Soft box or umbrella

David Brown · Mar 29, 2025

I have been shooting a lot of small still life set ups for a while. I have two large soft boxes and two small ones. I find them awkward, and am considering going back to reflective umbrellas.

Caveat: I do a lot of direct lighting, as well (floods, spots and snoots), but sometimes you need that soft light.

Any thoughts?

gorbas · Mar 29, 2025

Bounced light from right umbrella can be wonderful, I really liked Lowel biggest model (~3') used with open face tungsten units. Another nice thing about them, they are made in various sizes, with very wide assortment of reflective surfaces and they are uber cheap. I still have all of them for "one day I will use them" scenario. Their spil is much harder to control than from Softbox. What kind of light sources are you using?

Pieter12 · Mar 29, 2025

I prefer softboxes form most situations. I'm particularly fond of strip boxes with a grid. Umbrellas are handy because they collapse easily for storage and transportation--really nice for location work. I also use some hybrid solutions that are essentially an umbrella with a diffuser across the opening.

cliveh · Mar 29, 2025

I may be wrong about this, but from what I can remember the catchment light in the models eye from a soft box is more visible than that from an umbrella.

wiltw · Mar 29, 2025

gorbas said:
Their spil is much harder to control than from Softbox. What kind of light sources are you using?

That sentence is the essence of 'why softboxes' The additional reason is that ANY REFLECTION of the source which is seen in the subject reveals the RIBS of the umbrella, rather than the uniform illuminated area of the softbox. Ribs seen in the catchlights of a human subject eyes, or in the chrome surfaces of a shiny metal obect, are distractions from the subject.

Pieter12 · Mar 29, 2025

cliveh said:
I may be wrong about this, but from what I can remember the catchment light in the models eye from a soft box is more visible than that from an umbrella.

Really depends on the distance from the light. A soft box can look like a window reflection. But the OP is shooting still life anyway.

I forgot to mention earlier that shoot-through umbrellas can give a soft box light look too.

MattKing · Mar 29, 2025

I used to like using shoot-through umbrellas .
I think it depends a lot on what you are most used to using.

wiltw · Mar 29, 2025

wiltw said:
That sentence is the essence of 'why softboxes' The additional reason is that ANY REFLECTION of the source which is seen in the subject reveals the RIBS of the umbrella, rather than the uniform illuminated area of the softbox. Ribs seen in the catchlights of a human subject eyes, or in the chrome surfaces of a shiny metal obect, are distractions from the subject.

Even shoot-thru umbrellas can reveal ribs, though not as acutely as reflective umbrella.

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Pieter12 · Mar 29, 2025

wiltw said:
Even shoot-thru umbrellas can reveal ribs, though not as acutely as reflective umbrella.

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I don't find the reflection bothersome at all. Looks pretty natural. I do find the reflection of what I take is the fill reflector a bit distracting.

Sanug · Mar 29, 2025

A beauty dish may be an alternative to both umbrella and soft box.

Pieter12 · Mar 29, 2025

Sanug said:
A beauty dish may be an alternative to both umbrella and soft box.

Not very useful for small-scale still lifes the OP is shooting.

Flashcam · May 3, 2025

David, Using a light shot thru a scrim works very well for close ups. By moving the light around or back and forth, thru the scrim, you can temper it to to have harder or softer light as well as having better control on reflective objects in your set up. Control the fill with the distance to a fill card on the other side or by the distance to the other side of the room.

RalphLambrecht · May 3, 2025

David Brown said:
I have been shooting a lot of small still life set ups for a while. I have two large soft boxes and two small ones. I find them awkward, and am considering going back to reflective umbrellas.

Caveat: I do a lot of direct lighting, as well (floods, spots and snoots), but sometimes you need that soft light.

Any thoughts?

I'm with you. I always found softboxes to be a PITA to set up and take down. An umbrella gives virtually the same quality of light and is much easier to handle. Luckily, my Walimex strobes have a built-in attachment for umbrellas, which allows me to use umbrellas as reflectors or as shoot-throughs. It's very simple and convenient to grab the strobe and the umbrella, and off I go on assignment. My softboxes haven't seen any use for years.

Flashcam · May 3, 2025

Oh, don't leave a hot light on too close to that scrim.

Flashcam · May 3, 2025

The umbrella also works as a maim (not a maim) main light from one side with the second umbrella from the other side and farther back working as a soft background light, as well as the spillage from that strobe head being an edge light, past the back umbrella edge, on the shadow side from the front umbrella main light. It works really well for quick location portraits with very little equipment. I watched this newspaper shooter doing it and learned this really good effect from him. Two heads, two umbrellas, travel light doing portraits and more!

FotoD · May 3, 2025

IMO umbrellas are useless for small still life. You'll have light everywhere. A light shaper should control darkness as much as it controls light.

If you don't want to work with soft boxes then maybe a fresnel lens close-up would be soft enough for you. With barndoors and a grid it'll have less spill.

David Brown · May 3, 2025

Flashcam said:
Oh, don't leave a hot light on too close to that scrim.

Using led, so not that much heat.

Soft box or umbrella

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