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Portrait Lighting – Boxes vs. Umbrellas

When it comes to portrait photography lighting, many new portrait photographers are not aware of the differences between using an umbrella and using a light box. These novice portrait photographers are under the impression that light boxes somehow function with some magic portrait lighting quality that umbrellas do not. Here are the differences between using umbrellas and using light boxes when it comes to lighting for portrait photography.

Portrait lighting ambient light-bounce contamination

When a portrait photographer is creating a new lighting setup for the first time, he usually takes into account his environment out of habit, if nothing else. Most family portrait photographers tend to work in a similar, or even the same environment, for most of their portrait photography career. A portrait photographer’s studio has a given ceiling height that will bounce back a particular amount of light that the portrait photographer has become a custom to over the years. Whether the portrait photographer uses umbrellas or light boxes, some light will bounce off of walls or ceilings and add light onto the subject that was not really intended. I call this light, ambient light-bounce contamination. Pretty catchy phrase, right? You can use it if you want… :+)

One of the major differences between using an umbrella and a light box, is the amount of ambient light-bounce contamination. Light boxes tend to give the portrait photographer much less of this contamination.

The light from a strobe head is usually directed back toward the umbrella and then bounces around and back to the portrait subject. With umbrellas, this light usually tends to bounce around than with a light box. With a light box, the light tends to be more directed in one direction. The outer face of the light box is usually relatively flat and therefore less likely to shine in various directions. The parabolic shape of a portrait lighting umbrella is not very efficient and directing the light in a single direction and much light escapes to bounce off of walls and ceilings, and eventually back onto the subject, but from an unintended direction. The unintended direction, being the key point here… The ambient light ends up acting as more of some kind of secondary light or possibly a fill light of some kind.

One question you may ask yourself is, “is that portrait lighting ambient light bounce contamination such a bad thing?” Usually, no, it isn’t. Usually, in portrait photography lighting, a little extra fill light is not a bad thing and most of the time will go unnoticed. Where if becomes a problem is when the portrait photographer is attempting to achieve a very dramatic lighting effect. It’s times like these when that extra fill light can become really annoying and harmful. There will be times, especially is confined areas whit light colored walls, where using umbrellas will prohibit the portrait photographer from achieving really dramatically lit portrait photography.

So, if you don’t think you ever will want to push the portrait photography lighting envelope and try to achieve really high-ration dramatic lighting, then umbrellas might be ok for you.

What shape are the catchlights here?

Portrait lighting Cost

When it comes to cost, umbrellas have a huge advantage to the portrait photographer. Light boxes can be several times more expensive than similar sized portrait umbrellas. Even though light boxes tend to last longer (at least for me) than umbrellas, they are much, much more expensive. I don’t know if it’s because I tend to use umbrellas on location more than I use my light boxes, but it always seems that my umbrellas or being blown over or knocked over and destroyed. Somehow when boxes fall over, they tend not to break as easily. Boxes just seem to be more durable.

Portrait lighting Speed

When you’re moving from location to location, in a commercial photography portrait situation, speed is important. Collapsing an umbrella and taking apart a light box are two very different things. Umbrellas are much faster to put up and take down than boxes are, and when time is important, and all other things are equal, I ten to use the umbrellas for my location portrait photography lighting.

Portrait light “Catch-light” shape

I know it’s a generality, but most umbrellas are circular and most boxes are square. I know there are exceptions to each of these generalities, but for the most part, the catch-lights (reflections in the eyes of the portrait subject) from umbrellas are circular and the catch-lights from light boxes are rectangular. BTW – This is only an issue when the portrait is a relative close-up. If you’re shooting full-length portraits, it really doesn’t matter what the shape of the catch light is, You’re not going to see it. On the other hand, if your portrait is an extreme close-up, it is an issue. Are rectangular catch-lights bad? No, just rectangular. Windows are rectangular, suns are round. Both are light sources commonly found and accepted. It’s just a judgment call. Some portrait photographers just prefer one over the other.

Portrait light source shape

There’s another advantage I just thought about that light boxes have over umbrellas. There are such things as “strip boxes” and umbrellas do not have anything similar. Strip boxes are unusually long rectangular shaped boxes. Long and thin. In portrait photography, these boxes are especially good for use as hairlights. I also use them for main light sources so that I can control the lighting effect of my subject. Awhile back, I was using a large horizontal “strip light” to give me an unusual portrait lighting effect. The horizontal light gave me a “soft effect” on the horizontal plane, but allowed me to have the light “drop off” right below the face of the portrait subject.

So there you have it. There’s nothing really magical about light boxes vs umbrellas. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. Personally, I use both. I tend to use umbrellas on location for their speed and I tend to use boxes in the studio because of their controllability. If you’re going to be a serious professional portrait photographer that goes on location and shoots in the studio, then you should probably have both.

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