Why: Block light
How: Photographers also call them cutters, siders or gobos. A flag is an opaque panel used to block light and shadow the subject, camera lens or the background. You can also use it to hide lights within a scene.

Why: Diffuse light in all directions.
How: This device looks exactly like its name sounds: umbrella-shaped. You place it in front of the light. You use an umbrella to diffuse light; it can turn a hard light into a large soft one. Remember that the interior of the umbrella needs to face the light or it won't work properly.

Why: Reduce the intensity of the light.
How: This is not a diffuser, although sometimes you will hear the term scrim used to describe a diffuser. A scrim is a screen-like metal mesh placed in front of a light and used to reduce its intensity, not to diffuse it.

Why: Scatter and soften lights.
How: Silks are diffusers of different sizes which scatter and soften artificial lights. Synthetics have now replaced traditional silk for this job. Of course, these synthetic materials do not cost as much as regular silk, so sorry silkworm, we don't need you anymore.

Why: Redirect and intensify the light beam.
How: There are two types of reflectors. You use the first type for indoor lighting. This reflector is bowl-shaped and can come in various sizes. You use this type of reflector to shape and intensify the light's beam. The second reflector type is for outdoor use. You use these reflectors to redirect light. They are flat and colored in white, silver or gold.

Why: Wrap a light source and control spillage of lighting.
How: Black wrap is a type of foil painted black, which you can use to shape the light without worrying about reflection problems. You can also use it to make small flags. (Remember: flags are for blocking light and shadowing the subject.)

Why: Attach scrims to barn doors.
How: This is not some fancy item that some lighting genius discovered. It is just a simple wooden clothespin. (See our sidebar.)

Why: Positioning of flags and gels.
How: This is a device you will use primarily to position flags and gels in front of lighting. You can also use it to hold up lights or anything else that you can fit on it. C-stands are metal, and you can place and set them up easily. You will see these stands all over movie productions and in photography studios. While they may look like tripods, they are not. You can vary the height of the stand using a number of risers.