scrim and bounce (rob)

Mclain and I both got the pleasure of photographing my lovely pregnant wife today. After we were both done, we decided to test out a new product.

California Sunbounce has a product called the 'Sun Swatter.' It is essentially 'scrim' on a pole. However, the reason I picked one up, is I thought it might be useful for 3 reasons. One, as a scrim against bright sun, especially when facing into the sun. Two, as a reflector with the sun as a rim light. And three, as a soft box to diffuse a couple speed lights attached to it when natural light isn't cooperating.

So, Mclain and I experimented. We used it only in the first two scenarios today.

The first image is bare sun as rim light - no bounce. The second image is sun as rim light, and the Sun Swatter as a reflector. We could have done a better job placing the scrim, but this was just a test.

The third image, Mclain is holding it up and to camera left to scrim the sun.

In the fourth there is bare sun to camera left.

And the last image is Mclain being himself.

Not a bad product. The main concern I have with it, is that it takes a fair bit to hold it in a breeze. It comes with a mono-pod for extending it, and I may try it on a tripod on a super calm day with a sandbag. Overall, I think it will be a worth while gadget.

note** all photo's are straight out of camera, and settings were eyeballed (ie no light meter used). Also, both pairs of shots are at the same settings, as these were taken to show the quality of light difference.