As a portrait lover, I am sure that at some point you are or will be normal is that you start your gait with little or nothing, that you start to become fond of photography with a compact camera, a mobile phone camera or a camera that fell into your hands of chance, the one your grandfather used there in the days of chemical developments and silver halides. Or maybe not, maybe you always knew you were destined to be a "soul catcher" and asked for your first camera right after saying mom or dad. Anyway, you started with nothing, or with very little. As the fans became passion, everything you earned you saved to acquire that filter that you lacked for landscapes , that bright goal you dreamed, that tripod, that camera. After the "essential" you got tired of the light dominating you, and you decided to learn to master it , the photographic essence, the soul. So you locked yourself in your house and squeezing your brain, you learned some lighting schemes , you crushed your family by making them pose mysterious or cheerful, lazy or phantasmagoric until you managed to understand what was hard light, how it influences the firing angle, the bounced flash, the windows of light and many other words that make you think the first day you will not pass the fill flash If that day has arrived, here comes tomorrow, the day of the Beauty Dish, reason for this article and that if you like the portrait you will love it
WHAT IS A BEAUTY DISH?
It is a reflector or modifier of the flash light (of study) that is used almost exclusively for portraits, and especially in portraits of “beauty”, where what we usually want to highlight is the beauty of the features of the model, hence its name . Due to its size and its little “portable” structure, it is usually an exclusive element of photographic studios, although it can be seen in some outdoor portrait shots.ITS MAIN CHARACTERISTICS
What makes this light modifier so interesting is the type of light that it creates thanks to its structure, which is characterized by its circular shape, and by having little depth and a large diameter. That is, similar to a somewhat deep dish, hence its name, we assume The light that reaches the model, and that characterizes the Beauty Dish, is hard in the center and softer as it moves away from it towards the edges . It also produces a rounded reflection in the eyes much more aesthetic than the usual square reflections under study, and a very pleasant contrast and valued in this type of photography.TYPES OF BEAUTY DISH
They differ from each other, mainly because of their size ; that is, by the diameter of the "plate". Depending on the diameter, the light will behave differently . The most common are usually 40, 42, 56 or 70cm. The smaller the diameter, the smaller the lighted area will be and the more contrast you will have between lights and shadows. The larger , however, the wider the area illuminated with hard light and the less evident the gradual effect towards the shadow areas. The most standard are those of an intermediate diameter, which are those that achieve a more "compensated" effect. Also, you can find them in white or silver finish . White is somewhat more uniform and less contrasted than silver, which produces more contrast and somewhat harder light.HOW IS IT USED?
Like any type of lighting you can use, the end result will depend on several factors. In this case, it will mainly depend on the diameter of the Beauty Dish, as I just said, on the position or angle of placement and the distance between the model and the light.HOW TO CALCULATE THE IDEAL DISTANCE
To calculate the “ideal” distance between the light source and the model, you should calculate approximately the diameter of your Beauty Dish multiplied by 1.5 . This will give you the approximate centimeters that should separate light and model. For example, if you have decided to work with the 70 cm Beauty Dish, you should do this simple multiplication: 70 * 1.5 = 105 cm. Of course, if the result does not convince you, do several tests, remembering that the further you move away, the more diffuse the light (less hard) and the closer you get, the harder.WHERE DO I DIRECT THE BEAUTY DISH?
Do you remember when we talked about the center of interest of an image? What we want to highlight in an image, the sense of it and how to guide the viewer's attention to that point, right? Well, there are many ways to do it (composition, lines, etc.), but in this case you will do it through the light. Orient the Beauty Dish, to that area of the face of your model that you want to highlight . That will be the area that will assume the hard light and from there the image will gradually soften and lose some prominence when losing the light. Do several tests, it is not always easy to hit the firstDIY BEAUTY DISH OR WHAT IS THE SAME, HOMEMADE
Are you one of those who enjoy doing things for themselves, who have set up a complete studio for less than 10 euros? Well congratulations, because making a Beauty Dish is apparently simple even for someone not as handyman as you I leave this video that shows you step by step how to make a Beauty Dish in a simple and economical way: