The Umbrella Academy: Why every photographer should buy umbrellas!

In this video, I am going to share with you how umbrella types differ by comparing images from a recent test shoot and then I am going to share three ways you can use umbrellas in your work for years to come.
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Wether you're a beginning needing to buy your first lighting kit or a seasoned professional, you'll find these tips invaluable.
When I got my first set of lights in 1998, I started with two 75cm (30’) umbrellas. Back then, I used them for environmental portraits on location. One umbrella illuminated the room, and the other lit up the person's face. This simple approach marked the beginning of my lighting journey, and even after 25 years, I still use umbrellas and I probably have one with me on every shoot.
Umbrellas primarily come in two varieties - shallow and deep. Shallow umbrellas are said to produce soft light with widespread distribution, On the other hand, deep umbrellas are said to create more focused, high-contrast light, making them perfect for beauty and portraits. Each type has three variants: translucent, white, and silver. And all of them are ideal for quick setups. I personally like more contrast in my images so I currently use the deep variety
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Jerry Stevens
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Click here for a full list of all the gear I use in the studio - shop.howl.me/JohnGress
Lighting
Elinchrom FIVE
Adorama howl.me/cjCnmmUpjV1
Amazon amzn.to/3Um6V61
B&H bhpho.to/3LcypYZ
Elinchrom Deep Umbrella (White, 41”)
Adorama howl.me/cjCnv9Opt2j
Amazon amzn.to/2I9Kkql
B&H bhpho.to/41PO0Fb
Elinchrom 41" Deep Umbrella, Translucent
Adorama howl.me/ck1dNhmDUkZ
B&H bhpho.to/47sQifM
Elinchrom 41" Deep Umbrella, Silver
Adorama howl.me/ck1dPYxHUYG
B&H bhpho.to/3sGG9gH
Elinchrom Diffuser for 41" Deep Umbrella, Translucent
Adorama howl.me/ck1dRdMTHhw
B&H bhpho.to/47sQifM
Elinchrom Diffuser for 41" Deep Umbrella, Black
Adorama howl.me/ck1dOckaQta
B&H bhpho.to/3R1G6W1
Elinchrom Rotalux 150cm Indirect Softbox
Adorama howl.me/cjCnmmBqePP
Amazon amzn.to/44uSXVl
B&H bhpho.to/3M3NKwR
Kupo 40" Master C-Stand Kit with Turtle Base Kit
Adorama howl.me/ckrng8iYyzH
Amazon amzn.to/3YPVPtD
B&H bhpho.to/47OKQVB
Camera
Canon EOS R5
Adorama howl.me/cjCnaWpm8UM
Amazon amzn.to/3vPGmeb
B&H bhpho.to/3VbPdUw
Canon BG-R10
Adorama howl.me/cjCnaWADdkp
Amazon amzn.to/2OUmRQY
B&H bhpho.to/3niVtNI
Canon RF 85mm F1.2 L USM
Adorama howl.me/cjCnaWYcCHb
Amazon amzn.to/3tHbPxm
B&H bhpho.to/3L6f1Na
Canon RF 28-70mm f/2.0
Adorama howl.me/cjCnaWOwhRU
Amazon amzn.to/3vkEWbE
B&H bhpho.to/426bKEM
Video
Canon Cinema EOS C70
Adorama howl.me/cjCnaWADdkp
Amazon amzn.to/3vkvy7X
B&H bhpho.to/44dCV23
Nanlite Compac 200B Adjustable Bicolor LED Panel
Adorama howl.me/cjFTJEu8k2N
Amazon amzn.to/3mXYzUP
Nanlite nanlite.pxf.io/x93BBk
B&H bhpho.to/42v0bap
Nanlite FS-150 AC LED Monolight
Adorama howl.me/cjFTK70WWcG
Nanlite nanlite.pxf.io/b3zLLB
B&H bhpho.to/3NFmZQg
In today's test with our model Colleen I am going to be using three Elinchrom 105cm (41”) deep umbrellas and two diffusers. I think it's safe to assume that similar umbrellas from different brands are going to work substantially the same.
I created the first image with Elinchrom’s Deep Translucent Umbrella coupled with a Black Diffuser on the back. I used this modifier as a shoot through umbrella. The purpose of this cover was to prevent light from bouncing off the interior of the umbrella and then reflecting off of other surfaces in the room. When light bounces off of colored surfaces it takes on the color of that object, so having more control of your lighting is essential when creating color images. Also uncontrolled light bouncing off of walls and ceilings could possibly reduce the contrast in your images, so using a black cover like this is a good idea when using a shoot through umbrella. The light from this modifier is similar to what you would expect from a softbox:
Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
01:02 - Umbrella Types
01:31 - Side by Side Taste Test
02:23 - Translucent Umbrella
03:32 - Deep White Umbrella
03:42 - Deep White Umbrella With A Diffuser
03:52 - Deep Silver Umbrella
04:06 - Deep Silver Umbrella With A Diffuser
04:46 - My Choice
05:29 - First Lighting Setup
07:18 - Second Lighting Setup
08:48 - Third Lighting Setup
10:09 - Conclusion

[@jasonbodden8816]

I love all manner of light modifiers but umbrellas have a special place in my heart. They just might be my favorite modifiers....and octaboxes.

[@luisarevalo6112]

Thank you for your great and valuable presentations John! I have (and not used) a 32” westcott and a 59” umbrella and now I’ve learned what I can do with them! I’m not a studio photographer but once a year I become one for my daughter’s jewelry product (with models), and what you’ve presented is in the directions we want to go on our next shoot. Kudos

[@JohnGress]

Thank you. I hope it helps!

[@jkinze]

I bought a package to evoto after your first review. Like $80 for 1200 images. I had a client ask me to remove birthmarks/skin blemishes. I told her confidently i could easily do what she wanted. I used 30 images for this client. She loved the gallery so much that she tipped me $100. Evoto easily paid for itself.

[@JohnGress]

That is awesome! it's pretty hard to lose money at their prices!

[@Garbid]

I do the same for headshot and corporate photography. Also evoto can replace background easily. I usually put white wall behind model and speedlight to separate from background. I noticed it helps when ai changes background.

[@chrisrogers1081]

Hi John, It’s so refreshing to have a tutorial where the photographer actually understands how lighting works in reality. First, the studio. When I was young, that’s a long long time ago, studios had black walls and ceilings, probably the floor as well and no windows or if it did they would have black shutters. Therefore, you could be fairly certain that the light was what you had added and nothing more. These days the vogue is to have everything white and probably large windows for “natural light”. This means that depending on the time of day the ambient light could be almost anything. Added to that, light will be bouncing off everywhere. It’s bad enough with softboxes, but with shoot-through umbrellas (lighting hand grenades as I call them), the situation is even worse. The hapless beginner has no idea what's going on. It’s little surprise that black V-flats sell so well! Most tutorials tell us that you should set our white balance to 5600K or whatever the colour temperature of your strobes happens to be. How refreshing to hear you tell us that the fabric of modifiers along with everything else will change the white balance. You’re obviously a real photographer with real experience! Oh and by the way, 41” umbrellas with a built-in defuser (often referred to as brolly boxes) are definitely my go-to and so convenient for location work.

[@JohnGress]

Thanks you so much Chris! You make a great point about the studios being white boxes with window light. I bet a lot of people are running into problems where they can’t understand why sometimes they have shadow detail and sometimes they don’t. I’ll have to work that into a future video and look out for those hand grenades! 🤣

[@barkyvonschnauzer2188]

This was exactly what I needed to hear & learn. Thank you!

[@JohnGress]

Awesome! Glad it was helpful!

[@lizabrown8125]

Thank you so much for this video and showing us how to use the different umbrellas in situations.

[@JohnGress]

You are so welcome! I hope it was helpful!

[@flol3266]

Finally the first one on youtube who tested the white and silver umbrella with and without diffusor. Really nice, thank you!

[@JohnGress]

Thanks! I hope it proves to be helpful!

[@flol3266]

@@JohnGress it was very helpful!

[@jkspinalchoice]

That's Awesome John! Great shoot!!!

[@JohnGress]

Thank you so much!

[@rickjbradbury]

Umbrellas are a great tool, You can do a lot of work with a 60" convertible one. Shoot through Reflective. Poor mans softbox You can change the light quality by changing the light distance from the umbrella on the shaft. They can be used as a key light, fill light, used to control natural light, light backgrounds, light scrims, backgrounds or environments. Great video John.

[@JohnGress]

Thank you so much! It’s great to hear from you.

[@jclcreativephotovideo]

Don't forget satin finish umbrellas! They give a really smooth mix between white and silver that I find looks great on skin.

[@traviswallace]

I woke up this morning thinking about this. And as soon as I open KZbin this video pops up. 😊

[@JohnGress]

The algorithm is getting really good at predicting what you want!

[@GadgetRumors]

love how this pilot play, nice live!

[@somewhere327]

Really helpful format, thanks!

[@JohnGress]

Awesome! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@fcoker73]

Great video as always!! Ive used umbrellas before but I like how you used it for the two models as an edge light. Its awesome that you will be at Imaging! I hope to see you there!!

[@JohnGress]

Thank you so much! I am looking forward to it! My recon class is on 2/27

[@AbSesayPhoto]

Well done. Love test like these.

[@JohnGress]

Thanks Ab! The translucent modifier surprised me.

[@SeanCarter]

Before, I pretty much swore by softboxes but I started shooting with umbrellas with a modifier on top and created some of my best work. Not only is it just as effective in many cases, the convenience is something else!

[@JohnGress]

Thanks for sharing. The whole approach is what really matters not just one element.

[@justingarner961]

Ace video John. I have umbrellas that I never use in my studio. I'm now going to start lighting my background with them for Portraits and product photography. Cheers John

[@JohnGress]

Sounds great! this video will probably shed more light on that topic too kzbin.info/www/bejne/bIiuqHipqcqDd9E ;)

[@jeffreyrosenberg7765]

Love Evoto. I wish that the panels would collapse when you click on a different section (similar to Lightroom) Hate that they all stay open. Yes, I do close one when I go to another but wish it was auto

[@jamesgordonpatterson1753]

very informative. as for my needs, I have several canon flashes and a few umbrellas. Can't think of the last time I used them. I just rarely if ever do portraits.

[@mlamb0]

Thanks again for another great informative video!

[@JohnGress]

My pleasure! Thank you.

[@goonerruss7583]

great photgraphy and lighting and easy to follow i use your lighting control tips in my own work brilliant

[@JohnGress]

Thanks! I am glad the tips have been helpful!

[@alepofoto8505]

Fantastic video, glad you mentioned the warmth white umbrellas create, good to keep in mind! Love the image of Mr. Jerry Stevens, beside his good looks the effect you created is great thank you for sharing that and all you shared in all your videos Mr. John Gress!

[@JohnGress]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it. He's an amazing human being!

[@donnamariajones8960]

Great video John! Umbrellas are a necessity in my toolkit!

[@JohnGress]

Thanks Donna!

[@karstenbursak8083]

Another great Video... When I downsized during the pandemic, I got rid of all my big softboxes and octas. I kept a 105cm deep silver and 2 deep 180cm (one white, one silver) all with diffusors. The storage footprint is practically non existent and the setup times and easy transportation is simply superior when working on location. Greetings from Berlin

[@JohnGress]

Danke Schone! I wish Elinchrom made larger umbrellas too.

[@Mowikan]

You forgot one important factor: you can easily travel with umbrellas and have much less setup time on location. Excellent video again! ❤

[@JohnGress]

Thank you!

[@user-tp2fl8hr9t]

Hi John, awesome video, thank you! I use a similar setup as shown at minute 3:43, deep white refecltive umbrella with a sock on a C-stand. How do you fix the rotation along the axis of the boom arm so that gravity does not pull the flash head including umbrella down? Either I have a crappy C-stand or I don't know bcause that seems to be an issue for me with these types of setups. Softboxes don't have this problem because they often hang below the boom arm. Thanks and keep making this awesome content!

[@user-di2gx3iv2o]

Great video as you do usually. I use softbox and umbrellas depending on what I need. I like your style in general, but the lighting you use is great. Best, from Nicaragua!

[@JohnGress]

Thank you so much!

[@NanliteGlobal]

Great video! Thanks for your sharing!

[@JohnGress]

Thanks for watching! 🙏🏼🙏🏼 thanks for the fs150 and compact 200B combo 🙌🏼

[@matt.banton]

John this is brilliant! I have all of these umbrellas... im now inspired to dust them off and shoot with them :)

[@JohnGress]

That’s great to hear! Thanks!

[@mikeo7781]

Never knew you were in Chicago. I’ll check out your workshops.

[@JohnGress]

Thanks! It would be nice to have you there !

[@mordavian]

Interesting video. I think i will try an umbrella instead of softbox with grid. I can not see how many petals does this umbrella have but according to the mathematics 24 is the magic number to get the best result in terms of light scattering.

[@droneinspectionimaging]

Outstanding information and strong presentation. I especially enjoyed your warm and friendly tone. Thanks for a great video! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🙏

[@JohnGress]

Thanks! So nice of you!

[@TasteofTaboo]

Umbrellas have a huge benefit if you work in a real dense city with a good transportation system. Means when it is noticeable faster using the subway than going by car or taxi. In combination with the Elinchrom Stand 88-235 kit and this is a killer setup for a two to three light setup you can carry around without traffic jams. This means often 1-2h less drinving annoyance here.

[@JohnGress]

That's exactly what I had in mind at the end of the video

[@user-oy5id4er1g]

Thanks for the video

[@JohnGress]

Our pleasure!

[@Flamamacue]

An underrated use-case for a translucent umbrellas is as a small scrim. If you're doing environmental of individuals or small groups and fighting the sun, putting up a big translucent umbrella on a bagged stand is a lot simpler, faster & easier to transport (especially if stairs are involved that a cart can't traverse) than a scrim frame and stands.

[@billjohnson3323]

This is extraordinary. I have spent several days researching using shoot through and reflective umbrellas. I'm preparing for a dance studio shoot and planned to use the shoot through as my key and reflective as a fill. In looking at sites most of the presenters showed the shoot through without a cover on the back and then complained about stray light. Also few used a defusser on the open side on the bounce back. So glade you talked a showed both. Does Elinchrom make seven foot umbrellas. Need to use ones with 7 mm shafts and can't find any. Thanks

[@JohnGress]

Thanks! I hope it helps. I know Westcott makes 7’ umbrellas but I don’t know if they are 7mm. Photek makes 60” with a 7mm shaft.

[@EzraaaDave]

I'll see you at WWPPI in Vegas!!

[@JohnGress]

Cya soon!

[@romiemiller7876]

I got 3 umbrellas in the early '80s. Those and a set of barndoors were my lighting kit. I use a lot more lighting now, including softboxes.

[@billycrowe4501]

Im stuck between the profoto Large umbrella and the wescott deep umbrella, essentially the same thing from the 2 brands. I own other wescott modifiers and love them since they are pretty high quality. The wescott are like half the price and i want to know if there is something I am missing since profoto seems to just be expensive for the sake of it since they both seem to be high quality enough

[@user-xy3fo7rk8u]

I think I might need a version of umbrellas 101 first 😮

[@JohnGress]

I was hoping the first section of the video would provide that information.

[@rebelfante]

Hi John, I love your channel and your videos. If possible, try to make the next videos in 4k. The quality of 1080p unfortunately leaves a lot to be desired. Thank you and have a good year!

[@JohnGress]

Thanks. Noted!

[@PhotoTrekr]

I never liked umbrellas much. I instead liked using softboxes. And, in fact, I see you are using umbrellas as softboxes. I've always liked Elinchrom softboxes in particular. I don't do much studio photography anymore, but when I do, I still use my Elinchrom lights.

[@JohnGress]

Everything is good in moderation! But you really can't go wrong having a pair of umbrellas in your kit.

[@kibbsnowden6893]

It looks about like a soft box !!!

[@Garbid]

The only con and substantial is outdoor photography with wind. But indoor for some corporate photography and etc at location yes umbrella is better.

[@JohnGress]

I often wonder if they would be more of a hazard or the same outside as a softbox. It does seem like they would be more of a problem.

[@Garbid]

@@JohnGress umbrella construction is very fragile.

[@garzaedu]

When are you going to seattle? I visit my son several times a year, so this would be perfect!

[@JohnGress]

It would be great to have you there when we have the workshop in August. If you leave your email address here - johngress.com/workshops/ - you'll be the first to know when we set the date!

[@garzaedu]

@@JohnGress perfect! As soon as you release the date, I’ll pay for the course! Thanks! I subscribed to the workshop mailing list on your page.

[@JohnGress]

Great! See you soon,

[@jeffreyrosenberg7765]

I wish Evoto came as a PS plugin

[@bricelangston8634]

Damn good content and definitely not your printed church directory portrait three light setup explanation. Comparing the umbrella results and showing examples how to utilized umbrellas to capture mood was great.

[@JohnGress]

Thank you so much! I'll work on upgrading the church directory next week ;)

[@dickroot1937]

This should be a fun video, I HATE umbrellas but John G is the man so, lets see!

[@JohnGress]

Thanks! they don't have to be your main light, but they really should be in every kit.

[@martinmatok3390]

Do you have a plan a tour in Europe?

[@JohnGress]

At the moment it appears that would require a work visa, so it is unlikely.

[@sentand-sg3yr]

The one thing I never understood was how to control flash power and distance.

[@jackbarron8880]

Model is really nice

[@likelovehahawow]

1:23 I feel like I need to preface this by saying I do like your videos and your approach to teaching and I subscribe to the channel. That said, I feel like you’re spreading some wrong information here (not intentionally) rooted in common misconceptions about how light works. I see this happen a lot on KZbin and elsewhere. First - umbrella depth and shape doesn’t matter on shoot throughs (those are effectively big lanterns at that point and spread light all around like a great big bulb). It only matters on reflective umbrellas and that relates to the way the light spreads. The closer to a parabolic shape, the closer to parallel the reflected rays will be, increasing specularity. But that only works in reflection, not shoot through. And it’s a one sided way to control contrast (increasing the intensity of the highlights only) and won’t deepen shadows or make them harder as this is a function of the hardness of the light and determined solely by relative size to subject. And of course, the moment you put any diffusion in front of the umbrella, it loses all the qualities of the shape of the umbrella and the modifier simply acts as the new source of the light - at that point a large flat panel with some manner of diffuse behavior (scattering the light evenly). Depth is just to approximate a parabolic (true parabolics are expensive) and it’s negated whenever diffusion is used in front. At which point you’ve only bought the inconvenience of something longer and more unwieldy in small spaces. I simply will not buy any modifier that calls itself a parabolic soft box because that’s just an oxymoron and the folks selling it don’t understand the physics of light at all. That said, I do like umbrellas a lot but it’s important to understand what they are doing in terms of the physics of light to fully take advantage of what they offer

[@JohnGress]

Well thank you for subscribing and than you for your complements. I was speaking in very general terms in that section and talking about umbrellas, not umbrellas with diffusion. I have heard this parabolic / diffusion argument before and it is generally true, but also not absolutely true. While I did not test it here, I could say in general the modifier shape and design does affect the light spread with diffusion. Specifically you will see it in an upcoming beauty dish video where a sock doesn't make the modifier equal to a softbox. Also in these videos you can see technically how focused the beam is from different softboxes with similar diameters kzbin.info/www/bejne/g6CTYmSPf5iDqrc and in this video you can see the quality of light differences from those sofboxes kzbin.info/www/bejne/g6CTYmSPf5iDqrc.

[@tintin69rr]

Great video 👍

[@JohnGress]

Thanks !

[@paigeofstylez]

You would say this AFTER i already softboxes and a strip box 🤦🏿🥺🥺🥺

[@JohnGress]

OH well I wasn't saying those things are bad and you shouldn't own them. What I was saying is that these humble modifies are underrated and purchasing them is something you won't regret.

[@paigeofstylez]

@@JohnGress please think about coming to Buffalo NY for a class 🙏🏿

[@JohnGress]

My closest class to you will be in New Jersey 2/17

[@GlobalShutterNY]

I think a set of umbrellas and a ‘brolly’ diffuser gives photographers an incredible portable inexpensive lighting package… The main difference between umbrellas and fancier octas and soft boxes is price. No manufacturer pushes umbrellas because there is so little profit in them- but a wise photographer knows better! (& someone mentioned using a large shoot through as a scrim- done that many times- bonus!)

[@gruianostu]

so wrong colors...