New umbrella question

[Subfightersandman]

Ok so i just order a new couple things from B and H. A swivel bracket for and umbrella. A 32" in white shoot through umbrella with a black cover and some reflector discs gold/white and white.

My question is what is the different effect of the umbrella when using it as a shoot through versus bouncing it with the black cover. I know how to set it up just not sure when you would want to use the black cover to bounce the light, or when you would want to shoot through.

Also another question here is a pic of my flash with the cheap ebay trigger is this going to be a problem when mounting it to the swivel bracket. I am thinking it may be to high.

http://i315.photobucket.com/albums/ll466/subfightersandman/IMG_7073.jpg

[RichNY]

When using the umbrella as a shoot thru you can place it much closer to your subject which will give you softer light.

[Subfightersandman]

When using the umbrella as a shoot thru you can place it much closer to your subject which will give you softer light.

so given that what would be the purpose of using the the black cover to reflect the light

[TMR Design]

Ok so i just order a new couple things from B and H. A swivel bracket for and umbrella. A 32" in white shoot through umbrella with a black cover and some reflector discs gold/white and white.

My question is what is the different effect of the umbrella when using it as a shoot through versus bouncing it with the black cover. I know how to set it up just not sure when you would want to use the black cover to bounce the light, or when you would want to shoot through.

Also another question here is a pic of my flash with the cheap ebay trigger is this going to be a problem when mounting it to the swivel bracket. I am thinking it may be to high.

Ideally you do want the flash head to be as close to the axis of the umbrella shaft as possible. It's not terrible if it's not right on the axis but if it's too far away then the coverage is very uneven and it's far from ideal. There are some umbrella adapters that place the flash head close than others and may people DIY brackets to get the flash much closer.

With a shoot through umbrella you not only get softer light (when used at close range) but you get greater coverage with no leading edge or shadow created by the leading edge. Keep in mind that soft light is not always ideal and the coverage may not be what you want. If you're trying to isolate the subject from a background you may want the control you get with the reflective bounce umbrella with black backing. The edge gives you control you don't have with a shoot through umbrella and the light is more directional.

[Subfightersandman]

Rob are you saying that, that flash trigger will most likley not work very well. I am not sure if you noticed in the pic but you cant tilt the unit back and forth will this help any, it seems like it would get it closer to the axis but it would also move it in as well.

[TMR Design]

Tilting the flash forward so it is laying down works well but it does move the flash head forward and that minimizes your coverage. You can see how well it works by taking a picture of the flash firing into the umbrella to see how well it fills the umbrella. Move the umbrella shaft so it's extended as much as possible and see what you get. It may work fine but if it doesn't then you need to rig up a bracket or method of getting the flash head further from the umbrella. If you have a Sto-fen (or ebay knock-off) that will help you with coverage but it will also reduce output.

[Edbee]

Because my flash does not have a pc socket I use a hot shoe adapter (Item #0065 — PC to Flash Hotshoe Adapter) from www.flashzebra.com (http://www.flashzebra.com) to place the flash closer to the center of the umbrella bracket. This also requires a PC to PC cord also obtainable from flashzebra.