A collapsible, black umbrella can be your key to taking professional-looking portraits.
Umbrella lighting is used by professional photographers to soften and diffuse the bright light needed for the best portrait photography. You can get similar results at home even if you are on a tight budget and cannot afford expensive photography equipment. Once you get started using umbrella lighting, make sure to experiment with the umbrella, setting it at different heights, angles and spots to create dramatic effects with different subjects. Used creatively, umbrella lighting can set a mood to a shot, as well as evenly illuminate your subject. It is a simple way to jazz up your home photo album.
Instructions
1. Take your umbrella to your workshop, garage or other well-ventilated area. Lay newsprint down where you will work. Open the umbrella and spray paint the fabric on the underside white or silver. Use a light coat, just enough to completely cover it. You may mask the metal in the umbrella, but it is not necessary. Allow it to thoroughly dry.
2. Adjust the upper pole of the microphone stand at a 45-degree angle and set it up in the area where you want to take a photo. Tighten the adjustable screw clamp on the stand so the angle is held securely.
3. Clamp the open umbrella into place on the upper rod of the microphone stand with the same clamp you use to attach the floodlight. Make sure the floodlight is pointed at the underside of the umbrella. You may now take portrait photos using umbrella lighting.
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