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Photographic lighting device
Two softboxes
Outdoor portrait photography with a softbox
Photograph of fruit with (top) and without (bottom) softbox lighting
A
softbox
is a type of
photographic
lighting
modifier, one of a number of photographic
soft light
devices. All the various soft light types create even and
diffused
light
[1]
by transmitting light through some
scattering
material, or by
reflecting
light off a second surface to diffuse the light. The best known form of reflective source is the
umbrella
light, where the light from the bulb is "bounced" off the inside of a metalized umbrella to create an indirect "soft" light.
A softbox is an enclosure around a bulb comprising reflective side and back walls and a diffusing material at the front of the light.
The sides and back of the box are lined with a bright surface ? an aluminized fabric surface or an
aluminum
foil, to act as an efficient reflector. In some commercially available models the diffuser is removable to allow the light to be used alone as a
floodlight
or with an
umbrella reflector
.
A softbox can be used with either
flash
or continuous light sources such as
fluorescent
lamps or "hot lights" such as quartz halogen bulbs or
tungsten bulbs
. If softbox lights are used with "hot" light sources, the photographer must be sure the softbox is heat rated for the wattage of the light to which it is attached in order to avoid fire hazard.
Types of softbox
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-
Octabox
-
Squarebox
-
Stripbox
-
Octagon honeycomb grid
See also
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References
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