Paul Jolly Photography Chapter 22

Using reflectors

These are normally coloured material within a frame. Chief colours are white, silver, gold and black.
Yes black; all surfaces reflect light to some extent and effect your photograph, the use of a black reflector reduces the light from unwanted sources. For instance there may be a bright white immovable object that gives extra lighting onto a subject that is unwanted, the use of a black reflector in the way will reduce or remove the effect of this light source; especially if the subject is not matt.

Silver reflects the colour of light available and provides a lighting source, for instance with a person back lit by the sun, a reflector will provide a source of illumination for the front of the person, as these reflectors are relatively large this provides a reasonably soft lighting.
A gold reflector changes the colour of the light often used to provide a bronzed look to faces as we can see below.

The position of the reflector is important, in the two cases above the reflector was placed lower left of the photographer. An extra advantage in using a reflector in the back-lit photographs is a highlight in the subjects eyes, this should not be missed as it adds to the photographic effect. Looking at the subjects eyes in the pure back-lit photograph a highlight can still be seen, this is purely a white object a long distance behind the photographer and not a placed reflector. If a black reflector was used between this object and the subject the highlight would be removed; a simple black reflector use.
The white reflector, although it will act as a reflector with similar use to the silver version and less reflection strength, it is normally used as a diffuser and is often included in a portable reflector set to give the photographer a choice on site without having to carry another piece of equipment. When used as a reflector the light is less directional than silver or gold and gives the effect of a softer light; as with soft-boxes the white reflector is normally placed as close to the subject as possible to maximize the effective size but this depends on the lighting requirements. The diffuser is placed between a light source and the subject as close as possible to the subject, providing the maximum lighting angle which results in the softest light.