Light control accessories.

Reflectors are the easiest way to direct light in the desired direction. They do not change the light characteristic (unless we add some type of diffuser or filter in front of them). They come in different sizes and depths. This is to achieve more specific lighting techniques. A flash without a reflector scatters light over a rather wide area around itself. It is immediately clear how the use of a standard 14 cm reflector concentrates light on the subject being photographed. If we want to direct the light even more towards the subject, we have to use a honeycomb. This accessory gets its name from the fact that it looks exactly like a honeycomb taken from a beehive, but instead of honey, the hexagonal cells are empty and light passes through them. It varies in several densities depending on the strength of direction we want to achieve. As its name suggests, the spot attachment is used to partially illuminate the subject being photographed. Honeycombs can also be placed on it. Of course, this leads to certain light losses.

Without reflector

With 14 cm reflector

Reflector + honeycomb

Spot attachment

Spot attachment + honeycomb

The umbrella is still widely used in situations where lighting needs to be quickly set up and does not require great precision in handling light. With umbrellas, the shape is 99% identical; they differ only in size and whether they are reflective or diffusive.

Sizes range from 85 cm to giants measuring 220 cm, which require a special tripod and counterweight, similar to boom stands. Otherwise, classic umbrellas are mounted in a special socket on the flash (or reflector). The most common sizes are 85 cm and 105 cm.

According to their type, they are: reflective silver/gold, white, and the other type - diffusive. 

	Silver umbrellas provide sharp, diffused light, making shadows softer compared to using direct flash light. Gold ones have the same light characteristic with the only difference that they add an additional warm golden color to the photographed object.
	White reflective umbrellas provide much softer light compared to silver ones, but of course they also reduce the intensity of the light flux a little more.
	Diffuser umbrellas are a very interesting accessory. They can be used as reflective umbrellas, or light can pass through them (they are made of a diffuse surface through which light passes). They give very soft light with slight shadows, but at the cost of being record-breakers in terms of light consumption compared to all other accessories.
The light loss can reach more than 50%. They have a particularly strong effect in a small studio painted white (like the one where I shot the examples) because light passes through the umbrella, and a huge amount of light reflects back to the surrounding white walls, which in turn reflect the light, resulting in a very even and general illumination.
	I will also mention another umbrella model that combines the convenience of compactness and speed of handling an umbrella with the functionality of a softbox (though not 100%). The box umbrella is an accessory that is quickly entering photographers' arsenals. This is a combined silver umbrella with a diffuse surface, where light losses are reduced to the level of a standard softbox.

Perhaps many users will be skeptical about the wide variety of shapes and sizes of softboxes. I optimistically imagine that one day in my studio I will have all these light control accessories and will be able to choose how best to light a given scene. I promise to dedicate a special topic to explaining why I prefer to have softboxes of various sizes, but for now, I'll return to the main point, which is the type of lighting we can achieve using a softbox.

The softbox is probably the most used accessory for light control. As I mentioned, it comes in different types regarding size and shape. The most common shapes are: square, rectangle, and octagon. The softbox is characterized by providing soft, diffused light, which softens shadows and reduces their density. This is achieved thanks to two diffuse surfaces. Regarding light loss, a softbox has significantly less compared to umbrellas because there is no scattering of the light flow. It is "captured" thanks to its reflector-like shape covered with silver foil and directed towards the diffuse surfaces. The design of the softbox provides uniform light across the entire light-emitting surface regardless of the light source's power. The power of the light source only determines the intensity of the light.

For the examples, I used a standard 60 x 60 cm softbox, because the illuminated objects are small in size and the character of the lighting this model provides is more than sufficient.

To achieve a slightly sharper drawing, we can use the softbox with only one diffuse surface (the outer one).

You can compare the difference between using both surfaces and using only one. In one case, we have much softer and more diffused shadows, unlike the option where we only have one surface.

The softbox with a grid is designed for more precise control of light on the subject being photographed. Similar to the honeycomb we discussed earlier, it prevents light scattering and directs it entirely towards our important subject.

You can see the difference: with a normal softbox, both the object and its background are illuminated, whereas with a grid, only the object is illuminated, without parasitic spill on the background. The lighting becomes slightly more contrasted and shadows are denser, but sometimes this is a deliberately sought-after effect.

Here, for a moment, I will insert a demo shot of what happens when I photograph the arranged objects with a huge softbox, in this case 92 x 122 cm. The objects are flooded with light, and it is clearly visible how small and fine the shadow is.