Over the last couple of weeks I have been emailed constantly by beginner photographers asking whether they should use a Softbox or an umbrella to diffuse the light when photographing people. Instead of replying individually to all of these questions I thought it may be worth writing an article on the subject, so here we are.
Umbrellas
Photo Taken by Frank @ www.fotoheaven.net
Now I probably own around 10+ umbrellas because their very handy to use when it comes to doing location photography work. They take up less room than a Softbox and because of this their easier to carry around.
There are different types of photography umbrellas. The main ones are a shoot through and a reflective. My favourite type is a shoot through umbrella and this is because you are able to face the umbrella at your subject and get in really close to achieve a very soft and natural light. The reflective umbrella on the other hand faces away from the subject while the metal shaft of the umbrella faces towards them. Now this can be dangerous and it also doesn’t allow you to get in close with your umbrella. For this reason the shoot through umbrella is my favourite out of the two.
Umbrellas are a nice and cheap way of diffusing light. One of the bad things about using an umbrella is the lack of being able to control the light spilling off onto the background. Now most of the time this won’t be a problem, but if you’re trying to take a picture of a subject and you want the background underexposed or completely black then you may have a problem doing this when using a photography umbrella.
Umbrellas are an inexpensive pieces of equipment but I do recommend being careful when your outside shooting in windy conditions because these things will lift off. To make sure this doesn’t happen, either don’t use one in windy conditions but if you have to make sure you always put a weight on your light stand to stop it blowing over with the umbrella. You could also have an assistant hold the umbrella and light stand.
When looking to purchase an umbrella you should always look to get the biggest size for what you can afford. The reason for this is that the bigger the light source the more diffused the light will be. I recommend getting the biggest umbrella that your budget allows, you may also want to purchase more than one as I have often broke more than one when shooting on location. Some good photography umbrellas that I recommend can be seen below:
- Cowboy Studio 33” shoot through umbrella (less than $10)
- Westcott 43” shoot through umbrella (Less than $20)
- Westcott 86” Oversized shoot through umbrella (around $140)
Softbox
Photo taken by Jimmy Arce
A Softbox may have a disadvantage when it comes to portability, however they more than make up for it when it comes to functionality. A Softbox allows you to control the spill of light even in the smallest of rooms. So if you want to underexpose the background or you want to have it pitch black then the Softbox is the tool you will need.
I don’t own as many softboxes as I do umbrellas because I often shoot on location and quite often don’t have much room for a Softbox but having said that nearly all of my indoor work is done with a Softbox. A Softbox is also much easier to control than an umbrella and because of this working with multiple lights is made easier.
A Softbox like a shoot through umbrella allows you to get as close to your subject as you want. A Softbox also has two diffusion panels one on the inside and one on the outside, this allows for a much softer light.
If I had to choose between getting an umbrella or a Softbox then I would say get an umbrella if you’re on a budget, but if you can afford to pay a little extra and you want better looking images then get a Softbox.
A list of some good softboxes can be seen below:
As you can see from above, softboxes are more expensive than photography umbrellas, however I believe their absolutely worth the extra money every time. There are probably many other good softboxes out there, however I only listed the ones that I own and love and if you get any of them I’m sure you will too.
If money wasn’t an object
Now the next item I am going to tell you about I have only used around 5 times, and hopefully one day I will own this amazing light diffuser. The Elinchrom 74 inch octabank is the biggest light diffuser that I have ever used. It is also the most expensive costing around $1400.
The reason why I love this light diffuser is that the light source is made so big by the diffuser that the light will completely wrap around your subject even if you’re shooting full body shots. This then creates visually stunning images that are out of this world.
If any of you reading this article are super rich and would like to buy me one of these I am more than happy to take it off your hands. In all seriousness not many of us have money like this to spend on light diffusers, but if you do then get it, it’s amazing.
Hopefully you now have a better idea of which light diffuser you would like to use. If you have any questions please ask them below.
Comments
prefer a softbox it gives you more control over the light