Lastolite Tri-Lite owners/users

Hi all,

Well... I did a garage/practice shoot with my wife last night and I used the tri-lite reflector for the 2nd time.

A few questions...
1. If you own it.. what are your thoughts?

2. Are the catchlights distracting?

3. Does it look from the shot that I am using it correctly?

I'm on the fence about the reflector setup. I like the look it gives... but... I'm not sure about the catchlights. I suppose I could Photoshop them out... but.. .this wouldn't be practical if it were a real shoot and I had 30 images to work... well... it could be done... but you get what I'm saying. LOL

Any pointers on how to make the most out of this reflector would be greatly apprciated.

Setup...
Ranger RX/AS with the Deep Octa (double diffused)on a boom overhead... butterfly lighting...
Tri-lite on a stand below and about in line with the octa.
Canon 5d
Canon 135L

Thanks for the help.
Hatch

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Hi Hatch,

Here's my take. I own and use a Tri-LIte. I love it. I love the catch lights.

The first thing to accept is that not everyone is going to love all you do and all I mean is that you'll get mixed reaction to things like that. Some will love it. Some will say "nice image but the catch lights are distracting".. You can't win everyone over all the time.

I'm also a believer in what I call "truth in lighting". For every light source there is a catch light. To Photoshop catch lights out no longer tells the story. Be selective about when you use the Tri-Lite. Be selective about using the white vs. Silver side and go with your gut. If you love the images and your clients love the images then don't sweat over what forum members might think.

This is one of my favorite images and I have a 20" x 30" of this framed in my studio. My client loves it. I love it. I used the Tri-Lte with the silver panels. Placement and position of the panels is crucial and placement and position of your main light is crucial. When you nail it it's simply amazing. Don't give up on it.

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Rock on! What a shot!!!

I used the white side last night. I fully agree some people will not dig it... no worries... I like photographing bugs...and most people hate bugs... so... I have thick skin is what I am trying to say. LOL

I like how you used the relfectors... cool looking pattern. SInce I've only shot with it a couple of times... I need to work with it more.

For your shot above... if you recall... were you about a 1/2 of stop over exposed ... maybe more? In my originals... I was 1 stop over... but... histogram on the 5D wasn't showing clipped areas. I brought the shots in to RAW and the red channel was clipped... I was able to recover ... but... the images lacks some pop to it.

Thanks again for taking time to post a shot and provide a little feedback. I will practice with it... maybe throw it in the mix during shoots...

Thanks!
Hatch

HI Hatch,

For that shot I was somewhere around 2/3 stop overexposed. I was going for that fashion/glam look where you intentionally overexpose but still keep the highlights from clipping. This type of lighting is where a photographer really shows his/her ability to control highlights and where critical exposure comes in to play.

I like the white panels but LOVE the silver. The specular quality of the light is so beautiful.

It is a very nice image. I went back and had a look at the original raw... I was over by about 1 stop... the image posted is reduced by -.90 to recover the highlights. I reworked the images and brought the exposure back up... about 3/4 stop over and I like it... but... it is a little hot.

Which... is as you mentioned... the skill of the shooter. I have to work on this... I like the look it gives... just need to practice...practice...​practice

I think the catchlights will grow on me... in time... I hope... LOL

Here's another image using the Tri-Lite. Different placement of the main light and the panels. Very different look from the other but I still love it.

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Hey Robert, what gorgeous photos!

Hi SooYoung,

Thank you my friend.

Really like the last shot... very nice look to it.

Hatch

Thanks much Frank.

Amazing shot, Robert. I'd love to see the printed one hanging in your studio.

mark

Thanks Mark. The two 20" x 30" prints I framed and hung look so amazing.

Robert, I'm looking into purchasing some Lastolite trigrip reflectors. Is there a sweetspot in size or color I should get?

Hi Mark.

Are you getting those reflectors because you're going to have an assistant holding them? If they're not going to be handheld and you'll be working alone then you might want to consider the Lastolite Skylite reflector. Flexible and collapsible reflectors are nice but in a breeze or wind they can drive you nuts as they bend and bow. A reflector with an aluminum frame like the Skylite or the California Sunbounce is ideal for working by yourself or in breezy conditions for precise positioning.

Size of the reflector is like selecting size of any other modifier. Pick one based on the size of the subject area and coverage needed, and pick color based on quality of light desired. Just like umbrellas, white will give you softer light retuning to the subject area while silver will be more efficient and return a more specular (mirror-like) light. Gold is my least favorite and I find it to be the least usable. The soft gold or what some companies call sunfire is one of my favorites. It's a combination of silver and gold and adds a really nice warm glow to skin tones without appearing bronze or unnatural.

Personally, I love the combination of a large soft modifier on my main light and a more specular quality from my reflectors, either silver or soft gold.