Softbox question

[Warren Ackary]

Been away for awhile but came back with one of those Ebay Bakdrop frames that come with the black & white backdrops.

I also got from Melbourne a Light stand and brollie (unfortunately I got the shoot through brollie when I should have gotten the silver reflective.. never mind that will be sorted)

Anyway, the wife wants to do portraits as do I and been looking at setups while oversea's and here. Our budget is minimal.

So the question is: Which type of softbox is best for a home studio? A flash fitted one or lighthead one? Also not sure about size.

Suggestions would be fantastic as at a point of have some money but want to make sure we get what is right the first time... have 2 SB Flashes, would like to use those on lightstands if possible BUT if its suggested to go with the power head (think thats what its called) then hope can suggest. All I know is that softboxes do come with Flash brackets.

Cheers in advanace

[I @ M]

Warren, if you are mostly aiming for head and shoulder style portraits where you can have the flash / softbox fairly close to the subject then one or two speedlights will do a very good job and not chew through batteries too quickly.
If you are aiming for more full length style images with the flash placed further away from the subject you may find yourself lacking power with speedlights.

Site advertiser protog has softboxes to suit speedlights and monobloc heads here.

[Warren Ackary]

Thanks Andrew!

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Warren, if you are mostly aiming for head and shoulder style portraits where you can have the flash / softbox fairly close to the subject then one or two speedlights will do a very good job and not chew through batteries too quickly.
If you are aiming for more full length style images with the flash placed further away from the subject you may find yourself lacking power with speedlights.

Site advertiser protog has softboxes to suit speedlights and monobloc heads here.

So I can get away with speedlights.. saves me $.. appreciated

[I @ M]

So I can get away with speedlights.. saves me $.. appreciated

They have their limitations just like many things but I am sure that you will learn those boundaries fairly quickly and recognise how to successfully work within them.

The entire success of using speedlights rests on angle to and distance from the subject combined with accurate metering without resorting to 100 shutter clicks to get 1 image.