Best lighting reflectors

Shooting with natural light can give natural-looking photos, but it's all too easy for 'natural' to end up appearing a little too raw, with harsh contrast creating burnt-out highlights, murky shadows, and an overall unflattering look for portraiture.

One solution is to use your flashgun as a fill light. But your first, easiest, and likely cheapest option is to break out a collapsible reflector. These refreshingly simple pop-up panels simply bounce sunlight back onto your subject to illuminate what would otherwise be in shadow and create a more balanced exposure.

Reflectors come in various sizes depending on the size of subject you want to illuminate, and you can even choose different reflector colors, should you want to add warmth to your reflected lighting.

Phottix EasyHold 5-in-1 Reflector 107cm

Specifications

Size (open): 107cm
Surfaces: diffuser + gold, silver, white, black

Reasons to buy

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Handy handles

Collapsible reflectors are so simple that, for occasional hobbyist use, it’s difficult to justify splashing out on a premium product over a budget model. Phottix’s keenly-priced EasyHold isn’t even completely lacking in frills, as it sports a pair of handles for easier positioning, and though these are far less chunky and ergonomic than those on the Lastolite and Profoto reflectors, they do the job.

The panel itself is a diffuser to soften direct lighting. A double-sided, reversible cover then gives you a traditional selection of gold, silver, white and black color options. We’ve gone for the 107cm diameter panel as it gives maximum versatility without being too hard to handle, and still packs down to a convenient 36cm diameter. There’s also a 120cm EasyHold option if you’ll be working with groups, or the 80cm panel would work well at closer range.

If you can do without the more subtle colors in the Lastolite 8-in-1 TriFlip kit, this Phottix is great value.

Lastolite TriFlip 8:1 Kit 75cm

Specifications

Size (open): 75cm
Surfaces: diffuser + white, silver, Softsilver, gold, Sunlite, Sunfire, black

Reasons to buy

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Comfortable handle

Lastolite is credited with developing the very first pop-up circular reflector, and the TriFlip is a refinement of the original design. Large-diameter round panels can be unwieldy to handle, but this panel’s triangular shape makes it more manageable, while still maintaining plenty of surface area. A single handle is all it takes to maintain a good grip, and the handle is nice and chunky.

This particular 8-in-1 kit is available in 45cm and 75cm sizes, with the latter being a more versatile size for portraiture. A larger 120cm Trigrip version is also available and is a better bet for full-length shots, but only comes in 2-in-1 variants.

With eight surface options, the TriFlip is ready to create almost any lighting look. The bare panel is a 2-stop diffuser, but two reversible covers give a total of seven surface options, including: White, Silver, Softsilver (whiter silver), Gold, Sunlite (silvery gold), Sunfire (darker gold) and black surfaces.

Lastolite HaloCompact

Specifications

Size (open): 82cm
Surfaces: diffuser; silver/white

Reasons to buy

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Very compact

Where a standard pop-up reflector usually collapses down to around one third its open diameter, the HaloCompact packs into a carry case just 27 x 6.5 x 6.5cm and weighs a mere 335g, yet opens up to a very versatile 82cm diameter. The detachable fabric is available with silver/white reflector surfaces, or there’s a 2-stop diffuser version; these can be bought separately, so you only need buy one frame. 

The remarkable space-saving design is thanks to Lastolite’s RapidExoframe collapsible lightweight aluminum frame that quickly slots together like a tent pole. The fabric then simply clips to the frame. The collapsible frame features a handle that incorporates a ¼” thread to attach the panel to a tripod head.

In reality, the 12 clips can be a little fiddly and stiff to attach, especially when tensioning the fabric with the last couple of clips. It gets easier with practice, but will never be as effortless as a conventional pop-up design. That said, most people will only open and collapse a reflector once during a shoot, so the extra set-up time is negligible.

Profoto Collapsible Reflector 120cm

Specifications

Size (open): 120cm
Surfaces: diffuser; silver/white; Sunsilver/white; gold/white; black/white

Reasons to buy

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Ultra-tough hard case

Profoto is an aptly named company, as its reputation for uncompromising quality makes Profoto gear a hit with pros. There isn’t much you can do to make something as simple as a collapsible reflector stand out from the crowd, but profoto’s chunky, sculpted handles make even the Large (120cm) version comfortable to position. This size is best for full length or group photos. If you only plan to shoot head or three-quarter length shots of your sitter, the Medium (80cm) version is preferable.

Several color options are available, but only as double-sided 2-in-1 reflectors - none have separate covers to add extra versatility. Your options are Silver/White, Sunsilver (light gold)/White, Gold/White, Black/White, and a translucent diffuser. If you only buy one, we’d go for the Sunsilver/White option, as the pale gold side adds some warmth to your sitter without producing an unflattering yellow reflection, as can happen with a conventional gold surface.

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Ben Andrews

Ben is the Imaging Labs manager, responsible for all the testing on Digital Camera World and across the entire photography portfolio at Future. Whether he's in the lab testing the sharpness of new lenses, the resolution of the latest image sensors, the zoom range of monster bridge cameras or even the latest camera phones, Ben is our go-to guy for technical insight. He's also the team's man-at-arms when it comes to camera bags, filters, memory cards, and all manner of camera accessories – his lab is a bit like the Batcave of photography! With years of experience trialling and testing kit, he's a human encyclopedia of benchmarks when it comes to recommending the best buys.