Westcott 60" Convertable umbrella

Today I am going to write about one of my favorite light modifiers: the Westcott 60” convertible umbrella. The versatility from this umbrella is fantastic, and if I can only use one modifier out on location it is this one. I find it very capable of handling medium sized groups as a bounce umbrella or as a shoot through with no problems.


The build of this unit was better than I thought it would be for the price. I picked mine up at a local camera shop for about $45, so when it wears out replacing it is not a problem.

This umbrella gives a nice, soft, broad bounced light with the black backing on. It does not have as much contrast as a silver bounce umbrella, but you can move it back from your subject to increase the contrast a bit if needed.

When used as a shoot through the Westcott 60” casts a soft, even, light with incredible spread, and also has a very manageable light fall off.

If you need a tighter light source from this umbrella with the black backing on you can close up the umbrella around your light to create a far more focused source that is easy to control.

If our local camera shop carries the Westcott 60” convertible umbrella, I would definitely recommend that you pick one up and give it a try. You won't be sorry.