Overview
So there you are in a studio be it a professional one or at home. You have so much to hold and keep track of, camera, light metre reflector or two....... now then where did I put my..... you could do with an extra pair of hands at times couldn't you? Well there's something on the market that might just be able to help.
I have in front of me a distinctive bright blue bag with a white logo on it - it can only be something from Lastolite.
In fact it's the new Mark II Triflector - a versatile 3 way reflector system that's designed to aid portrait photography and retailing for about £100 It allows the photographer to position each of the 3 reflective surfaces just about anywhere they need to. It's compact, lightweight and easy to use.
Out of the Bag
The main support arms are held in place with corner joints which allow three dimensional movement. They also have a nut that applies the necessary friction to prevent movement or to allow just enough for fine tuning of the final desired position.
The head unit fits on to a light weight and adjustable stand, similar to those used for lighting. You'll need to provide your own stand and annoyingly a "standard" sized stand won't quite fit in the bag, making you have to carry two items for the sake of about 3 inches.
Also in the bag are the three reflectors, on my sample version these were a silver / gold combination giving a bright surface and one with more warmth.
Each arm as two foam blocks that can slide along the arms and these hold the reflectors by means of a cut "birds mouth" design the same shape as the edge of the reflector. The work well, hold the reflector in place whilst allowing any adjustments required.
The Set Up
To assemble the Triflector it's best to position this in a starting position with the arms out at about 45 degrees.
From there all you need to do is fit each reflector onto the centre and side arms, they clip in place very easily. Prior to that you would have chosen which colour surface you require, silver or gold. Also note there are other colour options when you buy your Triflector, these are silver / white, gold / white and translucent.
After that just adjust the height of the lighting stand and the position of the reflectors to suit. You're aiming to get reflected light under the chin and on the side of your models face to balance out any shadows.
The Shoot
We set up in the high key area of the studio - white everything - walls, floor etc. The equipment we were using was as follows :
3 x Bowens 500W heads, 1 soft box, 1 snoot, 1 umbrella.
The soft box was used against the back wall to white out the background. The second head had a snoot on it, a cone shaped metal attachment for providing a tightly focused spot of light. This was used to light the side of the models hair The third head was positioned in the front of the studio area up high to light the model and give the Triflector the opportunity to bounce the light up into the models face.
The lights were triggered using Quantum's FreeXwire radio triggers, which give the photographer the ability to control each light individually or in groups.
Camera kit was a Nikon D70 with 50mm f/1.8 lens. The prime lens gives a great portrait focal length and a fine sharp image If you are serious about portrait photography and shoot Nikon then check this lens out as it's a bit of a bargain.
We were shooting on manual at 1/125sec and at between f12 and f14.
In the photograph below you can see the set up explained above and you can see how each light and the Triflector is adding to the final composition.
Let's have a look at two shots, one using the Triflector and one without and see if we can really see the difference the Triflector can make - will it give us stunning portraits and transform our photography or will it just end up on eBay.
Ok so lets have a close look at this shot, the model is looking straight to camera and is lit from above by the umbrella, the hair light has not been used. Look carefully at the cheek bones and below the eyes, you can see noticeable shadows. Also look at her lips, chin and throat - again shadows cast by the top light.
In this shot, all we've done is change the position slightly to demonstrate the effect of the Triflector. Here are some points to look for.
First of all look at the catch lights in the models eyes, you can see 3 of them, these are coming from the reflectors also note that her left eye is as bright as the right - and no we didn't do anything in Photoshop! Then have a look on the left side of her face, you can clearly see a brighter and more evenly balanced light - check the lip gloss it's showing the reflections. Also look under her chin, her throat is clearly being lit, leaving a more pleasing jaw line.
In this composition the hair light has been added in from the left of the shot, this has lifted the hair that's tied back and given it some highlights. Also note the skin has taken on a china doll or porcelain appearance - this is achieved by slightly over lighting the subject.
Summary
The Triflector MK II is simple and easy to use, light weight and compact. We weren't provided with any instructions in this test but found the equipment straight forward and with a few experiments and adjustments able to deliver pleasing and noticeable results. If you're a home, mobile or small studio photographer with say only one light then this could really help you with portraits.
Going any wider to a 1/2 or 3/4 length shot then it loses it's impact as you need to throw more light at it. This then creates problems else where as hot spots start to develop in other parts of the picture.
As for value - well at £100 the lot it's not too bad. You could buy three multi purpose reflectors for less money but then you'd need to support them or have an assistant. If you're on your own it's a winner.
