Continuous light soft boxes, what would be best for me?
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Question by Kristan: Continuous light soft boxes, what would be best for me?
I am new to photography and am going to be starting a college for photography next month. In the meantime I would really like to set up a “studio”. I would like to put up a background stand and buy some backdrops. I wanted to get a continuous light softbox in the meantime, and eventually buy a softbox with flash after I have learned enough about it in school. I was looking online and saw two different options and wondered what would be best for me. I also don’t understand what amount of wattage bulb I should be looking for, my “studio” has quite a bit of natural light due to a large window, so that may make a difference.
The first softbox I was looking at was 50×70 cm with an 85 watt bulb, however that doesnt sound like enough light to me.
And the other was a 20 x 28 inch softbox, with a 1000 watt bulb
Also, I have a fear that since these are so low priced that they may be cheap and cause a fire hazard as the lights get hot.
Could anyone recomment what size of softbox I should get (for infant portraits) and what amount of wattage bulb I should be looking for considering the natural light in my studio area. I would take this advice and go to a photography supply store near my home looking for a softbox with that kind of wattage. Obviously you need to buy a softbox that can handle a really hot light so that you don’t start a fire. So if I knew what amount of light I would need I could go from there.
This is the 1000 watt softbox I was looking at
Best answer:
Answer by c_j_ryan
You are correct that the 85 watt one would be to low a wattage. It is probably made for taking pictures of small things for Ebay and the like.
For the price, the 1000 watt s box isn’t bad, but yes, quartz lights do generate lots of heat. On the up side, what you see is what you get.
Most strobes incorporate incandescent, “modeling lights”, that provide enough light to see what your trying to shoot, but don’t allow you too use anything but manual settings, as when the much more powerful strobe goes off, it changes your white balance, and usually washes out your picture.
So until you become familiar with how to manually set your exposures, for the price, the 20 x 28 soft box might work well for you. Just don’t leave it on for extended lengths of time.
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