Which first soft box for portraits?

[Marc1548]

I want to purchase a soft box for portraits. Tbh Im a complete beginner in this genre so don't know what to get initially as a good starter? I already have a stand & a Bowens mount for speedli lights.
any suggestions greatly appreciated.
Marc

 

[Garry Edwards]

This may help as a starting point https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/tutorials/which-is-the-right-softbox-for-you.154/

But more useful, specific advice will depend on what you know and we don't . . .

Full length, half length, head only?

Glamour portraits, character portraits, something else?

Small room, large room, dedicated studio?

All that we do know, right now, is that you're using a hotshoe flashgun. In theory, using a s-fit adapter, you can use any size of softbox but in reality the fixed reflector will create uneven lighting with a large softbox, some people think that up to about 90cm is more or less OK, but I think that 60cm is about the upper limit.

Large softboxes don't really work in small spaces, and they certainly don't work with low ceilings, unless your sitter is seated.

If you're photographing a teenager or child with perfect skin and perfect bone structure then you're probably better off without a softbox, which tends to create soft light and gentle shadows. If you're photographing their mother then a medium-sized softbox, used pretty close, is often about right. If you're photographing their grandmother, the bigger the better.

One bit of advice that really does matter - don't get one of the cheapies that don't have a recessed front diffuser, waste of money.

 

[Phil V]

Are you intending to illuminate the softbox with the speedlight? Or are you planning to buy a more appropriate light source?

It does make a difference, if you’re planning to use a speedlight, it’ll not be great in a larger softbox, it’ll not be useful in a beauty dish / softbox affair either.

A speedlight would light a brolly or small softbox.

But as above, it reallly depends what you’re trying to achieve

 

[Marc1548]

Thanks for your replys very useful info. Im fairly new to photography & portraits are something I want to try, anything really family & friends, never really dabbled in this.
I only have a couple of speed lights at the moment, no studio strobes. Im not sure if I want to invest that far at the moment although Im sure it does make a big difference. What I perhaps should have mentioned is that obviously I want to get my speed lights off camera & atm I use the pop up flash as a trigger some soft boxes iv seen mount the flash inside so im not sure if this would work? Should I invest in a remote flash trigger instead?
So im just looking for something that will get me started & from your advice a smaller one or even a brolly would be better for me

 

[Barney]

Thanks for your replys very useful info. Im fairly new to photography & portraits are something I want to try, anything really family & friends, never really dabbled in this.
I only have a couple of speed lights at the moment, no studio strobes. Im not sure if I want to invest that far at the moment although Im sure it does make a big difference. What I perhaps should have mentioned is that obviously I want to get my speed lights off camera & atm I use the pop up flash as a trigger some soft boxes iv seen mount the flash inside so im not sure if this would work? Should I invest in a remote flash trigger instead?
So im just looking for something that will get me started & from your advice a smaller one or even a brolly would be better for me

Do not be inhibited by the perceived cost of strobe lights. you can pick up a cracking pair second hand, with stands and often softboxes thrown in for a £100 if you are patient.

The last pair of Bowens I bought worked out at £60 when fees etc were totaled up, I did not need them but they were too cheap to let go.

 

[Phil V]

If you have this Bowens mount, you missed buying this instead.

The difference between a brolly and similar sized softbox at the same distance is that there’s much more stray light with a brolly, so you’ll have less defined shadows, depending on your subject this may be an advantage, but eventually you’ll want more control.

This would be a small enough for your speedlight, but you might prefer octagonal.

Remember that using your onboard flash to fire the lights adds an other light, which can be either an advantage or disadvantage depending what you want to achieve. And as you’ve guessed, might cause triggering problems once a softbox is used.

 

[Phil V]

Should I invest in a remote flash trigger instead?

I don’t know what flashes you already own. But now is the time to step back and think about the best solution to build from.

If you’ve got high spec camera makers speedlights, it might be worth selling them to put money into a different system.

Godox sell everything from tiny speedlights upwards, and they all work together from the same trigger system.

They’re not the only game in town, but if you’re dismissing them you need to be able to justify that decision.

@Barney is correct that mains flashes aren’t as expensive as people think, but just jumping on something because it’s cheap can bite you on the bum later. That’s why you need to plan now.

 

[f/1.2]

Friend of mine got this Smallrig softbox recently and seems pretty happy with it for the price. Looks decent enough for a 90cm. good advantage with this one is that is quick to set up without having the cost of SMDV Flip etc.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0D3QHF71T

Would also recommend the newer S3 version of the Godox flash bracket that Phil mentioned above. You can find it here.

Godox S3 Speedlite Bracket Flash Holder for Round & Square Head Flashes, Adjustable Clamp, ±90° Tilt, Bowens Mount, Compatible with GODOX V1 V100 V480 V860III TT350 TT600 AD100Pro AD200Pro AD300Pro : Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools

Shop Godox S3 Speedlite Bracket Flash Holder for Round & Square Head Flashes, Adjustable Clamp, ±90° Tilt, Bowens Mount, Compatible with GODOX V1 V100 V480 V860III TT350 TT600 AD100Pro AD200Pro AD300Pro. Free delivery on eligible orders of £20 or more.

www.amazon.co.uk

In terms of upgrading your flash Godox are basically now the main player in the lower cost options as Phil mentioned and while you can pick up Bowens fit strobes for next to nothing these days that will restrict to only using were you can access a plug.

Used Godox AD200 can be bought very cheap now or if you are buying new the Pro version is decent value for money. Triggers can be bought for peanuts although I do like the newer touchscreen type.

 

[Mozthecat]

Something else the article above touches on is going for the umbrella style and I would recommend listening to that - the conventional ones are a faff to put together and dismantle for use within a domestic setting(and easy to damage with the pressure involved on stitched joints) and are far better left in studios fully assembled.

 

[LongLensPhotography]

I recently bought triopo k90 from temu (also on AliExpress and maybe others) and was pleasantly surprised. Setup takes 3s, and light output is quite good. All for under £40 but this may vary. I will probably get 120 now because it is pointless not to. 120 is the best size in my view

 

[CharleyL]

I have many shapes and sizes of soft boxes to choose from. For portraiture I prefer octagonal, because I don't like the square shape of the catchlights in their eyes when using square or rectangular soft boxes. The octal reflection appears more normal when seen in their eyes. For upper body shots, like of someone sitting in a chair, the 30-36" octagonal is my choice. For full standing shots I prefer 4 or 5' octagonal soft boxes. I may add strip soft boxes too, but mostly for hair lighting and the appearance of separation of them from the backdrop. (I have two sizes of these 1' X 6' and 9" X 36"). I have used the 12 X 12" square a few times if I only want a hair light.

For "Still Life" shooting, I usually use square or rectangular soft boxes of different sizes from about 12" X 12" up to 4' X 5'. My studio ceiling is only 8', so I'm limited to what I have by this height restriction. For these shoots, the more even light from the rectangular or square soft boxes have been my usual choice.

So, what am I doing now? -

I am presently setting up for a "Still Life" type shoot of a vase of flowers sitting on the 32" square table and table cloth in my studio. My chosen soft box is a 32" square Godox, attached to a Godox MS300 studio strobe that's suspended directly above the table, and attached to my ceiling lighting support grid. The grid is about 4" below the ceiling, so the short length of the MS300 strobe is short enough to fit, where the rest of my studio strobes would need to be attached using magic arms or similar to get them lower and still be able to hang them from the ceiling grid. With this combination, the square soft box is 28" above the table surface.

I will have a Godox SK400 or SK300 strobe on a light stand Camera right with a 7" round reflector and a 20 degree grid (honeycomb) insert in the 7" reflector to keep the light restricted to only lighting the vase and flowers. The plan is to use the overhead soft box to evenly light the table and eliminate most of the shadows, with the SK400 or Sk300, reflector, and grid positioned to light only the vase and the flowers. I may add a second SK400 or SK300 with reflector and grid attached camera left, if I can't get the desired illumination of the vase and flowers using only one of these strobes I may change the grid size depending on how the 20 degree grid works for this. . Power is not an issue when doing most "Still Life" shoots, and speedlites have enough power for this kind of shoot, but not the versatility of studio strobes. Since my studio strobes are mostly powered from my ceiling mounted AC power outlets, I can shoot all day with no worry of battery failure, and with no cables on the studio floor creating possible trip hazards. I want the gold emblem on the front of this cobalt blue glass vase to be bright and evenly lit, but with no bright reflections from the lights reaching the camera, so I may add linear polarizing filters to these SK lights and a linear polarizing filter to my camera lens to help eliminate these expected undesirable reflections.

For "Still Life" shoots, my camera is always placed on one of my Regalite Camera Stands, as they require less floor space than tripods (=Less Trip Hazard) and they are far more stable than even my heavy duty Slik Pro tripods. I'm using a K&F Concepts micro adjust tripod head on the camera stand, so I can very precisely position my camera for my "Still Life" shoots. It has micro adjust capability in all 3 axes and is great when doing layered multiple shots to keep the camera perfectly positioned for every shot. I also use a wireless trigger to eliminate any possible camera shake.

Charley