Umbrella Soft Boxes

By PhotoGopher

Umbrella soft boxes are the “universal”, portable, easy to use option for light diffusion. A drawstring closure on the back of the soft box allows easy use with electronic flash units (speedlights, studio strobes, or monolights) since no speed ring or adaptor ring is necessary. Opening and closing the unit is as easy as opening and closing an umbrella which adds to the product’s ease of use and allows for quick setup and tear down. Assembly does vary slightly depending on the application. Most strobes or monolights are already set up to accept an umbrella, so all that is required is sliding the umbrella tube through the appropriate hole on the head and tightening it into place (as you would a photo umbrella). For use with speedlights, a bracket and either a light stand or light stick are required. A bracket allows for the speed light to be attached, the umbrella softbox to be attached, and for the entire setup to be mounted on a light stand or light stick (also known as Voice Activated Lightstand – VAL).

One of the many advantages of an umbrella softbox over a standard square softbox is that the light is allowed to bleed slightly out of the sides of the umbrella whereas softboxes that are too small for a particular application tend to concentrate light to a specific area because of the black sides. Additionally, umbrella softboxes, when used with speedlights, create a beautiful quality of light similar to that of a studio light.

So if you are looking to upgrade your quality of light, create a portable studio, or just have the best speedlight modifier for your kit, an umbrella softbox might just be the perfect fit for you.