SOFT BOXES FOR VIDEO AND PHOTOGRAPHY
Photographers and filmmakers choose soft box light sources for the soft even light they throw and for the even highlights they create. The quality of light closely resembles that of the light transmitted through a window; the illumination comes from an evenly illuminated surface. Soft box lighting de-emphasizes lines and blemishes on the face of a human subject. Soft box lighting provide bright, even lighting, smooth broad highlight reflections in product photography, and gentle transitions from the illuminated areas to the areas of shadow. Reflections are of great importance when photographing shiny polished surfaces, reflective metal surfaces, and transparent materials like glass. The image of the highlight on such subjects is really a reflected image of the lightsource.
Soft boxes are often easier to manage than umbrellas when it comes to controlling the amount of light that falls on the backdrop or background of an image. A softbox can be 'feathered', or aimed to direct stray light away from the background. "Barn doors" and "honeycomb grids" can also be used to restrict the area illuminated by soft boxes.
A soft box can be used with either flash or continuous light sources such as fluorescent lamps or "hot lights" such as quartz halogen bulbs or tungsten bulbs. If soft box lights are used with 'hot' light sources, the user must be sure the softbox is heat rated for the wattage of the light it is attached to in order to avoid fire hazard.
The video softboxes below can handle the hotter, continuous lighting needed for filmmaking.
See a video on how to use a softbox for greenscreen lighting here
EGG CRATES FOR SOFT BOXES
Egg crates can be used in conjunction with soft boxes to focus the light
on
the subject, and control spill onto other areas. Think of them as sophisticated
barn doors for soft boxes. Egg Crates can come in different "degrees",
which changes the spill control. The higher the number, the wider the spill,
so a 60 degree egg crate will have a larger spill than a 20 degree.