580ex II with softbox or beauty dish?

I will be doing a maternity photoshoot in 2 weeks and I would like to get one of the light modifier for a 580ex II. i will be taking pictures two people and a little girl in the shoot. It's either the beauty dish or a qbox 24"... which would you go with?

neither. you wont get enough light spread to properly light 3 subjects with either. and the beauty dish is sort of a niche look that i would rarely use during a maternity shoot.

1 light for 3 people is going to be tough no matter what you use but I would get a large umbrella (50"+) or something like the PLM that Cheetah sells.

CosmoKid wrote in post #11667384
neither. you wont get enough light spread to properly light 3 subjects with either. and the beauty dish is sort of a niche look that i would rarely use during a maternity shoot.

1 light for 3 people is going to be tough no matter what you use but I would get a large umbrella (50"+) or something like the PLM that Cheetah sells.

large umbrella with the 580ex II?

jxs1984 wrote in post #11667892
large umbrella with the 580ex II?

Yes, an umbrella is the best way to get the biggest softest light from a hotshoe flash. Set the zoom at the widest spread on the flash, and use the wide angle adapter if you need to, to achieve the full spread.

gonzogolf wrote in post #11667902
Yes, an umbrella is the best way to get the biggest softest light from a hotshoe flash. Set the zoom at the widest spread on the flash, and use the wide angle adapter if you need to, to achieve the full spread.

What size do you recommend for 3-4 people?

jxs1984 wrote in post #11667945
What size do you recommend for 3-4 people?

I'd go with 2 lights if I could, if not the biggest umbrella I could get my hands on, probably the 60inch or one of the PLM style umbrellas from PCB or a knockoff of them.

gonzogolf wrote in post #11667959
I'd go with 2 lights if I could, if not the biggest umbrella I could get my hands on, probably the 60inch or one of the PLM style umbrellas from PCB or a knockoff of them.

would it be useful for 1 person as well?

60" Softlighter, great value
http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …rella_Softlight​er_II.html

windpig wrote in post #11668172
60" Softlighter, great value
http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …rella_Softlight​er_II.html

too bad it's out of stock. it looks like a good and useful product.

how bout a 28" Westcott Apollo?

It all depends on how you plan on shooting them. If you're shooting at 16mm on a full frame I would say you need a 60" umbrella. You could use the umbrella for tighter shots as well remember the larger and closer the light source the softer the light. If you could try to use window light (early in the morning) or bounce the 580 off a white sheet that is hung from a window. Now your light sources is the sheet (pretty big) Be sure to bring some clamps. If you have both soft box and ring flash bring both and experiment after you know you have your safe shots. The 24" softbox should work fine. It really depends on what effect you're looking for.

jxs1984 wrote in post #11668417
how bout a 28" Westcott Apollo?

u could shoot 2 people and a little girl, but it is not ideal... light will fall off just under the knees if u plan to do a full length, like people stated here already.. go with a big umbrella or those plm/softlighters.

Dude, a flash on-camera will cover the subjects at all but the extreme focal lengths.
Anything you get larger will appear softer. But the farther away you get it the harder your little flash will have to work. There's no way I'd use a 60 inch anything with a speedlight....and while some here DO use large modifiers, they know the flash and it's capabilities. If you're asking this question, it means you're new to this type of thing. Don't go big. AND...keep your shutter speed at or below the synch speed of your camera when you use modifiers to keep from losing a ton of power in your flashes.

ive used a 60" umbrella with one 580ex and lit about 5 people. All of my none studio and some of my studio shots are done with speedlights.

Oh and the 60" umbrella was only £30 so super cheap and HUGE!

People here are very happy with the Steve Kaser umbrella soft box

http://www.skaeser.com …SOFTBOX-REFLECTIVE/Detail