When I got my first set of lights in 1998, I started with two small umbrellas. Back then, I used them for environmental portraits on location. One umbrella illuminated the room, and the other lit up the person’s face. This simple approach marked the beginning of my lighting journey. Even after 25 years, umbrellas remain a staple in my work.
I’ll start by sharing with you how umbrellas differ by comparing images from a recent test and then I am going to share three ways you can use umbrellas in your work for years to come.
Umbrellas primarily come in two varieties – shallow and deep. Elinchrom’s shallow Umbrellas are go-to modifiers for soft, diffused light with widespread distribution, ideal for quick setups and group shots. On the other hand, deep umbrellas offer focused, high-contrast lighting, making them perfect for beauty and portraits. Each type has three variants: translucent, white, and silver.
I created the first image with Elinchrom’s Deep Translucent Umbrella coupled with a Black Diffuser on the back. I used this modifier as a shoot through umbrella. The purpose of this cover was to prevent light from bouncing off the interior of the umbrella and then reflecting off of other surfaces in the room. When light bounces off of colored surfaces it takes on the color of that object, so having more control of your lighting is essential when creating color images. The light from this modifier is similar to what you would expect from a softbox: you’ll notice that the transition area between the shadows into mid tones is very subtle and the background is lighter when compared to the other options.
On the second image, as I used the Deep White Umbrella, the light has less specularity, a touch more warmth, and a darker background.
On image three, adding a Translucent Diffuser to the Deep White Umbrella created an indirect softbox effect, warming the light by about 200K, reducing specularity, and smoothing the transitions even more.
For the fourth test, we used the Deep Silver Umbrella, which produced crisper light than the translucent version. With increased contrast, you get more specularity and texture, but the background is darker, producing a more focused feel.
Finally, we tested the Deep Silver Umbrella with the Translucent Diffuser. The light seems to have the same specularity and detail as the white umbrella with the diffuser, but it retains the contrast of the silver umbrella.
This setup was born out of a workshop I was teaching in which one of the attendees wanted to recreate a portrait that looked like it was lit with a shaft of light. Inspired by his vision, I set out to perfect that look, and created this image of fellow photographer Jerry Stevens. However, I cannot take credit for his impeccable retouching.
I illuminated this image using a single light in an Elinchrom Deep Silver Umbrella. I placed it about 1.8-2.4m (6-8’) to the right, and the bottom of the modifier was leveled with the subject’s jaw. Then I flagged the light coming from the umbrella with a V-Flat and a 50x75cm (20×30’) piece of foam core positioned so that it was overlapping the front edge of the V-Flat and high enough so it was between the subject’s shirt and the main light. The resulting black “L” restricted the light so it could only strike the front of Jerry’s face. He heightened the isolation by leaning into the side of the V-flat.
The other wing of the black V- Flat blocked the light from hitting the background. Without it, the backdrop would have been brighter than his face. I added a second V-Flat, white side out on my right for fill. It was close but not too close in order to bounce back the perfect amount of light into the shadows. Working out the positioning of the V-Flats and the foam core is fairly easy if you’re in a dark zoom and using a modeling light.
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About Felix Kunze:
Felix Kunze is a Brooklyn-based portrait photographer born in Berlin and raised in the UK. Known for his cinematic yet natural lighting style, he creates honest, character-driven portraits for editorial and commercial clients. He has assisted photographers such as Annie Leibovitz and Mario Testino, teaches over 15,000 students worldwide, and recently collaborated on a cover story for American Vogue featuring Blake Lively and Hugh Jackman.