Bouncing off the "ground" ???

The past year that I've tinkered with outdoors portraiture, been noticing how several photographers I encounter, especially for high school senior photographer, lay a reflector on the ground or near waist level to illuminate upward on the face or body.

Only the past couple of months have I used a reflector at all, and enjoyed the results sometimes.

My question, is has anybody laid a reflector on the ground, and shot a flash down at it, to get something of the same effect, if there is nobody to hold the reflector?

It works for softening shadows under chin etc. Be careful that you don't over do it.

I would make sure I have more or same amount of light falling on the face coming from the top first. Here I am using strobe in a softbox from top, simple reflector on the bottom (you can easily see in the eyes). Lot easier than carrying too strobes on location but less control.

What a face!

Bobby's shoat is a great example of how to use the reflector below the subject to fill in the shadows. It also illustrates that getting the fill just right is critical. Even a little more in his image would have been too much.

dmward wrote in post #15782480
Bobby's shoat is a great example of how to use the reflector below the subject to fill in the shadows. It also illustrates that getting the fill just right is critical. Even a little more in his image would have been too much.

It looks good.

But he didn't share where the reflector was ... whether on the lap, or laying on the ground.

Maybe it does not matter as long as the right amound of light is bounced up, and the stronger source above, like he mentioned.

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i bounce my flash off sand at the beach sometimes

bespoke wrote in post #15784762
i bounce my flash off sand at the beach sometimes

Could a pure white sheet function as a mellow white reflective?

Never thought about that before, until you mentioned the sand. But a sheet covers a big area and could fold very small. Doubt I'd need something with metallic like reflectiveness.

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How you going to have sheet lie flat on the ground outdoors? Man there is reason CA sunbounce cost so much.

bobbyz wrote in post #15784978
How you going to have sheet lie flat on the ground outdoors? Man there is reason CA sunbounce cost so much.

Does that mean if it's not perfectly flat, the light will reflect spotty?

I know how to get it flat, from the ground, but it wouldn't be compact. One is thin 1/4 inch plywood. Another would be cardboard sheets. But those are cumbersome.

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Problem outdoor is things move in the wind. Even regular reflectors need assistants to hold them. With sheet you going to be fighting the elements. Not a problem of keeping it flat, problem is keeping it where you want it.

Reflectors are imprecise and subject to the whims of nature.
Given those constraints anything that can reflect light back into the subject is beneficial.

All the rest of this conversation is noise.

If you watch any of Joe McNallys training videos, this is something he does all the time. The interesting thing is though he always fires the flash straight down, not at an angle. This basically feathers the floor light to ensure it's not too much.

He's also an advocate of doing this even without a reflector in a pinch. A wooden floor can give a reasonably warm fill in this manner

The1KrisRoB wrote in post #15785353
If you watch any of Joe McNallys training videos, this is something he does all the time. The interesting thing is though he always fires the flash straight down, not at an angle. This basically feathers the floor light to ensure it's not too much.

He's also an advocate of doing this even without a reflector in a pinch. A wooden floor can give a reasonably warm fill in this manner

I would love to see the actual shot taken.