Indirect lighting technique: light bounces off white reflective surfaces (foam board, plywood) to create soft, diffuse illumination. Eliminates harsh shadows for close-ups and beauty shots.
Technical Details
Standard reflectors have diameters from 60cm to 120cm, large studio reflectors reach 2x3 meters. White surfaces reflect 85-95% of light neutrally, silver achieves 95-98% with a slight increase in contrast, gold 90-95% with a color temperature shift of 200-300 Kelvin towards warm tones. Styrofoam boards (4x8 feet) cost 8-15 Euros and reflect 80-85% of light. Professional Lastolite reflectors with various surfaces (white/silver, gold/white) are foldable and weigh 0.8-2.5kg depending on size.
History & Development
The technique established itself in the 1930s in Hollywood studios, where large white canvases were used as "bounce boards." In 1952, Mole-Richardson developed the first collapsible reflector for exterior shoots. In the 1970s, Lastolite introduced foldable round reflectors, which revolutionized transport. Modern LED panels with built-in diffusers have been electronically simulating bounce effects since 2010.
Practical Use in Film
Roger Deakins used 12x12 foot bleached muslin as bounce surfaces for natural-looking facial illumination in the trenches for "1917" (2019). Emmanuel Lubezki relied exclusively on natural light in "The Revenant" (2015), enhanced by white reflectors for detail rendering in shadows. The workflow requires 20-30% more lighting time, as reflectors must be precisely positioned and readjusted during camera movements. Advantage: natural light direction without visible hard shadows. Disadvantage: weather-dependent for exterior shoots and requires space.
Comparison & Alternatives
In contrast to direct light (hard light), bounce light creates soft transitions with twice the illumination area. Diffusion through silk or Lee filters reduces intensity more strongly (2-3 stops) than reflection. Modern softboxes combine both principles: internal reflection plus frontal diffusion. When space is limited, LED panels with a 120° beam angle replace bounce setups but do not achieve the same naturalness of light distribution.