Soft Boxes for Basic Still Life Setup?

Now that I have my macro rig well in hand, I'd like to get my still life equipment in order.

I'm specifically asking about soft boxes.

I'm mostly interested in photographing relatively small subjects like handguns, vases, etc.

Camera is a Canon T4i, although I might be getting a 77D for Christmas.

For lighting I have three Flashpoint 300 wireless studio strobes, backed up by a wireless Flashpoint TTL speed light, three Amazon Basics manual speed lights with wireless triggers, and three 300w equivalent CFLs in studio lamps with large DIY reflectors.

For the strobes, what type, size and quantity of soft box should I be looking at?

I'm just looking to amuse myself.

It's hard to make a suggestion of one box because there's no one size fits all. And if you are serious about studio lighting, you will end up getting a few in different size and shape.

To me, rectangular box gives a little better control than the round one, specially on subject with high reflections. My soft boxes with white interior all change to warner tone after few years.

When I need to grab a quick shot of smaller subject, this is the softbox I use..

https://www.adorama.co​m/glbdez25s.html

It comes with all the accessories that I can experiment with: a metal deflector, inner and outer screens, and the fabric grid. I could get different looks without switching to a different modifier.

This is with fabric grid on..

Lotto wrote in post #18942850
It's hard to make a suggestion of one box because there's no one size fits all. And if you are serious about studio lighting, you will end up getting a few in different size and shape.

To me, rectangular box gives a little better control than the round one, specially on subject with high reflections. My soft boxes with white interior all change to warner tone after few years.

When I need to grab a quick shot of smaller subject, this is the softbox I use..

https://www.adorama.co​m/glbdez25s.html

It comes with all the accessories that I can experiment with: a metal deflector, inner and outer screens, and the fabric grid. I could get different looks without switching to a different modifier.

This is with fabric grid on..

Hosted photo: posted by Lotto in
./showthread.php?p=189​42850&i=i198962388
forum: Flash and Studio Lighting

Thanks.

Lotto wrote in post #18942850
It's hard to make a suggestion of one box because there's no one size fits all. And if you are serious about studio lighting, you will end up getting a few in different size and shape.

To me, rectangular box gives a little better control than the round one, specially on subject with high reflections. My soft boxes with white interior all change to warner tone after few years.

When I need to grab a quick shot of smaller subject, this is the softbox I use..

https://www.adorama.co​m/glbdez25s.html

It comes with all the accessories that I can experiment with: a metal deflector, inner and outer screens, and the fabric grid. I could get different looks without switching to a different modifier.

This is with fabric grid on..

Hosted photo: posted by Lotto in
./showthread.php?p=189​42850&i=i198962388
forum: Flash and Studio Lighting

Would you recommend one, two or three strobes? Positioning?

If I were doing still life photos with non moving subjects, I'd consider going with constant lighting instead of strobe. The problem with strobe is many lack modeling lights and the ones that have em often don't show precisely what you'll be getting. So, strobe can be a crap shoot.

Strobe is great for portraits because it can freeze action so well. But for product shots where control of reflections, shadows and ratios are important, it would be very useful to see precisely what you're going to be getting before taking the shot.

Something like an Aputure 120 or Godox sl-60 led might be nice. Good color and not too expensive. Both can be used with a wide variety of Bowens mount modifiers, like soft boxes.

https://petapixel.com …he-pros-and-cons-of-each/

Temma wrote in post #18943196
Would you recommend one, two or three strobes? Positioning?

You only need one strobe to both serve as key and to generate all needed fill. The fill is created with white foamcore or other large-scale matte white surfaces (e.g. walls). Two or more strobes require decisions about the artistic purpose of multiple directional light sources, and avoidance of crossed shadows. The key can take a SB as you plan although I always use a reflector or diffuser panel of some kind: more control of the key pattern on subject's specular surfaces, and more stray light (which I put to use). You will find the modelling lights to be helpful in setup—at least until you establish your standard lighting schemes.

I’ve had great results using a beauty dish for product work.

Think 'basics' first...

1. The sun (far away) is a virtual point source 'main', casting hard edged shadows
   
2. The overcast sky is the virtual 'large source' 'main', casting few shadows or shadows with very soft edges.
   
3. The light which simply bounces off nearby things (maybe light bouncing from the building across the street, or the light bouncing from the walls inside the room) acts as the 'fill' in the natural scene.
   

1. The 'main' source could be a small desk lamp or one of your speedlights or one of your studio heads, and all will be suitable equivalents to the sun in the cloudless sky.
   
2. The 'main' source could be 'enlarged' to be a 'large source' by the addition of a diffusion panel or a softbox or by bouncing it off an umbrella or a big white panel.
   
3. The 'fill' source can be a second active source or it can be a passive reflector that bounces back light from the 'main' source
   

1. A 12" softbox at 12" from subject is just as soft as 24" softbox at 24" from subject is just as soft as 48" softbox at 48" from subject is just as soft as a 96" softbox at 96" from subject
   
2. The key difference between the four 'large sources' is the light intensity FALLOFF due to distance. If something is 12" filxed distance behind the subject, it will appear to get much less light from the source at 12", than if it were illuminated by the source at 48" !!!
   
3. A secondary relationship is the amount of area illuminated by a 12" softbox vs. a 48" softbox...BOTH have light which is cast LARGER than tha softbox's face, so the net benefit of 'larger' is somewhat diminished by that effect.
   

FTb wrote in post #18943228
If I were doing still life photos with non moving subjects, I'd consider going with constant lighting instead of strobe. The problem with strobe is many lack modeling lights and the ones that have em often don't show precisely what you'll be getting. So, strobe can be a crap shoot.

Strobe is great for portraits because it can freeze action so well. But for product shots where control of reflections, shadows and ratios are important, it would be very useful to see precisely what you're going to be getting before taking the shot.

Something like an Aputure 120 or Godox sl-60 led might be nice. Good color and not too expensive. Both can be used with a wide variety of Bowens mount modifiers, like soft boxes.

https://petapixel.com …he-pros-and-cons-of-each/

As noted, I have a plethora of lighting options.

For continuous lighting, I have plain studio lamps with large reflectors. I don't think you could mount a soft box on the lamps because they're very plain. I'd have to buy continuous soft boxes with their own lamps built in.

Wilt wrote in post #18943296
Think 'basics' first...

1. The sun (far away) is a virtual point source 'main', casting hard edged shadows
   
2. The overcast sky is the virtual 'large source' 'main', casting few shadows or shadows with very soft edges.
   
3. The light which simply bounces off nearby things (maybe light bouncing from the building across the street, or the light bouncing from the walls inside the room) acts as the 'fill' in the natural scene.
   

Now apply the 'basics' to the photographer's employment of artificial light (because the ambient light is simply not strong enought to take a picture)

1. The 'main' source could be a small desk lamp or one of your speedlights or one of your studio heads, and all will be suitable equivalents to the sun in the cloudless sky.
   
2. The 'main' source could be 'enlarged' to be a 'large source' by the addition of a diffusion panel or a softbox or by bouncing it off an umbrella or a big white panel.
   
3. The 'fill' source can be a second active source or it can be a passive reflector that bounces back light from the 'main' source
   

Then let us think about 'how big?' a light modifier to use, either for a 'main' or for a 'fill'

1. A 12" softbox at 12" from subject is just as soft as 24" softbox at 24" from subject is just as soft as 48" softbox at 48" from subject is just as soft as a 96" softbox at 96" from subject
   
2. The key difference between the four 'large sources' is the light intensity FALLOFF due to distance. If something is 12" filxed distance behind the subject, it will appear to get much less light from the source at 12", than if it were illuminated by the source at 48" !!!
   
3. A secondary relationship is the amount of area illuminated by a 12" softbox vs. a 48" softbox...BOTH have light which is cast LARGER than tha softbox's face, so the net benefit of 'larger' is somewhat diminished by that effect.
   

NOW pick a modifer, once you have fully understood ALL of the above.
Light modifiers merely allow you to achieve what you see in the everyday world, but to be able to CONTROLLABLY CHOOSE what you want to achieve in any particular circumstance, not depending upon the timing of nature.
Different modifiers CLAIM to have significant advantage over other somewhat equivalent product, but not all of them are strong reasons to choose that product...there is a lot of hype and empty marketing from many vendors.

Yes, that says it all!

You can do a lot of still life with a 75 octa, and a pair of 60x60 or 60x30 soft boxes.
Combined with bouch cards and some flags that will let you shoot most things that will fit on the average product table.
If you want a clean white background then you may need an extra light or two to sit under an opaque white perspex sheet,

I've gotten a couple of inexpensive Godox 24x24 soft boxes and S mounts, so that I can use them with both my flashes and studio strobes. I went with 24x24 because I shoot in my living room and don't have a lot of working room. Amazon didn't have a single identical soft box for my third strobe and flash. B&H carries them, but are out of stock for a couple of weeks.

I need to do a bunch of cleanup to have room to set them up. I've already built a separate still life table out of structural pipe and MDF to go along with the similar but larger DIY macro table on which my 100lb. macro mount sits.

Temma wrote in post #18957467
I've gotten a couple of inexpensive Godox 24x24 soft boxes and S mounts,

You should be able to do a lot of different things with those.
If you get some black card you can tape it over the front to change their shape as well. It's very easy to turn them into a small strip box.

Moppie wrote in post #18957621
You should be able to do a lot of different things with those.
If you get some black card you can tape it over the front to change their shape as well. It's very easy to turn them into a small strip box.

...which I fortunately, bought from the local craft store before they closed/moved.