New to Photography: Which Speedlight Softbox to get?

[fino]

Hello, I'm looking for a decent Speedlight Softbox that is able to shoot whole body & be portable (will be shooting in different locations) so it won't take me a long time to set up. Could anyone recommend me on which one to get that may fit my needs? Also note that I'm a beginner, so I'm not looking to spend a huge amount of cash since I'm just starting, not sure if this Softbox even exists but hopefully someone can help me


Also, I've been doing some reading and some people say 1 Speedlight (I have an SB-700) won't be able to output enough light when shooting with bigger softboxes so people say to get 2 Speedlights when dealing with big softboxes, how much of this is true?

Thank you.

 

[texkam]

Westcott - Light Modifiers - 50" Recessed Mega JS Apollo

 

[hirejn]

Lighting a full-length portrait well with a single Speedlight soft box is asking a lot of a Speedlight. They're not meant for that. You should have a 4-by-6 foot box and a studio strobe, or multiple Speedlights in one soft box. The cost of two SB-700s is about $900, for which you could get a decent studio strobe. A Speedlight loses about two stops of light just getting out of a medium soft box. A studio strobe would be better. Wescott's Medium Apollo (28") is a good box for Speedlights, good for about 3/4 shots. Any bigger and you'll have trouble getting enough power out of the flash. Technically you can light the whole subject with any Speedlight, but you won't get the quality of light of a larger box.

 

[Buckster]

Time To Dispel The Myth About Speedlights and Softboxes « The Lighting Academy

Props to daggah for posting that link here: http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...-speedlight-softbox-shooting.html#post2899878

 

[fino]

Westcott - Light Modifiers - 50" Recessed Mega JS Apollo

what stand and swivel do you recommend to go with this 50"? and would a 28" be enough?

 

[MarkCawley]

Theres a simple answer to this...... the Guide Number. Even with a guide number on the speedlight of 43 (i.e. Speedlight 430 EX) that's 43 METERS. Now put that in ANY size softbox that you want and the light will STILL hit your subject equally. As long as the distance from the flash unit to the back of the softbox, then out again from the softbox to the subject doesn't exceed 43 meters then itll evenly light anything. In short..... YES you CAN light a very large softbox with a very small flash unit.
If you couldn't then what would be the point of a bounce and swivel head to bounce the flash off a wall or ceiling.