soft box main light, what type of fill light

Hello. If using a softbox as the main light, is it common to use a

second softbox (maybe smaller, or further back) as the fill light?

I'm very new to studio flash photography and just learning. I like

the look of a softbox as mainlight and a silver reflector for fill

(b&w portrait), but I'm curious to know what else people use to fill

with, ie, what other type of modifiers such as an umbrella, normal

reflector, etc... Doesn't seem right to use soft diffused light as

main, then fill with harsh light.

Don't out think yourself. It will depend on how you want the end result to look, a

small hard fill source will create a different look than a large fill source will, as will

using a reflector as opposed to using a light emitting source. Where you place the

sources will also be psychologically and aesthetically important as well.

Eugene,

 

Why do you feel like you need a fill light when using a softbox? If you take photos using window light, do you use a fill then?

 

Sometimes, if the softbox isn't giving any catchlight, I'll use a low-power point source to provide it, but it's dialed way down so it doesn't destroy the look of the softbox lighting.

I'm really just learning now about lighting setups and I haven't really tried many different setups yet. I read that a common setup was to have a main light angled to one side of the model, and then a fill light close to the camera on the opposite side to fill in the shadows a bit. I tried with only the softbox right in front and above, angled downwards on the model, but the shadow under the chin, I thought was a little too dark. Filling in with a reflector gave a nice effect, but sometimes you can't get too close with a reflector on a full standing body pose or it'll be in the shot.

Eugene

 

Generally speaking, a fill light should not be noticeable whatsoever. its sole job is to lower the contrast and give you detail in the shadow. something that really works great is to bounce a light off of a back wall for a very broad and nonevident fill light source. and a wall is cheap!!!

 

Kevin

<i>My</i> walls are <i>really</i> expensive... more than a sheet of foamcore, that's for sure. When I use a second light for a soft fill, I use a larger light than the main. You could use a lightpanel, or any diffuser that is color acceptible (as opposed to "color correct") and pop a bare head through it, or if you have a color acceptible cheap wall, bounce the second strobe off it... t

I have even used <small>&lt gasp... &gt</small> direct undiffused

on-camera flash as fill, for location portraits where I wanted

to minimize the amount of lighting equipment carried. If it's

near the lens axis, and significantly dimmer than the main,

a very small light can still work reasonably well.

<p>

But when I can, I'll often fill by shooting a light through

a 60" satin umbrella, preferably placed near the

white back wall, so that the light which bounces off

the back side of the umbrella has a chance to bounce off

the back wall and eventually get to the subject. This produces

a very broad, diffuse, even fill.

OOh man!! That's the fun of it! every fill type leaves a little signature, and mixing it up day to day helps keep your creativity at its peak! A softbox sure is a common fill, as well as umbrellas (shoot through or bounce), cards and reflectors, heck even your hand can work in some setups. I've seen some photogs always wear a white shirt consistently so that they can jump in as fill in a pinch!

cool answer.

In character with a softbox is to use reflected light from a Flexfill; or use another softbox at lower power which might be lrgr in size. This is sort of a general vanilla answer that will not get you in trouble. Add "kickers" to make edges sparkle. Timber Borcherding timberborcherding