reflector....black ?

Help me understand when I would use a black colored reflector. I'm buying some more reflectors of various sizes and colors, and I just can't think of a situation where I'd want black. Obviously there must be some good uses for them....'cuz all the majors make them !

Thanks.

i can think of a couple

when you want a black reflection
or when you need a black background

How about when you want NO light? Put it up close for great directional light, from the direction opposite of the reflector, of course.

In the film business, they're called 'flags', and they serve to block or shape light.

To see an example of them at work in the world of stills, find any pen catalogue and look very closely at the light and dark areas of the reflective parts of the pens.

Black reflectors are very useful. They are used to block or flag off light but two great examples of using a black reflector would be 1. If you're shooting outside and you have a bright sun or harsh light coming from one direction, you might choose to block that light rather than just diffusing it to create your own shade so you have more control over the lighting, and 2. If you're in a small studio that has white walls and you find that too much light is reflecting off the walls and returning to your subject area. If you place a black reflector in between the subject and the wall it will block that light that's returning and again gain more control over the subject lighting.

Quite often there are light sources in studios and on location that are undesirable. Lighting is about working and controlling light. Flags, gobos, cutters, and black reflectors give you that control.

Thanks all. I also found some demos on the lastolite site that gave me some good ideas. Thanks for the comments....I'm out the door to the camera shop....going to pick up a couple more reflectors.

subtractive lighting.

Also, black reflectors can help with unwanted reflections. When shooting outside, sometimes you'll get a gree glow under the chin from the reflection off the grass. Toss a black reflector on the ground, and it's gone. just that easy!