Bounce Lighting

Bounce Lighting, generally used in portrait photography, is lighting that bounces off a particular source (such as an umbrella, wall or blank drop down sheet) to surround the central object with light. Through the use of bounce lighting, a photograph will have fewer shadows and softer lighting that doesn’t appear to originate from a particular source.

Bounce lighting can also be created by reflecting light off a ceiling or an aluminized reflector. Overall, portraits taken with bounce lighting present the central object or person in a natural looking light. Given that bounce lighting can only work through reflection, it also, by definition, tends to be used in more confined, smaller areas where such reflection is possible. Larger areas can’t trap light as well and, therefore, are not the best spaces for itto be utilized.

Bounce lighting is a form of ambient light because, like ambient light, bounce light indirectly illuminates the central object of a photo. Not only does it create a more natural feel to a scene, but it also lends a degree of warmth and serenity to the picture.

When using bounce lighting for your photos, keep in mind that the further a camera is away from the central object, the dimmer the resulting image will be. Less light in the finished photo tends to produce softer, potentially weaker images.