Do It Yourself - Professional looking Reflector for Budget Photographers using Aluminium Foil

Now that you have found my site, the end reflector will be something like the image below. I used it up for quite some time and it still holds up. The beauty is that you can make it in any size you want. You can fold it and put it in your bag. 

Professional Looking Al foil Photographic reflector

 

Lets discuss the basic requirements for making a reflector. 

1. You know what reflectors are. 

2. You want to make one for your hobby / professional adventures. 

3. Aluminium Foil (one side hard reflection, the other side soft reflection type)

4. Insulation Tape. (Not duct tape!)

5. Scissors.  

6. Measuring tape/scale. 

7. News paper. (in required quantity) . Newspaper is used to give a shape to the reflector, so you can use any other material you want. I use newspaper because it is flexible and makes the Reflector foldable and portable. 

Materials required for Making DIY Aluminium foil Reflector

Step 1:

Decide on the size of the reflector. You have to select the Al foil size and the newspaper size accordingly. 

Step 2:

First Make sure that your foil has a soft reflection side. For consistent and uniform effects we are going to use the soft side as it gives a soft reflection on the subject.

Hard reflection side of Aluminium Foil

Soft reflection side of Aluminium Foil  

Step 3:

From here on. It's simple. 

Just take the Newspaper which acts as the back bone of the reflector and fold it to the size you want the reflector to be. Keep the width to a minimum (10 sheet thick newspaper should do fine after folding)

Step 4:

Now cut the Al foil leaving tolerances around the size of the newspaper you just made. 

Step 5:

Using the Insulation tape, stick the edges of the aluminium foil so that it acts like a bag with one end open through which you can load the newspaper. 

I prefer insulation tape to duct tape because they are less sticky and can be removed and pasted back if you made any mistake. Also they give a very solid look. 

Step 6:

Load the newspaper inside and seal the entrance. 

Then you shall be left with something like this: 

Happy photographing!