Do you struggle with the thought of using studio lights? Are you confused about softboxes, umbrellas, and beauty dishes? Do you agonize over which lights and modifiers are best? Do you need someone to help you turn the lights on?! CMmentor Jessica Gwozdz who is a studio lighting expert is here today to show you the differences between modifiers. Be ready to take some notes, try not to smile at her adorable son, and make sure to read all the way to the bottom for an incredible giveaway Jes is offering you!
studio lighting | softbox vs umbrella vs beauty dish
Is a softbox better than an umbrella? What about a beauty dish? Today I would like to talk about various light modifiers and share some example photos.
So what are some of the main differences between softboxes and umbrellas? Umbrellas are usually less expensive, more portable, and quicker to setup than softboxes. Softboxes require a speedring to be able to attach to the face of the light, although lately there are some umbrella-ish softboxes on the market that do not require a speedring. Softboxes offer much more directional control of your light (less spill) than umbrellas. They also allow you to have rectangular catchlights in the eye versus round catchlights. Lots of photographers prefer rectangular catchlights because they look more like the natural light coming from a window. This is not indicating that there is anything wrong with round catchlights. It’s just simply a preference thing, so you can choose what you prefer.
There are also modifiers called brolly boxes. A Brolly box is often called “the poor man’s softbox” and is somewhat of a hybrid between a softbox and an umbrella. A brolly box is basically a shoot thru umbrella with black backing added to help control spill a little bit. You won’t get as much directional control with a brolly as you would with a softbox, but you get more control than with just a basic umbrella. I did not test a brolly box for this tutorial but thought it was worth mentioning in case someone wants to research them further.
Because there is a lot of talk lately within the forums about beauty dishes, I also incorporated my beauty dish into this test. It’s a lot smaller than the umbrella or softbox I used for these shots. With all modifiers, the bigger the modifier the softer the light. Hopefully you can visually discern this difference in the following sample shots.
Fortunately my 6-year-old was willing to model for me. His sister recently kicked a ball at him while they were playing, prematurely knocking out his front tooth. Those of you who know me also know that my favorite time to photograph kids is when they are missing teeth so what a perfect time for my son to model for one of my tutorials!
For each scenario I will include both a portrait and a pullback. For all cases but one I used the modifier (ie: softbox, umbrella, or beauty dish) camera left and a giant free-standing reflector camera right. An important thing to notice is the variation in the amount of spill on the background. Unless otherwise specified, a background light was not used so any light you see on the background is only spill. I used a kicker behind the subject and camera right to help provide separation in the situations where the background became very dark. All images were shot with a Nikon D700, 24-120 f4 lens at ISO 200, 1/200, f 4.5.
I started with a Calumet 60 inch white-interior bounce umbrella.
Next I used a shoot thru umbrella. This is the same exact umbrella I used above, but I removed the black cover and turned the light around to face my son. This position gives a much cleaner catchlight because you can no longer see the light unit itself reflected in the eye. You can see what I am talking about later in this tutorial when I share closeups of my son’s eyes.
Next I pulled out my Flashpoint 16 inch beauty dish. First I positioned it feathered to the side as I would with a larger modifier like an umbrella or softbox.
Then I moved it into a more typical glamour position that is used with a beauty dish – high and frontal, just above the camera position.
Look at the difference in the background spill when I skim the beauty dish at the subject from the side versus hitting him with the light head-on. Also, notice the difference in the shadow pattern on his face.
Finally, let’s look at a large softbox, my favorite modifier to work with. These were shot with the Larson 4×6 foot softbox.
He’s a good sport but was getting a little tired of this exercise by the time we got to the softbox, as can be seen in the softbox pullback.
Now let’s look at the difference in the catchlights in the eyes for each scenario.
So are any one of these modifiers really “better” than another? No, I don’t think so. They are all tools that can be used effectively to provide different results based on the photographer’s creative vision. These modifiers also have different convenience features to consider. I photograph mainly kids and families and I prefer to work with a softbox as my main light. I don’t often use a light for fill but when I do, I would choose an umbrella for fill.
I also like having directional control of my main light because I like to light my background separately from my subject. This allows me to do things like underexpose or overexpose for various effects, or even add a colored gel to the background light to completely change the color of the background. If I have too much spill from my main onto my background, it becomes very challenging to vary the look of my background. I can actually share some example shots of this concept because my son perked up again when I told him he was in charge of picking the gel colors and attaching them to the background light. These following examples were all shot on the same background as the shots above using the softbox as my main but now I have added an additional light into the setup – a dedicated light onto the background.
Background purposefully overexposed:
With a grid spot on the background behind the subject:
With a yellow gel on the background light:
With a blue gel on the background light:
I hope this tutorial gives you some insight into various studio lighting modifiers. Thanks for reading!
Thank you Jes for the insightful tutorial!
Jessica Gwozdz, CPP, Illinois
CMU Instructor
Website | Blog | Facebook | Mentoring | Ask a Pro
Instructor of the Lighting 101: Studio Lighting for Beginners workshop through CMU, Jes, armed with a Nikon D700, is our resident studio photography expert. She has always loved photography and received her first camera, a 126 film camera to be exact, when she was 6 but ended up working as an engineer after college. The birth of her oldest child, she says, was “the catalyst for me to turn my photographic passion into a business so I could do something I loved but set my work hours around my family.” When not spending time doing photography, Jes likes to relax with her husband, aka MacGyver, and their two children, go spinning or read a book, preferably a vampire novel. She loves getting plenty of sleep, comfy shoes, the Kindle, iPhone, and an occasional peanut butter and bacon sandwich.
Read all photography tutorials by Jessica Gwozdz.
giveaway update!
Congratulations to Donna who said, “Found this at the perfect time. I just ordered all my back drops and have been stuck on what to buy for lights. so many choices out there.”! You’re the lucky winner of the free seat to Jes’ studio lighting workshop. Please contact me at april@clickinmoms.com to get set up!
Anxious to learn more? Here’s your chance!
Jes has one seat to giveaway for the August 13th run of Lighting 101: Studio Lighting for Beginners. This workshop is perfect for anyone just starting out with studio lighting or for someone who has owned lights for awhile but doesn’t fully understand how to get great consistent results with them.
For your chance to win, simply post about the giveaway on your own Facebook page with a link to this blog post and then come back here and leave a comment letting us know you’ve done that. Jes will choose a winner via random number generator on all entries submitted by 12pm CST on July 17th. The winner will be announced via an update to this article so make sure you bookmark this post!
I shared the link!! I would love love love this!
Great post! You really made it easy to learn the difference in studio lighting. Thank you!
Awesome post – super detailed! Thanks much!
This was some timely for me, Been really wanting to learn about different lighting
Posted! https://www.facebook.com/wendygregoryphotography
Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Just left a post on my FB page. Hope I win!
Thanks! I loved seeing the different examples! I usually use a shoot through and reflector. I must play with gels more I think though, so fun!
Love the tutorial will be sharing on my fb page. Thanks!
great tutorial & examples Jessica
Loads of great info! Thank you!! Your model is a cutie!
Great article. I would love to learn about studio lighting.
This is fascinating!! I dont know very much about studio lighting, but these comparisons really make me want to give it a try!!
Thank you – your example shots demonstrating the different lighting really exposed what you were saying and the difference in each source. It was very helpful!
Hi there, just wanted to say, I enjoyed this article.
It was practical. Keep on posting!
HI i loved your blog it was perfect, Now let me share a secert with you ..
Greetings! Very helpful advice within this article! It’s the little changes that produce the most important changes. Thanks a lot for sharing!
So glad I found this! I was wondering what lighting to purchase for my photo major daughter for Christmas and this blog has helped me tremendously!
Thank you.
How did you determine the exposure for these shots? My photos always (always!) come out over- or under- exposed…thanks!
John, I set my exposures in studio by using a handheld light meter. If you are interested in learning more about the process, registration is currently open for my studio lighting for beginners workshop.
http://www.clickinmoms.com/cmu/archives/listing/lighting-101-studio-lighting-for-beginners
You did a fantastic job illustrating the use and effects of these modifiers! Thank you so much for sheding some light on this difficult art. As with many others, I struggling to choose modifiers for my own setup (on a shoestring). Your expertise has helped a lot.
THANK YOU!! I was actually going to do this experiment to see which lighting style I like best. I recently got a 22 inch beauty dish, and I was wondering how it compared to my softbox. Now I know.
Jessica,
Great informative Blog ,cute kid too . I have been in the Photography Field for many years . My wife bought me my first SLR camera , a Nikon FG, you know that ancient process where you used “Film”. I am another self taught photographer, which doesn’t bother me at all other for the fact that I spent literally thousands of dollars over the years (in the beginning) , books , tapes, magazines,Seminars , you name it , and tens of thousands of photos , trial and error. Unfortunately I went into collage and became a Physical Therapist , instead of following my heart…Photography. I always wanted to be a commercial artist , I never felt I was that good enough as an artist , but as you know they come a dime a dozen, I was an “OK” artist but no where in the caliber of others . I now shoot Weddings , Seniors , Sports teams primarily. But , my artistic brain side helped me surpass a lot of other photographers even early (Tooting my own horn ….lol). I have always been the type that if I don’t have to buy ,lets say a $300.00 softbox , and I can make it for $50.00 it is a no brainer for me, and I am very anal about how good it looks , so everything I have made could not look generic,especially if my customers see it . So , thank God , the internet came around, although I did learn many tricks from all the photo magazines I have subscribed to over the years before the digital age ,nylon stockings over lenses, homemade flash bounce cards, Center-spot UV filters with vasoline, ect. But even till this day I still don’t feel completely confident using studio lighting , even though I do get good results , . I shoot a lot of my Seniors at parks ,ect, off camera flash, Reflectors, Window light , I love the Ambient look so much better, but just me I guess , I am rambling so I will end now , once again thank you for your Article Jessica and God Bless you and your family and your career. I have two sites if you would like to see my work….jbphotography-pgh.smugmug.com and JB Photography-pgh…..Facebook
Jack