Light Modifiers

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Lightmodifiers,

So if I'm only going to be getting one light (probably an elite pro 300) to start off with would a softbox and beauty dish be enough, or even the preferred suggestions?

I will eventually get a second light as funds allow but would have thought that 1 light and decent modifiers would have been enough. I also have a reflector.

With softboxes is there a preference for bigger is better? octagonal over square? Is a grid for the front worth it?

What do you tend to use most or feel is invaluable for home portrait sessions?

Thanks
 
Looked into this myself just recently....

- softboxes seem to be the way to go for portraits.
- it seems to be the bigger the softbox, the better. Better spread, softer light.
- octagonal ones will give nice round catchlights in the eyes, but these seem more expensive than square ones.
- also consider if you need to pack them away every time your use them. How easy are they to assemble/disassemble, how small do they pack etc.

I've got 2 square softboxes, but have yet to give them a proper go...having trouble convincing the wife to model for me :(

Grids appear to direct/concentrate the light, so there's less spill sideways.

Not got a beauty dish myself, they seem pretty expensive (£45>) for what they are. many of the lighting setups I've seen in books and online use softboxes only, so not sure it's a must have to start out with.

Darren
 
Also consider how much space do you have. I have 100x100cm softbox and it's huge and mounted on the stand it takes lots of space.
 
IMO softboxes are a much better choice if you have a choice of one - they are versatile, beauty dishes on the other hand are pretty limited in their use.

The shape is really just down to personal preference as far as portraits go, the shape determines the shape of the catchlight in the eyes, but square/rectangular softboxes are more versatile (at least the Lencarta ones are) because they are deeply recessed and so can be used to create graduated light, for example on the background, and can also be used to 'feather' light on the subject.

Honeycombs are used to 'straighten' the light and stop it spreading out. They are especially useful when used as a backlight, with the light coming more or less towards the camera. If the angle of the light is greater than the angle allowed by the honeycomb, it deals with lens flare.

The honeycombs fit into the deeply recessed front, I thought that Lencarta had invented that design but I read only yesterday that Bowens are now claiming it as their own - it's nice to be copied by yet another larger manufacturer - I think:)

As others have said, give some thought to the physical size of the softbox, well-designed ones are deep and they take up a lot of space.
 
There are no right or wrong answers, but my choice would be as Jonathan suggested - 70x100cm Profold. Very versatile. It would be even better if Lencarta produced masks so you could get round, oval or square from the same light... :)

It's a big thing though, deep, and all the better for that, but if space (and budget) is limited then basic umbrellas are more compact, because of the way they fit, tend to be underated these days and give great light - cheap as chips. Different effects from white (soft, general purpose), silver (still soft, but with a harder core) and shoot-through (very soft, as you can use them close and there is tons of spill that bounces around the room and adds fill-in).

Then you need a silver/white reflector. IMHO, get a quick-folding softbox. You'll understand why after you've tried putting eight rods up and down a few times :D
 
This might give you an idea how big 100x100 Lencarta Profold softbox really is.

20120309181649.jpg

Please excuse rubbish quality camera phone picture.


It is huge, but I really like it. It gives beautiful soft light which can be 'wrapped around' the subject. It also folds quite nicely and don't take too much space then. I will take a picture of it folded if needed.
 
LOL :D It's a beautiful beast! Bear in mind that it's 1.4m from corner to corner so the light is actually much larger than a 1m octa.

Going back to brollies, apart from their more compact way of mounting, you can also get them higher, flush with the ceiling if needs be.

Another suggestion for solo portraits, my new favourite light is a Lencarta 85cm Profold Octa. Gorgeous light, not too unwieldy, very soft when used close, hardens up nicely when moved back a little, and it's deep semi-parabolic so you can coax it more readily into casting interesting shadows if you move the background close :thumbs:
 
Thanks guys, some good tips there and that thing is huge. I do like the look of the round catch lights in people's eyes but can also see the point of using a square soft box to control edges in lighting. I'd not really thought about umbrellas, tbh I had dismissed them as a bit naff compared to other modifiers, maybe I need to read up a bit more.

I have a large multi reflector and I was going to get a boom arm stand for it.

Any more ideas and suggestions are more than welcome.
 
Blasted said:
Thanks guys, some good tips there and that thing is huge. I do like the look of the round catch lights in people's eyes but can also see the point of using a square soft box to control edges in lighting. I'd not really thought about umbrellas, tbh I had dismissed them as a bit naff compared to other modifiers, maybe I need to read up a bit more.

I have a large multi reflector and I was going to get a boom arm stand for it.

Any more ideas and suggestions are more than welcome.
Click to expand...

If you used a 100cm brolly and a 100cm octa SB side by side, outdoors or in a very big studio (where there are no surroundings to bounce any light back) there would be virtually no difference in the light.

The advantage of a SB is contol. You can use them closer more easily, and they have less spill - they put light where you want it, and less where you don't. Even more so with a grid. Sometimes that's important.

Advantage of brollies is cheap, fast and easy, more compact.
 
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