The 22-inch High Output White Beauty Dish creates a bright, highly-efficient light source, similar to that of the silver dish, but with a softer finish. The white dish produces smooth skin tones and even coverage that could normally only be achieved on the silver dish by adding the diffusion sock. With a beam spread of 130° without the use of the included diffusion sock, the white beauty dish is great for indoor portraits to create warmer skin tones, or for diffusing hot spots that might occur on shimmery fabrics or reflective surfaces.

The reflector arrives with an optional direct-light blocker. Direct light from the flashtube is blocked, allowing only bounced light from the reflector to fall on the subject. This reduces the degree of reflections from shiny “specular” objects.

For ever softer results, the White Beauty Dish additionally arrives with a translucent white diffusion sock that converts the reflector into the equivalent of a round softbox with very even coverage and outstanding evenness across the face of the diffusion fabric. This widens the angle of coverage to about 150° and lowers the output by about 1 to 1-1/2 f-stops.

As with any light modifier, there is no right or wrong use. It’s up to the photographer to use the light and modifier as best suits his/her intended purpose. Generally, one should consider using the Beauty Dish without the direct-light blocker when lighting from a distance. Because of its very high output in this mode, the Beauty Dish is an ideal tool for shooting weddings or other events, and for high key studio lighting with the light placed around 7 to 20 feet from the subject. For closer, more intimate lighting, using the diffusion sock will allow wider coverage and lower specularity. Using the Beauty Dish without the sock will result in more selective lighting and higher output, though this use may be challenging when higher power flash units are used due to the very high output of the Beauty Dish.