Looking for examples and set-up tips for the "flash in a box" pic.

I have a small family coming over tomorrow night and might light like to try a shot of them looking into a wrapped box with the flash actually in the box wirelessly triggered. I have seen some examples on this forum but am unable to find any now. Any help with examples and set-up tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

No examples but I would be sure to line the box with white to avoid colour casts. Great and fun idea!

Keep the flash power low and add some other off camera light to balance the light and create some interesting back/ side/front light. Remember, the light coming from the box will be your key light but it should not be your only light.

If you can, make a diffusion panel out of something like a sheet of white paper so that the spread of the flash is increased.

gonzogolf wrote in post #15347369
If you can, make a diffusion panel out of something like a sheet of white paper so that the spread of the flash is increased.

I would take it a step farther and line the box with white paper on the sides and bottom. The have the flash facing down instead of up.

jcolman wrote in post #15347380
I would take it a step farther and line the box with white paper on the sides and bottom. The have the flash facing down instead of up.

Yep, anything to make the light source appear larger and more diffuse.

I actually did face the flash down toward a piece of Styrofoam....I think the ideas mentioned above will add to the effect I am looking for.....thanks guys! Still would like to see an example though so I can light it right.

Here is a quick test shot.
600EX-RT in box, another 600EX-RT back camera right with small soft box.

Box 600 Gr A -3 FEC, kicker 600 Gr B -2 FEC. 1/160, F5.6 ISO 200.

I put a piece of white craft foam in the bottom of the box and just laid the flash in the box.

STE3 on camera.

dmward wrote in post #15349728
Here is a quick test shot.
600EX-RT in box, another 600EX-RT back camera right with small soft box.

Box 600 Gr A -3 FEC, kicker 600 Gr B -2 FEC. 1/160, F5.6 ISO 200.

I put a piece of white craft foam in the bottom of the box and just laid the flash in the box.

STE3 on camera.

Looks good but needs more external lighting, unless you're going for that real dramatic look.

You might want to have the flash in the box a tad brighter too.

Thanks David! I got the same kind of result with my test shot that you did. I agree with Jim that a bit more external light would make it more to what I am looking for. I think if you upped the box light you would probably blow the highlights on your skin though....the external light would probably get the skin more exposed and lessen the dramatic look a little. They will be here in a few minutes...wish me luck! I will post the final pic here for those who took the time to help so you can see what "we" came up with!

Well here is what I got....the clients were happy but I think I could still have added a bit more fill light....for the short time I had to set it up, I am happy enough..........thanks again for the help guys!

With a dark shot like that an OOF xmas tree lights and/or fireplace would be pretty nifty in the background...

I actually thought about the lights but kinda figured they might not show up too much since the test shot I did was in front of a Christmas tree, and they were invisible. Fireplace I have....and yes it would have worked well but I was relegated to the studio on this shot. Thanks!

jcolman wrote in post #15349770
Looks good but needs more external lighting, unless you're going for that real dramatic look.

You might want to have the flash in the box a tad brighter too.

This was not intended to be a "production" shot. Just a quick shot to illustrate how easy it is to use TTL as a means for lighting from a box.

If I were to do this for real I'd get the environment exposure the way I want it, then add the "light in the box" as the last element. With the 600EX-RT I can add it as a separate group and control its power from the camera.

If I were doing this for a client, I'd be inclined to have a Christmas tree in the background OoF as mentioned.
The kicker would have some gelling so it looked like it was coming from either the tree or a fireplace.

I like the result that P-n-S got.
Lighting on dad is good, mom is OK and...
The risk is the underlighting horror mask look like on the little boy because he is looking up.

With LR 4.2 I bring raw files in with a preset that applies my custom camera profile, Exposure 0, contrast 0, highlights -50, shadows +50, whites -50, blacks +25, and clarity +15. That may be why the skin tones are darker than optimal since I didn't "fiddle" with anything other than cropping.

dmward wrote in post #15353074
This was not intended to be a "production" shot. Just a quick shot to illustrate how easy it is to use TTL as a means for lighting from a box.

If I were to do this for real I'd get the environment exposure the way I want it, then add the "light in the box" as the last element. With the 600EX-RT I can add it as a separate group and control its power from the camera.

If I were doing this for a client, I'd be inclined to have a Christmas tree in the background OoF as mentioned.
The kicker would have some gelling so it looked like it was coming from either the tree or a fireplace.

I like the result that P-n-S got.
Lighting on dad is good, mom is OK and...
The risk is the underlighting horror mask look like on the little boy because he is looking up.

With LR 4.2 I bring raw files in with a preset that applies my custom camera profile, Exposure 0, contrast 0, highlights -50, shadows +50, whites -50, blacks +25, and clarity +15. That may be why the skin tones are darker than optimal since I didn't "fiddle" with anything other than cropping.

Understood. At least you went to the trouble of shooting a shot for the rest of us.

I like the final result that P-n-S got with the exception of one thing: the rest of the photo. It seems to me that often people worry about how to pull off a shot without giving much thought to the other aspects of the environment of the photo. Like you mentioned, had this been a production shot that you produced, there would have been a tree, more lighting, etc. That is exactly what is missing from P-n-S's pic.

One of these days I'm going to write up a post about how the "one light" technique doesn't always work.