Use a Reflector Effectively for Outdoor Wedding Portraits

Step Two

Now you have a rough exposure determined by your camera’s meter. The tricky part is to find that highlight area on your subject and make sure you have some detail, ensuring it’s not blown out. In bright sunlight, chimping on your LCD screen is going to be tough. Getting familiar with your histogram, and finding if you have blown-out highlights, can be very helpful. If you have any blown-out highlights on your subject, adjust your exposure while you’re still in aperture priority mode. At this point, it’s time to lock in that exposure by taking those settings and moving into manual mode. Your exposure is not going to change and you don’t want that pesky meter making any more decisions for you. Consistent exposure is the key to finding that sweet spot.

Here’s where I add the reflector. If I don’t determine exposure first and see where my light is, I have trouble knowing where to place my exposure. Now I can experiment with the placement of the reflector to add the right amount of light to the subject.