Softbox Lighting Techniques

For working with lighting for studio photography, a soft box is a wonderful alternative to an umbrella for diffuse lighting. When a photographer uses a soft box, many of the same lighting principles apply to illuminating the subject as when the photographer uses an umbrella as a light diffuser.

Size

Soft boxes come in a range of sizes. As a general rule, the larger the soft box, the softer the light it produces will be. However, the subject must be smaller than the soft box for the lighting to fall evenly across the subject. Large, soft boxes may be as wide as 2 meters or over 6 feet across. These produce diffuse light.

Distance

A second principle that can affect the diffuse quality of the light is how close the subject is to the soft box. The closer the soft box is to the subject, the harsher the light produced is. Because of this, small soft boxes are typically used in macro photography or for dramatic lighting while larger soft boxes are used for portraits.

Numbers

Soft boxes may be used in any combination in flash photography. The most popular way to use a soft box for portrait photography is to use one larger soft box as a "key" or primary source of light and either use a second soft box or a reflector as a "fill" or a light that fills in shadows so that they are not so harsh. For macro photography, one single soft box placed directly in line with the camera and close to the subject is the preferred way to use a soft box.

References

• Using a Soft Box
• What Is a Soft Box
• What is a Good Basic Lighting Kit?

Resources

• Using a Main and Fill Light