Studio Portrait Lighting: Reflective vs Shoot-Through Umbrellas

Lighting  •  Photography Tips  •  Portrait Photography  •  Studio Photography

Umbrellas are some of the cheapest light modifiers you can get. But while they come in many different shapes and sizes, at the end of the day, they can be categorized into two different types: reflective and shoot-through. These umbrellas not only look different, but the images they produce will look miles apart. In today’s video, photographer Gavin Hoey from Adorama takes two umbrellas—one reflective and another shoot-through, but otherwise identical—and compares the results. The results might surprise you!

Shoot-through umbrellas work as diffusers by partially letting through light, then reflecting some of it back. The reflective umbrellas, on the other hand, reflect almost all the light, thanks to the reflective lining on their inner surfaces.

But that’s not where the differences end. These traits determine the nature and quality of the light that they produce and therefore affect the ultimate look and feel of the images. Hoey does an excellent job of demonstrating the differences by comparing the results in the video.

And in case you’re wondering if we can use both types of umbrellas together: the answer is a definite yes. As you can see towards the end of the video, Hoey uses the reflective umbrella for key lighting and the shoot-through umbrella at low power to fill the shadows.

Which umbrella you should use solely depends on the kind of look you’re going for. For softly lit and “safe” images, shoot-through umbrellas work best. But if you’re after a punchier image with more controlled light, reflective umbrellas are the way to go.

Both of these umbrellas work great in their own way. And thanks to their affordability, you could even get both of them.

Have you used these photography umbrellas? We’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments below.