There are a couple of other things that a softbox has going for it: its rec-
tangular shape better mimics the shape of the human body than does an um-
brella. Also, since the light from a softbox does not spill out everywhere (it is
contained), it produces more contrast and is a more controllable light source.
Now, as I mentioned, umbrellas do have their uses. If I wanted to light a
studio background to create an image that looked like it was shot outdoors, I
would place lights with umbrellas extremely high (like the sun) pointed in the
direction of the background and overshooting the subject. The height at
which the umbrellas were positioned would allow me to simulate sunlight,
which comes, of course, from overhead. It would also allow me to keep any
spill light off the subject and, many times, even the foreground.
I’m sure some umbrella shooters will take issue with my bias. That’s cool.
I’d never encourage anyone to stop using what works best for them. I would,
however, recommend that they take a photo with a softbox or other more
controlled modifier, then shoot the same scene with an umbrella and compare
the two. My guess is that in most cases, the ones that were made with the
softbox will take the cake.
Now, there is a product called the Chimera OctaPlus 57 that I find useful.
It is an umbrella-shaped modifier with a softbox front that allows you to direct
the diffused light. The unit does a couple of great things: First, because it is
large, it produces sweet, flattering light. Second, its umbrella shape allows us
to add those brilliant catchlights we want to see in our subjects’ eyes.
Metal Reflectors.
New photographers are sometimes confused when they hear a professional
shooter say they used a 9-inch reflector when lighting an image. This is be-
cause some of them confuse the word “reflector” with a fabric reflector on a
frame, or a panel reflector. What the professional photographer is
actually referring to are the 7-, 9-, or 12-inch bowl or conical-
shaped, metal reflectors that mount to the front of their studio flash
heads. These metal reflectors are lipped to support the attachment
of metal grids and/or metal barndoors.
The California Sunbounce panels and the metal reflectors basi-
cally do the same thing, but in different ways. The Sunbounce reflector is a
fabric panel that reflects the light that hits it—whether that light is coming
from the sun, a continuous light source, or even light from an on-camera flash
or a strobe head (usually outfitted with a metal reflector).
Metal reflectors are actually attached to studio flash units. They are de-
signed to focus the light they reflect toward the intended target. In glamour
100 LIGHTING FOR GLAMOUR PHOTOGRAPHY
The light from a softbox does
not spill out everywhere; it is a
more controllable light source.