Reflector
Reflectors are great tools for any level of photograph. They're very affordable and don't require a flash to use unlike the rest of the accessories listed here. In fact, reflectors are very popular for using outdoors on sunny days as they can help fill in the shadows on your subject's face. Reflectors are also very versatile and can be used to create fill light, side light, rim light, or just about any additional lighting you want. They're especially handy if you only have one flash as you can use your flash as the key light and the light bouncing off of the reflector as a fill. A few more advantages to a reflector is its portability and its variety of different fabrics and finishes. Some reflectors bounce more or less light, others are painted different colors to provide warmer or cooler tones.
Umbrella
Umbrellas are wonderful lighting accessories for beginners as they are cheap and allow you to create a large diffused light source. For less than $20 you can pick up a decent umbrella and start doing studio shoots. There are shoot-through umbrellas and reflective umbrellas. Their purposes and uses different slightly, but both can be handy to have. The down side of umbrellas is that they don't give you a great amount of control over your light. They have one setting: large diffused light. Umbrellas produce a lot of light spillage that is near impossible to control. The light is also more focused in the center and falls off quickly, giving you a hot spot in the center. This is not necessarily bad, but it cannot be changed.
Softbox
A softbox is much like an umbrella, but with a greater ability to control and manipulate the light. Softboxes produce a very even diffuse light meaning no hotspots in the center. The beam of light is also narrower than an umbrella's which allows you to light specific parts of your subject. Softboxes are a little pricey and come in both small, portable sizes and very large sizes.
Beauty Dish
A beauty dish is often used by more professional photographers or those who are looking for a specific type of light. A beauty dish bounces light, like an umbrella, but off of a hard surface instead of a soft one. This creates a harder light with crisper shadows, but doesn't include the disadvantages of direct light. Beauty dishes allow you to create a more dramatic and moody look with higher contrast.
Gels
Colored gels are often used by professionals to control the color temperature of their lights. Blue and orange gels are the most common as they make lights cooler and warmer, but there are many other colored gels that you can use in more creative ways. These are particularly handy if you're mixing strobes and ambient light of different colors. Gels will allow you to match them so your scene appears more natural.
Helpful links: Sell your old camera gear. OR See the best way to market your images.
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Written by Spencer Seastrom
Image credit: lammeyer / 123RF Stock Photo