Q&D DIY Softbox

There are lots of different articles out there on how to create your own softbox. I've thumbed through a few of them. The core concepts are the same across the board.

Construct a box with an opening that holds a material to diffuse the light.

There are lots of variations - including lining the interior with tinfoil, tapering a smaller end @ the light source and a larger opening at the opposite end where the material is, etc.

Last night's photo shoot was a brief introduction to the task of lighting. After a few shots it was obvious to me (as all the training materials had pointed out) that raw light from the strobe was too harsh. The light brought out all of the unflattering features of the face. Created harsh shadows alongside the nose, eye sockets and on the background.

I had already taken it off the hotshoe on the camera and moved it to a tripod, camera left, above the subject.

The next step was to diffuse the light enough to soften it and make it usable. To "improve the quality", as they say. Having purchased a $1 white handkerchief (for a different photography project), and recently acquired a few boxes from the USPS for shipping items to friends - I went to work.

The end result was a simple, simple softbox. I took the USPS box, and placed the handkerchief at one end. Having folded the handkerchief into 4 layers it fit rather perfectly into the open end of the box. I stapled it to the top of the box, and let it fall down so I could change the density from 4 layers to 2 lays simply by flipping the material up and letting it rest atop the box.

Last, I cut a hole in the bottom of the box a little bit smaller than the flash head (a Canon 580EX). Placing the strobe through the hole in the back, bottom of the box - I angled the flash head at 90 degrees. Finding that the box flopped down a bit, I just added a counter-weight to the back of the box in an effort to keep the front up and level with the flash head.

I hope to improve the design - there were a few very detailed diagrams out there that I liked. I think I'll try one in the coming days to see if I can achieve a better result by adding tinfoil to the interior and tapering the size of the box from the near-to-far end.