A softbox is a rectangular, square or octagonal box covered in white diffusion material, and it fits over a light source, such as a flash head or continuous light on a stand. It’s one of the simplest of light modifiers, but one of the most used in professional photo studios. The reason? It’s amazingly versatile and gives a beautiful, soft light.
A professional softbox studio lighting kit, such as The Spectrum Aurora 13” Mini Pearl Complete Studio Ring Light Softbox Kit, or the Spectrum Aurora 19” Diamond Luxe Complete Makeup and Beauty Studio Ring Light Softbox Lighting Kit contain all the equipment you need to set up and create professional-looking shots or videos.
The Spectrum Aurora 19” Diamond Luxe Softbox Lighting Kit also has a bendable gooseneck on the ring light, so you can adjust it to any angle you need.
1. Perfect Lighting for Product Photography
Product photos need to be clear and bright, and you can use just one softbox to light your product and the background at the same time.
The 23" Product & Food Photography Lighting 'Work Hustle' Table Kit includes all you need for high-quality product photos. The kit comes with:
- 1x Spectrum 23" 'Work Hustle' Table Lighting Kit (60cmx130cm)
- 2x 125W lights providing light coverage over the table
- 2x Soft Boxes to diffuse the light and create an even light over the product
- 2x Light Stands fully adjustable between 71cm x 223cm
Simply place your two softboxes adjacent and tilted towards the product on either side of the photo table for even light distribution.
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2.Portrait Photography
With three softboxes like the Triple "Illuminate Mate" Kit and a backdrop of your choice, you can take a variety of portrait images. For a typical beauty shot, you need your main light high up, directly in line with the model’s nose. This will stop any shadows that may appear on either side of the subject’s nose.
Have one softbox underneath the model's chin to reduce shadows underneath, the main light on their side, and one above to ensure even lighting around their face for a flattering look.
You may be surprised that your white background comes out grey in your images – this is because the softbox is lighting your subject, not the background. The grey background look is an effective one, and popular for corporate and other types of headshots.
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3. Professional Online Videos
A professional softbox studio lighting kit is a must for producing high-quality videos for your vlog, YouTube video, website marketing video or tutorial.
Ring light and softbox lighting like the Spectrum 'Illuminate Mate' kit are perfect for videos as they have a ring light to use as your key light, and the two softboxes provide even fill light from both sides.
Your softboxes should be positioned slightly above and to the side of the subject, unless you want a “surreal” effect, then you would angle the lights toward your subject. If you're using a ring light kit, the ring light should be straight in front of your subject’s face, and not too far away. You can shoot directly through the centre of the ring light.
4. Beauty Portfolio
Lighting is a big issue with many makeup photos. You spend a lot of time on your work, and you want it to look amazing in photographs.
A professional softbox studio lighting kit is ideal for make-up artists, hair stylists and eyelash/brow technicians. The Spectrum Aurora lighting kits mentioned above contain a ring light and two softboxes for perfect, shadowless light.
It is advised to not have the ring light too far away from your subject’s face – within a few feet is ideal. Both the Spectrum Aurora 13” Mini Pearl and the Diamond Luxe 19” kits have dimmable lights so you can adjust to whatever lighting conditions you are in. They also come with snap-on orange filters to give a warmer glow to skin.
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5.Mood Lighting
Softboxes are very versatile, so you can create moody lighting as well as clean, clear lighting. Why not experiment with “monster lighting”? This is a popular choice for movie posters, but it has to be photographed at the right angle to bring out the beautiful angles of the face.
You need just one light, and it should be placed down in front of your model. To get the best effect, get the model to lean forward a little over the light. Watch how the shadows change as the model shifts position, and look for the most eye-catching play of light and shadows.
You can also create striking silhouettes by having your main light as a background, and your model standing in front of it!
You can even use your softbox as part of the design element if you are shooting something reflective, such as a bottle. Simply by putting strips of black tape over your softbox, you can make its reflection in the glass look like a window instead of a softbox.
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6. Lighting A Group
Lighting a group of people (or pets) can be hard, as you want the light to be exposed evenly across them all.
It’s not really possible to shoot them all with only one light, but you could use two softboxes – one to the front on each side of the group if it’s not too large.
You can also use a bit of trickery if you’re proficient in Photoshop and compositing images. All you have to do is pivot your light so that it lights one person at a time. Take a photo of that person, then turn the light to the next one in line and take another image, and so on. You can then composite them to make a perfectly lit group image in post-production.
The Spectrum professional softbox studio lighting kits are also great for using in photo-booths at parties or weddings etc.
7.Photography for Interior Design
Although a couple of softboxes won’t light a huge room properly, you can use them to effectively light small spaces or part of a room to create beautiful interior photographs.
You can experiment with having the softboxes at different heights and angles to accentuate certain features and to play with shadows.
This diagram is just one example of how you can light small spaces with a professional softbox studio lighting kit:
8. Social Media
You can create amazing social media content with a professional softbox studio lighting kit, especially by using the skin-enhancing light that the circular shape of the ring light gives you for amazing selfies. Use the ring light alone, directly in front of your face, or add the two softboxes to each side to give a lighter, brighter feel.
You can shoot flat lays with just two softboxes alone such as the 'Illuminate Mate' kit, by tilting both of them downwards on the stand so the light is coming down from above, and using a fun coloured backdrop as the background.
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9. Live Streaming
If you want to create great live streaming for Instagram or Facebook Live, you really need a professional softbox studio lighting kit.
67% of viewers say that quality is the most important factor when it comes to live video (according to Livestream Learn), so you need professional lighting to attract more engagement.
The Spectrum Aurora 18" Diamond Luxe and Softbox Lighting Kit mentioned earlier is ideal for this, as is three-point lighting.
10. Perfect Lighting Anywhere, Anytime
Softboxes are awesome!
The Spectrum Aurora professional softbox studio lighting kits are fully portable, and the softboxes fold down easily for transport. The lights are also designed to run cool, so there’s no waiting around at the end of a shoot for the lights to cool down before packing up.
This means you can take your lighting kits anywhere there is a power source – client’s homes, studios, salons or even on a trip away.
…And Here’s A Few More Tips
I hope you found some inspiration from this article and are keen to try out a professional softbox studio lighting kit for yourself.
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If you can only afford one softbox, make it the biggest one you can afford. You can always block part of it off with black fabric, but you can’t make a small softbox larger!
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If you need more diffusion, or you want to experiment with putting your softbox behind a diffusing sheet, a plain white bed sheet stretched out a few feet in front of your softbox will do the trick.
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Don’t have a reflector? Use white card or fabric, scrunched up tinfoil or even a mirror – anything white or with a reflective surface will work.
