How do you know what size softbox?

[Inspired]

Hello!!

I have been looking at purchasing a softbox and wow i didn't realise there was so many different sizes! How do i work out what i need??

I am having a stall at the local kids market next month. I did it at the start of the year but the pics didn;t turn out that great as i was just using my 580exII on camera and bouncing it off a reflector..but hmm not that great! lol.

I have a 2 x 2m stall space where i will have a white backdrop setup and i will be shooting mainly bubs and small kids (i guess what places like gotcha kids, pixie etc do in shopping centres). Although iwant have a stage or anything - it will just be a backdrop setup on stands and on the floor if that makes sense (i guess how you would normally set one up).

So ANYWAY i was thinking i should get a softbox and noticed the ones the shopping center pics uses are quite huge (we dont get them here very often so haven;t been able to have a good look and i felt a bit rude going to check it out! hehe).

Could anyone recommend what would be suitable?
I am going to setup and have some practise goes before the big day so hoping to get it soon.
We are building a 3 bay gagrage at our new home and will be turing that into a studio when its finished..would what ever i get for the market be suitable to add to a proper studio setup later down the track. (I am very new to this - i usually go to the clients house and use natural light around their home or go to locations etc so very out of my comfort zone!) But keen to learn!

Thank so much
Nicole

[JM Tran]

size of the soft box is dependent on a few things such as:

-power output of the strobe or speed light
-purpose of the shoot ie. are u shooting face and half body alone, or full body
-working distance of the strobe from subject
-space of working environment

[Dizzy Photographics]

i cant help you much...not my thing...but i did notice just the other day that the photography set up at our local centre were using 2 rather small ones. Just guessing i would say maybe 50cm...square...dont know if they are all square or not lol...i dont know ANYTHING about lights.

[Inspired]

size of the soft box is dependent on a few things such as:

-power output of the strobe or speed light
-purpose of the shoot ie. are u shooting face and half body alone, or full body
-working distance of the strobe from subject
-space of working environment

Hehe Deb neither do i! Hopefuly i will get there though!

OKay i will try answer these

- I have a 580exII i assumed i could use that is that right? or not? (sorry really no idea!)
- Kids...will be a range of full body, face etc and also nb babies, (pretty much similar to what they do at centre's).
- 1 metre at the most i would say.
- i have a 2x2m stall that i can work in..

Hope that helps... :)
and Thank you!
Nicole
xx

[Nator]

Thats a pretty tight area.

What about just using a med/large shoot through umbrella?
They are pretty versatile, and also very portable.

Or are you leaning more towards the softbox 'for show' as well? They certainly look more impressive to a client than an umbrella.

If you opt for a softbox that fits a normal studio flash, you will still need some way to mount your speedlight in the back of it.

I would go for an umbrella mount and white shoot through umbrella. These will mount onto your tripod easily too, so no need to buy light stands (unless you have them already)

http://www.dealextreme.com/products.dx/category.806~search.umbrella
Shipping can take some time though, so you might want to source something locally.

brett.

[Inspired]

I thought about an umbrella but thought that i read somewhere it produced a harsher light that wasn't to good for shooting newborns? But i really have no idea?
SO you think an umbrealla will do the trick? Dont mind if its not 'flashy' to look at just need it to do the job! hehe.
Thanks so much!

[kaiser]

Check out Image Melbourne (http://www.##############.com.au)
Something like a Quikbox with the Speedlight ring adapter. You can go for a square, octo or rectangular/strip box These fold up like umbrellas so are relatively portable and quick to set up.

[Inspired]

Thanks so much Kaiser..will have a look!