Softbox correct distance to subject

Softbox correct distance to the subject
Daniel answers a very common question. How far away should we place our softbox?
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#dnphoto #lightingbasics #danielnortonphotographer

[@mikesmith71]

Wow, after watching more tutorials than I'd like to admit I've finally found one that explains very clearly how the shape can be important for the result. Thank you for sharing your knowledge 🙂👌

[@mhc2b]

Agree. Someone else on You Tube suggested that you can get the same quality of light from any size soft box, "if" you place the given soft box the distance from the subject equal to its longest side. Appreciate you corroborating this advice in your video.

[@fathampeak]

Thank you! Very helpful, concise information and now I'm interested in what size strobe/speedlight to use in each different softbox, thank you!

[@michaelhull1813]

I found with a stripbox, you can flag it easily, and make it a smaller source. ...and it's hard to beat a 3ft octo for general purpose/multi-use. Also, I go with the subjects "Arms length" distance for a starting position. I just have them reach out. Then comes the feathering, etc... Concise as always Daniel.

[@steveshellenberger-letsmak6283]

I just learned something new about softboxes and their use and that made my day. Thank you for sharing this great information, Daniel. Well done!

[@BTcycle]

Very informative and great tips with the softbox sizes. Now I know how to use them correctly.

[@miycalr]

I like a 48 inch softbox. Finally someone who talks in plain English and you do not feel stupid. Good job here.

[@toddlower5546]

Thanks for the explanation. That makes things much clearer.

[@josephchan4198]

Awesome instruction. Good refresher course. Thanks.

[@AtlantaTerry]

An octabox tends to be more of a parabolic design which throws more light forward. A strip box makes a great "kicker". (A light that is positioned behind the body axis.) It can help to divide the subject from a dark background by giving an edge highlight. Terry Thomas... the photographer Atlanta, Georgia USA

[@AdrianBacon]

This is great. If I'm in my studio, I usually use a super huge fill and a 12x16 or 18 inch octa for my key and shove it in there as close as I can as I don't care as much about the fall off as I use the fill for legibility in the shadows. If I'm out on location or only have one light, it's 36 inch octa about 3 feet away all day long.

[@hawg427]

The Daniel Norton school of mathematics ;-) Learned some useful info on the strip boxes. I have noticed that some manufacturers will call a certain light a Parabolic light source then I saw a video by Karl Taylor over in the UK who uses Broncolor lights what a TRUE Parabolic light actually is, I did not know that the light actually moved within the umbrella to have different focus points on the subject. Good video.

[@richardwintle1020]

I bought a cheap 3x3 ft square box with a grid as my first one.... and kind of wish I'd gotten a 2x3. The big square one is a bit unwieldy at times. But as you point out so nicely, moving it around still allows for lots of options.

[@timgreen5235]

Many thanks for concisely covering this topic in such a clear and easy to follow manner.

[@daletaylor406]

Hi Daniel, Good job. Strip boxes also give you the opportunity to have a softer light in one direction and a bit harder in the other, so you can effectively mix lighting types with one light. Same, B-T-W, with wands like the Ice Light, although the effect is more pronounced. A nice rule of thumb for optimizing falloff issues is: if you want less than 1 f stop fall off side-to-side, put your light at least 6 times as far as the subject is wide.

[@georgs5870]

Great advice as usual - thanks for sharing your knowledge with the rest of the world. My favorite softbox is a small Chimera Maxi (1720, 16x22) - I've shot a ton of images on location with it (fast newspaper-stuff). Most of the time with a Nikon SB800 in it, controlled by a SU800 transmitter.

[@gregoryroth5527]

Never had this explained this way, and it should be (with distances)! Thanks!

[@250GTOAJ]

Handy to know information about placement of them, I have a 2x3 Chimera and two smaller ones.Thanks Daniel and Kaydence 😎👍🇨🇦

[@jeffereyjimenez6439]

Very informative and succinct presentation of softbox differences. This is one of your best.

[@brokenoutline]

Truly enjoy the channel thanks for all the work and knowledge you are putting out there. So helpful Daniel.

[@michaelcarnes2087]

I like using an octobox for key and a small strip for "hair" light to give some separation from background

[@alun7006]

Thanks for all you do, Daniel!

[@dougmclaughlin5051]

Good info I have seen in other lighting tip videos. Thanks!!!

[@JohanSchmidt]

Very interesting metric and rule of thumb - easy to remember 👍🏻

[@kennethnielsen3864]

Thanks for sharing.

[@TimothyJohnLukeSmithPSA]

Hi Daniel, it is such an honor to learn from a master. Thank you for posting this.

[@okeefest]

Great presentation. Soft box size is one element of the equation. What about soft box depth? How does that affect the light? Why would you choose a shallow vs regular vs deep?

[@Vawn222]

Your videos are great, thank you Daniel

[@anoirsx]

Thank you! Your videos are always helpful!

[@yungbio]

Great video Daniel. Thanks for sharing.

[@mauriziofranzini8418]

Grazie, Maestro! Sintetico però esaustivo e completo.

[@MikeJamesMedia]

Thanks, Daniel and Keydence!

[@BrasicOne]

Thanks Daniel. As usual top video.

[@jaycoronado3441]

Such a great explanation.

[@erickking6729]

Always having fun over there

[@smalltalk.productions9977]

daniel-thank you for the effort and the sharing. distance from subject = the long side of the softbox. fantastic! how about 48" octoboxes or 42" umbrellas, 48" and 42" away, respectively? i am an appreciative subscriber. BIG thumbs up.

[@canucklehead28]

Great video Daniel!

[@johnwesgreen1853]

Wow! Fantastic explanation of softbox sizes and the light implications of each! Thank you for taking the time to pull this together!

[@darkroom8317]

I don’t own a soft box yet... but I am thinking of the Chimera XXs box along with a 1x3 with an egg create.

[@theopats2660]

Very helpful video. I would like a detailed video for softbox shapes

[@gewglesux]

gREAT work you two!!! tHANKS!!

[@robnew7481]

Would love to see more with strip boxes.

[@grabtharandhishammer8251]

Nice video Daniel.

[@davidkiang3891]

Great video / demo; always interesting to see other shooter’s capture stations. What is the white tower on the desk, GPU tower?

[@mrlouisleon]

Both the small and medium softbox, when close, illuminated the eyes, showing the color as bright. The medium soft box when 3 feet away did not show this effect, even though, if I followed your logic, it would light the face ( and the eyes? ) similarly. Lighting the eyes is important to be. Is the difference attributed to TTL/exposure settings?

[@simongentry]

Daniel - as usual great video. as much as you've gone into ttl with profoto, i was wondering which metering you're using while in manual... and do the lights retain there settings when you switch to manual from ttl? cheers mate.

[@janlasalle8845]

Thanks...I watch your video s to fill in the gaps,,,excellent tips! I mostly use the strip box for edge lighting but want to play more to see what kind of key lighting I can get Thinking about how much coverage the narrow side of the box covers makes sense...overall I am not the smartest tech person....I cook the same way...I get the overall essence of a recipe but never follow it exactly. I would give up photography if I had to use the Ansel Adams zone system...squeezing out the juice out of the moment,,,just sayin'!

[@dougtunison]

Do you have any suggestions to eliminate hotspots on foreheads? I'm using a 2x3 soft box on a 400Ws studio strobe. If I move the box closer than about 2' from the subject, I often have hotspots on the forehead or the tip of the nose.

[@p.burley4533]

What a game-changing tip! Thank you. Now I can finally place them right. However, what about flash types, like 200, 400, or 600 ws,…even a speedlight? Wouldn't those choices affect the distance factor?

[@Sydney_Jones]

Considering light's quick travel speed, I don't think that distance would make as much of a difference as the shutter speed would.

[@OwenLloyd]

The maximum output of the light (600J, 400J or around 70J for a speedlight etc ) in the back of the softbox won't make any difference to how soft the light is, or to the fall-off. A speedlight may not light the inside of the box as evenly but that's another problem tbh. Of course if you want to place your softbox far away (to get a slower fall-off across the subject) , then you'll need more light to get the same exposure so a more powerful flash might be needed.

[@OwenLloyd]

@@Sydney_Jones We don't really use the shutter for much when using studio flash - we just use it to remove all the ambient light in the scene.

[@thatboyneedstherapy]

What about oddball-sized softboxes, like the Octabox?

[@keithandrew1798]

Would this hold true with round umbrella type as well using the diameter?

[@thefaeryman]

I use a 30" soft box with my Canon 680 flash, I put it way up against the ceiling about 7 feet tipping down like afternoon sun. Then I have my first soft box an 18" octagon with same flash down as far as the light stand will go pointed straight out at subject. Using both this way fill in the background and softly lights the subjct ans if I am doing a head to toe shot, the light coverage is rather nice It took me a bit to figur4 out that those older flashes require a line of sight from the trigger on camera to the front sensor of flash. fotunately those heads can be turned and tilted to see me and fit into the back of softbox. question if I was goinge to buy one paper roll background what color would you suggest to start with? presently using a cloth light grey background that works except the wrinkles are impossible to work out. sorry I haven't been able to keep up with your videos. John

[@mohdnorazmil]

What about beauty dish?

[@b991228]

Add fill for a small box?

[@gilbertsanchez4348]

Daniel, do you use VR on your camera or lenses or not?

[@PaulAnthony2009]

Every day is a school day 👍👍