What is Octabox?

Octaboxes for Portraits While you could say that an octobox is a type of softbox, an octobox offers specific advantages in portrait photography scenarios. Octoboxes have a circular shape that gives portrait subjects a round-shaped shine in their eyes in your final result.

Does the size of the softbox matter?

A softbox controls the shape and direction of light more than an umbrella and prevents more light-spill from occurring. A larger softbox will produce softer light, but will also require greater light output to sufficiently fill the entire softbox.

Which shape softbox is best?

Rectangular: The most versatile softbox shape. It has wide application in product photography and portrait photography. These softboxes were designed to mimic window light, specifically.

Is 120cm softbox too big?

Your 120cm (48″) softbox should be large enough for good soft light, especially for waist up shots of a seated mother with child.

Does softbox shape matter?

A soft box is usually rectangular, but it can be any shape; in fact, the shape of your light bank/soft box (same thing, really) can make a big difference in shaping the quality of your portrait photography lighting. Umbrellas usually have 16-ribs, so light quality is not quite the same as an octagonal softbox.

What size Octabox should I get?

That means the 18-inch octabox created a harsher more direct light that Joey recommends you soften with more ambient light; the 60-inch octabox, on the other hand, boasts a beautiful soft light with a much bigger spread, making it both more flattering and more versatile.

What should I look for when buying a softbox?

In general, the smaller the light source, the more concentrated and harsher the light will be, and the larger the light source the softer the light is. Larger softboxes work well for portraiture photography or large areas as they produce softer lighting with more gradual transitions between light and shadow.

How do I use Octabox?

The front of the Octabox should be parallel to the floor above your subject. The subject should be placed at the edge of the octa, even back from it slightly. This allows the light to wrap down and around the body. A reflector should be used to aim light back into the face as well to fill in shadows.

Which is better strobe or continuous lighting?

Flash is also more powerful than continuous light. A single speedlight puts out more power than most beginner continuous light kits. You can even use them to overpower the sun if you have a big enough strobe. They work better than continuous lights for action shots.

Are bigger softboxes better?

The bigger the light source (relative to the subject) the softer the light produced. In other words bigger softboxes give softer light and as long as your softbox is close to your subject that holds true. With the small and medium sized softboxes you’ll see a sharper, harder edge to the shadow then the big softbox.

Why do octagons have a softbox?

Octagonal softboxes have become popular for their soft output, shallow design, and rapid fall-off as you get farther from a background. The octagon’s large surface area gives it a signature soft, wraparound quality of light that’s very flattering at virtually any point, on or off axis.

Is the parabolic softbox better than the octabox?

The results show that there really isn’t much benefit to the parabolic softbox, compared to an octabox or regular softbox. They’re also a lot bigger, heavier and more cumbersome, making them somewhat difficult and unpleasant to work with. If you’re looking for the best softbox for portrait photography, the octabox 150cm is a great option.

What are octaboxes used for?

Octaboxes: Ideal for Photographing People. This is due to their special circle-like shape. Thanks to this shape, people photographed with an octabox have a circular sparkle in their eyes. This sparkle can somewhat replace the sparkle they’d get from the sun.

What is the difference between a softbox and a reflector?

And proper softboxes have the same function. However, the shape is completely different. Instead of an octagonal shape, in softboxes, the light source is enclosed in a square or rectangular-shaped reflective wall. Finally, reflectors tend to be concave or circular.

What is a softbox and what is it used for?

Softboxes are mainly used with flashes, and sometimes used with system flashes. You’ll also find them, however, used with daylight bulbs. A photo taken using a flash directly, without a softbox. You can see sharp shadows here, the light is very flat, and so the photograph itself feels almost 2D.