Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

I have a question on using the backlight shovel turned around to face the subject. Does anyone know what the angle of degree would be for this reflector. I would like to use this reflector to highlight a full length subject from behind in sometimes limited space for my studio. Also is there a better way with another reflector, etc. THANKS IN ADVANCE!

By using the standard measurements of center line out to -1f, it is a 70 degree reflector. However, more light at a lower intensity will spill out to at least 90 degrees. The caveat to this is that it is not a circular pattern, as a regular reflector would be. So it will spread more in the upward direction than in the downward direction. A regular 7" reflector would spread at about the same rate, but in all directions. You can then add grids and/or barndoors for extra control of spill.

Is your limited space limited in depth? You really need some sort of control (I prefer barn doors) to pull this off. Your biggest problems are spraying the walls and ceiling, killing the "cleanness" of your back light, and spraying the floor, which creates the long shadow reaching forward.

The standard reflector can light a full length person at a short distance, 5 feet easy, and accommodates barn doors. The bottom barn door will be clean enough to keep a long "reaching" shadow from troubling you. You'll even have enough beam width that you can drop a bit below the subject's center, which cleans up the foreground even more.

Even the 40 degree grid would need to be about 8-10 feet away.

Oh, and a "magic trick", use a polarizer. That will help give you a cleaner foreground with paper or painted backdrops, and even with some cloth ones.