the-line quality in your beauty dish and dont mind spending a little extra, the Broncolor Beauty Dish Reflector ($560) is about as good as it gets when it comes to this type of light modifier. All rights reserved. The beauty dish is one of my absolute favorite light modifiers but it can be intimidating for beginners, and can even confuse serious portrait shooters. I like to choose a background and sit the model in front of it by about one foot. 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The dish comes with a deflector plate, which bounces the light and directs it to the edges, and a front diffuser for softening the light. This means that its much more focused on one spot. The sandbag will act as a counterweight for the other side of the stand. This way, it doesnt fall over into your models face. This is because of the reflector in the centre. Note that youll need to put your camera between the beauty dish and the reflector, which might take a bit of finesse. Photographing People: To do Styled Portraits or Not? The distance that you place the lighting tool from your subject is also going to create a big difference. 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