Which umbrella?

I already have a 40in. translucent shoot through umbrella. I'm looking to get another now. Should I go with some type of bounce umbrella next? Is there an umbrella that will give better flash coverage for portraits or group shots? I'm using a 430ex with a remote trigger..thanks, Jerry

We recently had some good discussion about umbrellas and many of use are using and like the Photogenic 60" White Satin Eclipse umbrella. Very nice light, great coverage, pleasing catch light. Can be used as bounce or shoot through. I highly recommend it.

Westcott seem more Tim-proof than others i've tried. You want all the light you can get with a Speedlite, so get silver, 45-60 inch, the size doesn't matter much.

I was just looking around using search... Lets say I'm gonna be shooting kids in a pool.... that just doesn't sound right!.... but it's the truth, Using my 430ex on a wireless trigger, whats the best thing to do? By the way, Should I get a lens filter for a shoot like that? I use a 40D with the kit lens 28-135mm?

I wouldn't be so quick to go for silver. I understand it's more efficient but it's also more specular and that's not always desirable. It would depend on what application the umbrella would be used to better determine the exact type.

I had a 60" silver and I didn't like it at all. The quality of light and the catch light was much too specular and the silver brought out the ribs and spokes of the umbrella, whereas the white does not, and the design on the Eclipse umbrella (white, not silver) works in that it reduces the definition of the umbrella guts, and the creates a more pleasing and natural looking catch light.

Everybody, stop talking about the 60" White Photogenic! I don't need one, I don't need one... (there, I think that worked! ).

Like Tim, I like my Westcott umbrellas. Dunno about "Tim-proof", but I seem to be able to work them right. Unlike Tim I prefer white umbrellas, I get nicer light out of them.

This thread is perfect timing for me, as I just used my Vivitar 283s for some wedding granny's group shots (aka boring formals) the other day with dismal results. Of course I had no umbrellas large enough so just bounce off the ceiling & PS'd out the eye shadows.

I'm curious as to whether a little Vivitar 283 (35mm head) can fill a 60" umbrella in the first place.

For my "Strobist" kit, I use Westcott 43" white umbrellas. I use Sunpak 383's but a Vivitar 283 has about the same coverage. A 60" umbrella might be overkill...

I don't think a 60" umbrella would be overkill from a coverage-of-subject point of view for wedding formals.

I rarely use umbrellas to light wedding formals, i'm usually outside, with fill flash and no time to set up lighting. To beat the sun i'd need massive studio strobes if I were using umbrellas.

Yeah I don't and won't do that shizz outside. But around here, Granny's Groupshots are still desired & church lighting is guaranteed to suck.

I never had to shoot formals in a church - good thing too, to do it properly would probably take two lights on the group and one or two on the background. Actually I had to do it once in a modern church, I got horrible reflections from the solid curved wood background (like a rounded wall behind them).

Consider yourself lucky...

This was actually my first inside-church formal, but it was also only my second local (ie in my own town) wedding. Unfortunately, pretty much all local weddings are like this one. If I don't ever book another one, I'll be fine and won't need umbrellas. If I do though, I'll definitely have to shoot more of this stuff, even though I'd prefer not to.

Either way I do have enough lights to hit the background as well. I wouldn't have needed the extra two at this one since it was well lit on the altar...just not pleasantly so.

TMR Design wrote in post #5906263
I wouldn't be so quick to go for silver. I understand it's more efficient but it's also more specular and that's not always desirable. It would depend on what application the umbrella would be used to better determine the exact type.

I have a Westcott 45" soft silver umbrella. I've been pleased with the results.
All of these are with a 580EX or 430EX.

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I use a 60" umbrella all the time for inside venue work. For formals works very well. The Canon 580EX has plenty of power for f5.6 ISO 400 shooting...

These shots show two 580EX camera left and right firing into a 60" white (not silver) bounce umbrellas. The second shot shows one with a third 580EX firing bare into the ceiling to light up the background. Mix to taste....

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