Softbox or ubrella

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macca1980

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I am a total beginner. I am wanting to practice portraits.
I recently read the other thread about one light & a member mentioned that too many lights may confuse.
What would you recommend ... A soft box or umbrella & why.
I was going to get some stuff for around £80 including a background
. Any recommendations?
 
What sort of light have you got planned or have already? I prefer softboxes as they give you more control over where the light actually goes, whilst a white umbrella allows it to spill everywhere. A reflector umbrella doesn't spill light anywhere near as much as the white ones, but it produces hard light unless you have some sort of diffuser over the front of it, basically turning it into a softbox lol.

If its just portraits, I'd be more inclined to look at beauty dishes, but thats my personal tastes.
 
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James J said:
What sort of light have you got planned or have already? I prefer softboxes as they give you more control over where the light actually goes, whilst a white umbrella allows it to spill everywhere. A reflector umbrella doesn't spill light anywhere near as much as the white ones, but it produces hard light unless you have some sort of diffuser over the front of it, basically turning it into a softbox lol.

If its just portraits, I'd be more inclined to look at beauty dishes, but thats my personal tastes.
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Ok I will look at beauty dish, never heard of that.
Thanks for reply
 
Marcus Geezer said:
Brolly softbox..... Best bit of strobist kit I ever owned!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/36Umbrella-Softbox-Soft-Brolly-Box-Soft-Flash-Silver-Reflector-Studio-new-/270994622761?pt=UK_Light_Controls_Softboxes_Diffusers&hash=item3f1889c929

Here is an example used with a £20 brollybox with a speedlite as the key, with only a bit of fill from another speedlite in a reflector brolly.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21500730@N04/5567627245/
Nathan 'de lick' Graham - Pro Boxer by Marcus Charter, on Flickr
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Hi, sorry don't have a speedlight... Is this the same as off camera flash?
Also is this an advantage over a continuous light softbox?

What would reasons be for using continuous light over a flash & vice versa.
Apologies for questions just trying to head my head round it.

Starting a beginner course in next few weeks and hopefully this stuff starts making sense :)
 
macca1980 said:
Hi, sorry don't have a speedlight... Is this the same as off camera flash?
Also is this an advantage over a continuous light softbox?

What would reasons be for using continuous light over a flash & vice versa.
Apologies for questions just trying to head my head round it.

Starting a beginner course in next few weeks and hopefully this stuff starts making sense :)
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Speedlite, Speedlight, flashgun, hotshoe flash are all different words for the same thing.Off camera flash or OCF just means using some kind of flash when it isn't attached to the camera, that term can be applied to studio flash as well as to flashguns but probably most of the people who use it have flashguns in mind.

Continuous lighting is attractive to some people because they think its easier, or better in some way, but nearly all experienced photographers prefer flash for most situations.

The choice of light shaper/modifer, e.g. the various types of umbrellas, softboxes, beauty dishes et al is more complex, some are more suitable for flashguns than others and, used correctly, can produce very different results from each other. Please see this article in the Lencarta learning centre and drill down to see the effects with the different light shapers
 
Thanks for all the advice....I will have a look around and see what I can find.
How do you get a light reading though if you are using the flash based umbrella? I know that's an easy question....can you get the flash to stay on longer or something while you get the reading?
 
macca1980 said:
Thanks for all the advice....I will have a look around and see what I can find.
How do you get a light reading though if you are using the flash based umbrella? I know that's an easy question....can you get the flash to stay on longer or something while you get the reading?
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You can change the meter to flash mode and it remains ready to meter for approximately 90 seconds, depending on meter.
 
testbloke said:
You can change the meter to flash mode and it remains ready to meter for approximately 90 seconds, depending on meter.
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Thanks for this... I need to check my manual now to figure out the metering options
 
macca1980 said:
Thanks for this... I need to check my manual now to figure out the metering options
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I don't think I have that mode.... It's an Olympus e420.
Will prob just get continuous lighting in meantime
 
Cameras don't have meters built in to them that can read flash, you need a separate flash meter for that. Or you can manage without (many people do) using either trial and error or your camera histogram to guide you.

Continuous lighting is 'easier' in the sense that your camera can meter it and make all the decisions for you, but flash is a far better choice for most people.
 
Garry Edwards said:
Cameras don't have meters built in to them that can read flash, you need a separate flash meter for that. Or you can manage without (many people do) using either trial and error or your camera histogram to guide you.

Continuous lighting is 'easier' in the sense that your camera can meter it and make all the decisions for you, but flash is a far better choice for most people.
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I take it the camera can trigger the flash & just keep trying different settings until it looks ok?
 
Macca, you seem to have a lot of basic questions that would be best answered by a bit of study. It sound daunting, but to begin with the best place to go is Strobist 101 where all your questions will be answered.
 
The23rdman said:
Macca, you seem to have a lot of basic questions that would be best answered by a bit of study. It sound daunting, but to begin with the best place to go is Strobist 101 where all your questions will be answered.
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Thanks for your help. Apologies for all the questions... I have a limited budget and just want to make sure I can make the right decision.
 
Hence the above link. :)
 
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