Soft boxes and umbrellas in studio photography

The inside of the soft box is soft enough to emit light, which can basically be regarded as a beam of parallel light. The light source shines on the subject through the umbrella surface. The soft umbrella is scattered by light when it passes through the umbrella surface, forming a beam of diffused light. You can see the effect by directly hitting two kinds of light on the wall. The light source illuminates the reflective umbrella, and then it is reflected to the main body by the reflective umbrella.

In addition, the shadow produced by the soft box is still soft in a considerable range (relative to the light shining on the object itself), while the shadow formed by the soft umbrella will become "hard" when it is far from the main theme. Imagine the sunlight. Because the reflective umbrella can basically be regarded as a parabola, the diffuse reflection range of the reflective umbrella is wider. Many times, reflective umbrellas are used to create a diffuse reflection area in which subjects move, such as pets and children. Soft umbrella mainly creates a soft contrast (subject VS shadow) by weakening the direct intensity of light source.

From the umbrella itself, the soft umbrella is white and translucent, which can transmit light. The reflective umbrella is silver-gray, and the inner surface is coated with silver or gold reflective substances, which can hardly transmit light (although it can transmit light, the light intensity is greatly attenuated). Among them, the use of gold in portrait photography can improve the skin texture of China people, which is not good for white foreigners.

In fact, the soft umbrella can also be used upside down as a reflective umbrella, and the reflected shadow is "harder" than a reflective umbrella. No matter what kind of umbrella, the farther the distance, the harder the shadow.