A soft box is a type of

photographic Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

lighting Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve practical or aesthetic effects. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing dayl ...

device, one of a number of photographic soft light devices. All the various soft light types create even and

diffused Molecular diffusion, often simply called diffusion, is the thermal motion of all (liquid or gas) particles at temperatures above absolute zero. The rate of this movement is a function of temperature, viscosity of the fluid and the size (mass) of ...

lightBrooks, David. ''How to Control and Use Photographic Lighting''. HPBooks, 1980, p. 54. by transmitting light through some

scattering Scattering is a term used in physics to describe a wide range of physical processes where moving particles or radiation of some form, such as light or sound, are forced to deviate from a straight trajectory by localized non-uniformities (including ...

material, or by reflecting light off a second surface to diffuse the light. The best known form of reflective source is the

umbrella An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs that is usually mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is designed to protect a person against rain or sunlight. The term ''umbrella'' is traditionally use ...

light, where the light from the bulb is "bounced" off the inside of a metalized umbrella to create an indirect "soft" light. A soft box is an enclosure around a bulb comprising reflective side and back walls and a diffusing material at the front of the light. The sides and back of the box are lined with a bright surface - an aluminized fabric surface or an

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It ha ...

foil, to act as an efficient reflector. In some commercially available models the diffuser is removable to allow the light to be used alone as a

floodlight A floodlight is a broad-beamed, high-intensity artificial light. They are often used to illuminate outdoor playing fields while an outdoor sports event is being held during low-light conditions. More focused kinds are often used as a stage ...

or with an

umbrella reflector In photography and cinematography, a reflector is an improvised or specialised reflective surface used to redirect light towards a given subject or scene. Types Apart from certain highly specialized components found in enlargers, projectors and ...

. A soft box can be used with either flash or continuous light sources such as

fluorescent Fluorescence is the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation. It is a form of luminescence. In most cases, the emitted light has a longer wavelength, and therefore a lower photon energy, ...

lamps or "hot lights" such as quartz halogen bulbs or tungsten bulbs. If soft box lights are used with "hot" light sources, the photographer must be sure the soft box is heat rated for the wattage of the light to which it is attached in order to avoid fire hazard.

Types of softbox

Photo studio equipment - octabox.jpg, Octabox Photo studio flash.jpg, Squarebox Stripbox and honeycomb grid.jpg, Stripbox Октобокс с сотами.jpg, Octagon honeycomb grid

References

Photography equipment Photographic lighting {{Photo-stub

Types of softbox

See also

References