Questions and answers

What is the difference between a beauty dish and a softbox?

What is the difference between a beauty dish and a softbox?

A softbox is better for softer light with less contrast and more gradual transitions between light and dark. They are also more flattering to flawed skin. A beauty dish is better when you want a brighter, more sculpted look to your client’s face. They tend to be heavier and sturdier than fabric boxes.

What is a beauty dish in photography?

A beauty dish is a photographic lighting device that uses a parabolic reflector to distribute light towards a focal point. The light created is between that of a direct flash and a softbox, giving the image a wrapped, contrasted look, which adds a more dramatic effect.

What is the difference between softbox and Octabox?

A softbox has a square or rectangular shape, while an octabox is octagonal. The two devices do work in about the same way. The difference in shape between an octabox and a regular softbox.

Should I buy a beauty dish?

But we would always recommend having a Beauty Dish as part of your equipment as they are very useful and can offer a different effect and lighting that you can’t get from other modifiers.

Which softbox is best?

Best Softboxes for Speedlight

  • Fotodiox F60 Quick-Collapse Softbox.
  • Neewer Bowens Mount Softbox.
  • Neewer 32-inches Octagonal Softbox.
  • Altura Flash Diffuser Softbox.
  • waka Flash Diffuser Light Speedlight Softbox.
  • Neewer Round Universal Magnetic Ring Flash.
  • Fotocreate Collapsible Strip Light Softbox.
  • Westcott Rapid Box Softbox.

Which shape softbox is best?

Rectangular: The most versatile softbox shape. It has wide application in product photography and portrait photography. These softboxes were designed to mimic window light, specifically.

What is the best size softbox for portraits?

Large softboxes (say, 48-inches and larger) are ideal for group shots and full-body portraits. For example, the 12×56-inch rectangular softbox shown above is available for about $115.00 and would be an ideal choice for a full-body portrait, particularly if the model is lying down.

Does beauty dish size matter?

The bigger the light source is in relation to your subject, the less bright your subject’s eyes are going to be. If you want bright, clear eyes, a smaller beauty dish may be the way to go. It is also harder to control the light fall off (without a grid) as the bigger source will cast more light behind your subject.

What is the best size beauty dish for portraits?

The “general wisdom” for beauty dishes is that they work best one to two times the diameter distance from your subject. By this rule of thumb, your 16″ dish would be optimal at a distance from 16-32″ from your subject.

Which is better Octa softbox or Profoto beauty dish?

Since the beauty dish lacks the diffuser of the softbox, it has a more direct light, but is still not as harsh as a light without any modifier. You can also buy a diffuser or sock for the beauty dish for those times you want to soften it up a bit.

What’s the difference between beauty dish and softbox?

The beauty dish makes use of a center disc in front of the light that bounces it around the dish, giving you a more uniform but slightly more direct light than the standard softbox, as well as more chiseled and defined shadows that would be more noticeable in portrait photography.

What’s the difference between softbox and large octabox?

Most photographers are pretty well versed in the softbox and even the large octabox. If you have ever shot beauty or fashion you have probably used the beauty dish modifier.

What’s the difference between beauty dish and parabolic reflector?

Karl Taylor has produced one of the best videos I’ve ever seen showing exactly how the light fall off, contrast, and specularity differs between the parabolic reflectors, beauty dish, and large octabox softbox. Most photographers are pretty well versed in the softbox and even the large octabox.