# Dealing with reflectors, no assistant, and wind



## rufus5150 (Mar 12, 2009)

I did a search and came up with only tangent references to dealing with this situation.

I will be doing an outdoor shoot soon and I anticipate wind to be a problem where we're shooting. I won't have an assistant and I can likely do without umbrellas, but the reflector (42" zipdisc) will be a must. These will be full torso if not full body shots so having the subject hold them will not be an option for at least some of the shots. I'm going to have to put it on a stand and boom arm.

Does anyone have any thoughts of dealing with this? I could go the sandbag route, but that seems like a lot of work to drag 3 bags of sand out to the shoot to hold it down. Might be the only way, though.


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## bjorkfiend (Mar 12, 2009)

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## DRoberts (Mar 12, 2009)

Sandbags was going to be my suggestion, set the reflector as low as possible as well. Either that or put an add out at the local schools or colleges photo classes for a free assistant, someone might help for just the experience.


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## Big Mike (Mar 13, 2009)

Can you not get/find someone to assist you?  It's not a skilled trade, they just have to hold a reflector.  I'd do it, but you'd have to fly me down there


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## KvnO (Mar 13, 2009)

Agreed, just find a buddy to come out with you.  Someone with a passing interest in photography would probably be helpful, but whatev.  Maybe the model could bring someone to help too.


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## rufus5150 (Mar 13, 2009)

A stranger's not going to work and finding someone amongst our collective friends to get up that early will be rough.


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## kundalini (Mar 13, 2009)

Buy 'em breakfast and give 'em a score for the help.  If you don't ask, you don't know who might be willing.

Contact the coordinator of your local photography meetup group.  *Meetup.com*


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## bjorkfiend (Mar 13, 2009)

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## schumionbike (Mar 13, 2009)

I would just go bribe some kid that you know, it's probably the easiest way out.


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## JerryPH (Mar 14, 2009)

Suggestions in order of preference

1 - Home made sandbags (baggies filled with sand wrapped in canvas and home-sewn)
2 - gallon sized milk jugs filled with water
3 - bungee cords with tent pegs shoved into the ground
4 - your camera bag tied to the stand
5 - The kid next door and a 5 dollar bill for him, with his mom's permission to use the kid for 3-4 hours... she will love you.

Where there is a will, there *is* a way.


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## Ron_Uriel (Mar 15, 2009)

Whatever approach you decide to take, make sure you are not endangering your model. I'd go for the sandbags option and make sure they are heavy enough to hold the reflector stand against a strong wind. 
One more thing to consider is that the wind can flutter your reflector, turning it ineffective. To avoide this you will need to fix it agains a wooden frame or something else that can maintain its shape. not an easy task to do. 
If you know the exact location you'll be shooting at, perhaps you can set some things in advance instead of having to carry them on the day you are shooting (cheap sandbags or any other heavyweight objects).


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## rufus5150 (Mar 15, 2009)

My reflector has an extremely rigid frame. 

And not endangering the model? Where's the fun in _that?_


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## Winterson (Mar 22, 2009)

Best to avoid the wind by shooting either very early in the day or very late in the day. I calculated that even with a 30" reflector in 18 knots of wind - and it only takes one gust of that velocity, that I would need about 70 lbs. of sand or water, hardly a portable setup. Yes you could use bungee cords and tent stakes but that is a pretty inflexible setup and not viable in many locations if the surface is too hard or you are on public property where pounding stakes into the ground is frowned upon. 

An alternative in some locations is to use flash and bounce light off a rock or wall or car that serves as a reflector. You end up with a much larger light source by virtue of the bounced flash. It works better than you might think.


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## Mike_E (Mar 22, 2009)

If you're outdors with no background near, why not just use another flash or two?

The easiest way I can think of is to set them all the same distance from the model and use different power settings to control your ratios.  If you don't have that fine of a control on them then move the flashes using the inverse square law as a guide as to how far to move them.

Balance all of this nicely with the ambient and you're gold.


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## Tolyk (Mar 22, 2009)

Ever heard of Studio Titan? They make a good disc holder, which you could then put sandbags on to hold it in place against a strong wind.

It runs you less money than a stand and boom would, I do believe.


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## Fiendish Astronaut (Mar 22, 2009)

You don't have to use a traditional reflector to reflect light effectively. Polystyrene would work but obviously that's light as well so might equally be effected by the wind. But you could nail that to a wooden frame or the top of an old table turned over to face your subject. Okay it's not very flexible either but I'm not in a creative mood today. I'll bet you or someone else here can come up with something better though.


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## elemental (Mar 22, 2009)

bjorkfiend said:


> My only other thought would be tent pegs.  Wal-Mart has packages of round aluminum pegs with plastic hook ends which may work on your stand legs and, possibly, hook over the ribbed edge of your reflector (if it's low to the ground anyway).



This was my thought, but it obviously depends on the surface.


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## woodywalters (Mar 23, 2009)

I would still suggest either sand bags, or dumbbell-weights.  Yes I know they are a pain, but you need to look professional, and having your reflector fall over again and again, is a lot more work than carrying the sand bags...

woody
Woody Walters Photography Fine art, Christian Art, Illustrations
digitalphotocandy.com : Home


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## Mike_E (Mar 23, 2009)

So Red, did you do this thing or what?


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## rufus5150 (Mar 23, 2009)

Red? Who's red?

I haven't yet. The shoot got moved datewise. Haven't decided which way to go, but I do have someone who's willing to get up early so I may have an assistant yet.

After I put together my background stand fully expanded by myself a few times, I realized that an assistant would be the best way to go.


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## Mike_E (Mar 23, 2009)

LOL  Sorry, rufus is a term for red to reddish-brown.

What exactly are you trying to accomplish on this outdoor shoot?  And your available equipment list would be helpful.

Also, have you ever heard of a photographer named Dean Collins?  He died a while back but if you know anyone who has access to his DVD there are a couple of _*very*_ helpful sections on shooting outdoors.

This is the one..  http://www.deancollins.com/


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## rufus5150 (Mar 23, 2009)

I'm trying to take a minimal amount of gear due to the hike. There's a place we're trying to get a 'out of place' girl in a nice fancy dress in this extremely wooded gully. She'll be backlit and the reflector will have to do all of the fill.

Basically, beyond the camera, I'll have the hotshoe flash on an OC3 which I may or may not use and the 42" reflector. 

I shall look this Dean Collins person up.


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## Mike_E (Mar 23, 2009)

I'll pay you 500 of your US dollars If you don't think it was worth every second that you spent watching that DVD!  

















Assuming that you _have_ $500 that is.


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## JerryPH (Mar 24, 2009)

rufus5150 said:


> After I put together my background stand fully expanded by myself a few times, I realized that an assistant would be the best way to go.


 
Ah, yes... the voice operated light or relector stand method... my favorite.  Moves on command without much interation needed by the photographer... lol.


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## rufus5150 (Mar 24, 2009)

You have to feed them, though. And they pee, and have these 'feelings' thingies. Such a liability.

Many also frown on the use of a cattle prod. Strange, but I'll go along with it.


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## JerryPH (Mar 24, 2009)

Mike_E said:


> He died a while back but if you know anyone who has access to his DVD there are a couple of _*very*_ helpful sections on shooting outdoors.


 
He passed on Feb2, 2005 at the young age of 51.  He hit his peak in the mid-late 70s and then kinda faded away from the scene. 

I do not think that outdoor scene is going to help much unless Rufus is shooting a really cute lady holding a huge horse, and he has a Hassalbald and 18 assistants... lol


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## Mike_E (Mar 24, 2009)

You evidently didn't watch the whole thing.  The bit I'm talking about is on the third set I think.  Forth if the product photography bit is on the third.. It's been a while for me but it's there.


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## JerryPH (Mar 24, 2009)

Mike_E said:


> You evidently didn't watch the whole thing


 
All 4 DVDs only about a thousand times!


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## GeneralBenson (Mar 24, 2009)

A really good trick I have recently discovered, since I live in Boulder, CO which is always windy, and I've already had one flashl blow over and brake, is:

Go to an outdoor retailer, or maybe even the outdoor section at walmart/dick's/other sporting goods stores, and get a few medium sized nylon stuff sacks.  They should only weigh about an ounce each, and scrunch up very small.  Carry them with you, for a total of a few ounces and a a few inches of space.  When you get somewhere, find something to fill them with (rocks, gravel, dirt, water bottles...) anything you can find that is heavy and will fit in the sack.  Then hang them off of the lightstand twisty knobs or put them over the legs like sand bags.  Presto.    When you're done, put everything back where you found and and you're pleased as punch.  I've ben able to keep a lightstand with an umbrella solid on a windy day, by carry 3 ounces of stuff with me.  Tent pegs also sounds like a great idea.  I'll remember that.


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