The use of the umbrella: shoot-through vs reflective

The umbrella is the cheapest, most portable light modifier you can own, and one of the first things most photographers buy after a flash. There are two very different types, and knowing which one you're using changes how you should position it.

Shoot-through umbrellas

A shoot-through umbrella is made of plain white fabric with no backing. You fire your flash or continuous light through the back of it, and the light spreads out as it passes through the fabric on its way to your subject. It gives a soft, wide spread of light and is easy to work with, but some light is lost out of the sides and back rather than reaching your subject, so you'll need a bit more power than you'd expect.

Reflective (bounce) umbrellas

A reflective umbrella has a solid black backing so no light escapes through it. Instead, you point your flash into the open side of the umbrella and bounce the light forward off the inner lining, back towards your subject. This is more efficient than shooting through, since none of the light is wasted, and it also gives you slightly more control over spread because the black backing stops light spilling everywhere.

White, silver or black lining — what the colour changes

Reflective umbrellas come with different interior linings, and the colour changes the quality of light as much as the shape does. A white lining gives the softest, most gentle result, closest to a shoot-through umbrella but with a bit more control. A silver lining reflects more light back at your subject, giving you extra power and slightly more contrast and punch — useful when you need more output from the same flash. Black is the backing colour on the outside of a reflective umbrella rather than something you shoot through; its job is purely to stop light escaping, not to soften or add contrast.

Which one to use

Reach for a shoot-through when you want the softest possible light and don't need maximum power — a classic beauty or portrait look. Reach for a reflective umbrella, silver lining, when you need more punch from the same light, such as lighting a larger group or working further from your subject. White reflective umbrellas sit in between: soft like a shoot-through, but a little more efficient.

Where to practise this

Our studio sessions keep both types on hand so you can compare a shoot-through against a reflective umbrella on the same model, in the same spot, and actually see the difference rather than take our word for it.