Recommend a softbox or light modifier

I just bought a godox ad600 for outdoor portraiture use. What kind of light modifier should i get? I understand larger is better for softer shadows but being outside it also sounds like alot of hassle, and with the choices of beauty dishes, softboxes, parabolic softboxes etc im just looking for recommendations. I think my preference is to get a octogonal design.

Indoor use? Outdoor use? Do you need the capability to have a grid? Do you prioritize ease of setup due to shooting a lot on location, or will it mainly be used in a studio? Do you need full-length coverage for full-body portraits? Budget?

outdoor use. dont really have a budget but lets keep it reasonable. Most pics I take are half body portrait. Model stays in one place.

elitejp wrote in post #18470230
I just bought a godox ad600 for outdoor portraiture use. What kind of light modifier should i get? I understand larger is better for softer shadows but being outside it also sounds like alot of hassle, and with the choices of beauty dishes, softboxes, parabolic softboxes etc im just looking for recommendations. I think my preference is to get a octogonal design.

Do you have someone holding the light for you? Setting up a light with a big modifier outside is like holding a kite up in the air. A gust will take it down. Sand bags can help a little. But you'll find the weight of the AD600 plus a big modifier to make it a lot easier for the top to go down if it gets off balance from a gust. My 600B is 5~6lbs, very similar, and when I use a 60" modifier, it basically will try to turn in place, even when it's really staked into the ground on a big stand. More surface area just grabs the wind. I used to use a 48" octa before that, very heavy modifier, and also grabbed wind. I moved to lighter brolly boxes up to 47" and they are fine, but they too can grab wind (a closed box seems to not be as bad as an umbrella, umbrellas just are not a good idea in the wind unless someone is holding it). I moved to large reflectors. I'm currently using a 10" and I prefer it over my big modifiers outdoor because I can throw my light 12 feet up, walk away, and not worry that it's going to go down in the wind.

If someone is going to hold the stand and keep it from going down, then a nice big octa or something is great. I use a Fotodiox EZPro 48" Octa, a 60" Softlighter II, etc. Great modifiers. But, not outside without soemone holding them. I've used umbrellas outside and in the long run, wind is just not a good combo with umbrellas. Cheap umbrellas are no loss. But when it comes to a costly strobe, things get different, as you don't want something pulling that down onto the ground, it doesn't go well.

Again totally depends on whether you're doing this outside or indoors. If inside, pick whatever you want. A nice 48" octa, or 60" bounce surface is great to start. A beauty dish is for a different direction and a nice addition. Depends on what you want to do. But in a studio you don't have wind and you can balance things and be ok. Outside is a different story.

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I've gone through quite a few setups outside, as I enjoy HSS 600Ws strobe outdoor with large aperture, fast focal-ratio

48" EZ Pro (heavy, off center for balance)

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I would think a 2x3 box from any maker would fit the bill.. Not too big to catch the wind, and it being smaller you can put it in more places should you get an indoor venue.

The other option I think would be using the standard 7-inch reflector and using grids and gels. Hard to beat a seven inch with a grid or gel for price.

Great tips. Outside with just me. No one around to hold down the light. The only reason i know about this problem is because I saw others mentioning it on other threads. Unfortunately I didnt keep track on what thread it was mentioned. However I do remember you Mal recommending stakes into the ground. I already have the remote cable head in my cart to lessen the chance of a fall as others have suggested in other threads as well.
Why not a beauty dish? or whats the difference between a beauty dish and a reflector?

I kind of like the Phottix Luna line-up because they set up and tear down so easily, which is nice for location work. Haven't really used them outside though. They also don't support grids (I'm sure a grid could be done if you get creative with a DIY solution) which sucks a lot for softboxes for studio work though.

http://www.cheetahstan​d.com/product-p/qw33.htm

Which may be the same as the photix Luna above, there are quite a few brands with this same design.

I shoot XPLOR600 mainly and single models and only outdoors now a days. First no softliter, nope. Ok, that out of the way, I like my SP Systems 37" octa. It is copy if Elinchrom Deep Octa. Beautiful light and it opens/closes like an umbrella. And lip is deep. I also have Kacey's beauty dish and hopefully soon will try to install a bowens mount to it. Check out bowen dishes or reflectors. And I recommend a nice wheeled stand, expensive yes but they worth it when shooting alone and better than C-stands.

elitejp wrote in post #18470260
Great tips. Outside with just me. No one around to hold down the light. The only reason i know about this problem is because I saw others mentioning it on other threads. Unfortunately I didnt keep track on what thread it was mentioned. However I do remember you Mal recommending stakes into the ground. I already have the remote cable head in my cart to lessen the chance of a fall as others have suggested in other threads as well.

Why not a beauty dish? or whats the difference between a beauty dish and a reflector?

Nothing wrong with a beauty dish. It's just another kind of light source. Beauty dishes can be used in lots of ways, but they're not really for "soft" light (though they can be made to produce softer light at close arnge when feathered off the edge). They can produce a nice hard light from a distance too. They're not super efficient, but they are fairly efficient, so you can get some distance if you want, but really lots of beauty dishes are doing their job when they're at very close range. Also, carrying a beauty dish outside, they're big and cumbersome (assuming you get a metal one that will last). Trying one out can be fun. Personally I don't do just head-shots outside in daylight and I needed more spread and more efficiency for distance in sunlight, so for me a reflector was more my tool. You have to figure things out based on what you shoot and how you do it.

A beauty dish and reflector produce different light, different shape, different efficiency, etc. There's no single way to use them, but if I had to overly generalize, a beauty dish is a better modifier if you're wanting to be up close and control and shape light, and a reflector is a better modifier if you need high efficiency to beat down the sun in daylight with some distance (such as full body) to the subject.

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When its windy, I stake down my setup. Even with the small modifiers. I use 24" bungees and 9" nylon stakes. I double it up. It holds really well. But, a big modifier and a good gust of wind will still be able to potentially take it down. And the higher up you put it to get a downward angle to your subject, the more wind it will potentially catch.

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Man, carrying beauty dish is quite easy. Kacey's dish is plastic and light. Even if it was all metal it shouldn't be an issue unless you carrying Mola Setti or Euro which are bigger. And I have 2 seater with small trunk.

bobbyz wrote in post #18470430
Man, carrying beauty dish is quite easy. Kacey's dish is plastic and light. Even if it was all metal it shouldn't be an issue unless you carrying Mola Setti or Euro which are bigger. And I have 2 seater with small trunk.

If I am alone, the added hassle of a beauty dish when combined with c-stands and sand bags is noticeable. It also takes a good bit more trouble to pack in a car if there are passengers or other gear to be considered. And a case to securely transport a beauty dish is neither small nor inexpensive. A deep octa or 10" long throw reflector are far less hassle.

If there is any substantial distance to be covered with the gear, it does make a difference.

It all depends on your circumstances. But the bulk of even a 22" beauty dish is a factor to consider.

bobbyz wrote in post #18470430
Man, carrying beauty dish is quite easy. Kacey's dish is plastic and light. Even if it was all metal it shouldn't be an issue unless you carrying Mola Setti or Euro which are bigger. And I have 2 seater with small trunk.

I love using my Mola Setti and take it out on pretty much every shoot. My other favorite one is the SMDV A90 when I need a bit bigger size or more portability and I also have a Fotodiox 56" beauty dish when I want a much bigger one. Those are my main outdoor ones.
As for the AD600, getting the extension head is my main recommendation.

https://www.youtube.co​m/watch?v=RaebMg4oSeI

F2Bthere wrote in post #18471024
If I am alone, the added hassle of a beauty dish when combined with c-stands and sand bags is noticeable. It also takes a good bit more trouble to pack in a car if there are passengers or other gear to be considered. And a case to securely transport a beauty dish is neither small nor inexpensive. A deep octa or 10" long throw reflector are far less hassle.

If there is any substantial distance to be covered with the gear, it does make a difference.

It all depends on your circumstances. But the bulk of even a 22" beauty dish is a factor to consider.

I am small handicapped person, drive a 2-seater with barely a trunk and carry 22" dish, avenger wheeled stands, sand bags and rest of the stuff. No assistants. It is probably 10 times harder for me than your average person and I rarely complain.