How to make your own reflectors for Photography

Whether you want to make studio clips or shoot outdoors, respecting good lights, good lighting, good colors, good contrasts, without totally dazzling or without shadows, the reflectors Are essential.

But making your own reflectors is sometimes preferable, either to reduce costs, but also to personalize and make it more practical, as Joe Edelman shows in his video. (See the video at the bottom of this article.)

Advantages :- 

It has been seen, however, that making your own reflectors can be a good solution rather than spending money by buying a ready-made reflector that you may still have to tinker with to adapt it to your use or simply , Have to strengthen because it is, in the end, quite fragile. Here is how to get this material that will allow you to unclog the shadows or create personalized atmospheres.

Equipment You Need :-

The material to make its own reflectors is, in fact, very basic and very inexpensive. First of all there are 2 lengths of 3 meters PVC pipe diameter 15 × 21, 6 tees and 8 elbows, as well as 2 female adapters, always in PVD and of the same diameter. You also need 2 x 15 x 21 shelf support screws as well. If you have a spider handle screw as some material has, in your inventory it will be even easier to tighten.

For tools, a rubber hammer, a hacksaw or a cutter, and a drill will also be helpful.

Mounting :-

The reflector created will be about 75 cm long. We take 2 tees on which we make a slit all along.

Then drill a hole in the female adapter with the drill smaller than the diameter of the screw and screw it into it. Oil may be used to facilitate tightening and loosening of the screw. For the rest, it is enough to follow the diagram proposed below, knowing that the 2 split tees are the upper tees that face each other and that will make it possible to slide the reflector inside. So you know how to make your own reflectors that you can tilt as well to give it the desired angle with a super clamp. Its lightness means that no counterweight is needed.

A variant for Gobo:-

In the same way, you can create a support for gobo or flag. The gobo is placed between the light source and the subject to modify the light or create original shapes or effects while the flag will be placed in the same way, but on the contrary, to block the light, to make screen. In this case, the mounting will be just slightly different to prevent the central side bar from interfering and 2 risers will be created with the PVC pipe as shown in the diagram, the overall principle remaining the same as to make its own Reflectors.

Then, if you want to customize your reflector you can always provide it with aluminum foil or, for a warmer light, gold paper.