Mini Softbox/Diffuser For Weddings

They're a gimmick. There are some bounce card devices which do quite a good job, but basically they're all modifying the bounce. The bounce surface, colour and direction are more important. And a bounce surface is hundreds of times the size of a 'mini softbox'.

A 'mini softbox' creates a soft light from about a foot away from your subject - good for the ringshot or flowers I suppose, but useless for people.

It's all there in the physics, if you accept the size of your light source is important, then increasing it by such a small amount is futile, any 'simple solution' for sale is bound to be a joke. The 'simple solution' is to create a larger source away from the lens axis, which can be anything from firing aff a wall or ceiling, using a reflector or getting the flash off camera and into a softbox.
 
Phil V said:
They're a gimmick. There are some bounce card devices which do quite a good job, but basically they're all modifying the bounce. The bounce surface, colour and direction are more important. And a bounce surface is hundreds of times the size of a 'mini softbox'. A 'mini softbox' creates a soft light from about a foot away from your subject - good for the ringshot or flowers I suppose, but useless for people. It's all there in the physics, if you accept the size of your light source is important, then increasing it by such a small amount is futile, any 'simple solution' for sale is bound to be a joke. The 'simple solution' is to create a larger source away from the lens axis, which can be anything from firing aff a wall or ceiling, using a reflector or getting the flash off camera and into a softbox.
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Thanks for that Phil. Makes total sense.

Just out of interest, when using on camera flash for fill etc, do you use any modifier on it at all (eg one of those little translucent plastic cups) or do you 'go naked' so to speak?
 
for fill in daylight, just bare flash.

As the flash is less than the ambient, it shouldn't be creating any shadows of it's own, so there's no need to worry about it's 'hardness', however if I'm shooting someone backlit or against a sunset etc I'll go off camera because the flash is now the primary light source on the subject.

I hope that makes sense.
 
Phil V said:
for fill in daylight, just bare flash. As the flash is less than the ambient, it shouldn't be creating any shadows of it's own, so there's no need to worry about it's 'hardness', however if I'm shooting someone backlit or against a sunset etc I'll go off camera because the flash is now the primary light source on the subject. I hope that makes sense.
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Perfect sense - cheers Phil.
 
I have seen these used to great effect whn shooting a group of people where the people are split into smaller groupe across the frame. The assistant stands really close to each person and the softbox is about a foot from their face. Each person is lit individually per shot then all the frames are merged in PS (a background image is taken without the people in it). Its great at adding a little light but as phil said its not great used on camera. I purchased a 9 inch one from amazon for about £6 and there is a noticable differenece to bare flash but using it in a wedding would be a nightmare as they wobble about, and can fall in front of the lens and dont make a discernible enough differenece in comparison to bounce / OCF with a large SB.

For £6 its worth having for an emergency i suppose but its yet another thing that can go wrong and im learning every time i shoot a wedding that simplicity is key...my order of priority is now available light, available and a little direct fill, bounce flash, OCF in a static set up.....in that order lol!!!
 
gpc1 said:
I have seen these used to great effect whn shooting a group of people where the people are split into smaller groupe across the frame. The assistant stands really close to each person and the softbox is about a foot from their face. Each person is lit individually per shot then all the frames are merged in PS (a background image is taken without the people in it). Its great at adding a little light but as phil said its not great used on camera. I purchased a 9 inch one from amazon for about £6 and there is a noticable differenece to bare flash but using it in a wedding would be a nightmare as they wobble about, and can fall in front of the lens and dont make a discernible enough differenece in comparison to bounce / OCF with a large SB. For £6 its worth having for an emergency i suppose but its yet another thing that can go wrong and im learning every time i shoot a wedding that simplicity is key...my order of priority is now available light, available and a little direct fill, bounce flash, OCF in a static set up.....in that order lol!!!
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Cheers Greg,

I think if I were to take a punt on one it'd be purely to experiment with.....definitely not for the vital shots! :)

Like the way you've worked out your order of preference for lighting. That helped me get it all a bit clearer in my head :thumbs:
 
Anything is better than direct bare flash... if you can't bounce (and there are venues where you have blue walls and ceilings etc) then you need something and a on flash softbox is definitely one option.

As Phil rightly said the size of the diffuser matters a lot... most on camera softbox's are tiny, but I have a Ezybox (http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-...se-extension&gclid=clh6zcgt4rkcfcbltaod1skacw) which is supposed to be the best due to being quite large in comparison to others.

I also have a Demb Flip-it which is basically a large bounce card and I feel the light from this is far harsher and less flattering than the ezybox. So much so I never use it and probably never will.
 
Would a Sto-fen be better instead of a soft box?
 
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I have actually resorted to using one of those small 8 or 9" softboxes on an OCF at a wedding using TTL - it definitely takes away the harshness which a bare flash would have but I do tend to keep the ISO high so that the flash is only contributing to the light rather than creating it! Also, dont use it too far off axis - it really does a pretty good job but of course having a larger diffuser will give much superior results.
 
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