What size octabox do you use for headshots

[mikeyw]

Hi,

I've been using a 120cm octabox for some headshots and wondering if i'd be better with an 80cm version. The light is very soft using such a large source for just head and shoulders.

Thinking of trying an 80cm to give a bit more shadow, is my theory correct or can i work this by moving the 120cm further away.

It's an area i'm fairly new to so looking for tips on good practice etc.

Cheers,
Mike.

 

[mike weeks]

from the same distance a smaller x should give more pronounced shadows, a similar effect can be achieved by moving a larger box further back. Also look at using less diffusion

Mike

 

[Phil V]

What Mike said.
No need to buy anything more, unless you really want to

 

[Garry Edwards]

As above.
If you move it twice as far away then the effective size will reduce to a quarter.
The only downside to this is that you may not always have enough ceiling height.

 

[sk66]

What do you mean by "more shadow?"
Contrast in an image has two parts... falloff (how dark shadows are) and hardness (how defined/hard edged shadows are); and distance affects them oppositely. Getting an exact balance with only one light source can be difficult... a grid can be helpful.

Unless the intent is for a starker "high fashion" type image, or to bring out a specific detail (i.e. texture), I think what you probably are wanting is a higher rate of falloff. For that you need to move your light source much closer and reduce the power accordingly. That way the light doesn't travel as far and the shadows drop more quickly/darker. Then just feather/flag the source so that the light only falls where you want it.

 

[sk66]

I should note that harder lighting can also create darker shadows, simply because the light is "blocked." That is what causes it to bring out details...

 

[juggler]

What do you mean by "more shadow?"
Contrast in an image has two parts... falloff (how dark shadows are) and hardness (how defined/hard edged shadows are); and distance affects them oppositely. Getting an exact balance with only one light source can be difficult... a grid can be helpful.

Unless the intent is for a starker "high fashion" type image, or to bring out a specific detail (i.e. texture), I think what you probably are wanting is a higher rate of falloff. For that you need to move your light source much closer and reduce the power accordingly. That way the light doesn't travel as far and the shadows drop more quickly/darker. Then just feather/flag the source so that the light only falls where you want it.

What Steven said.. a large octa further away will have similar characteristics to a small octa very close, but only similar. The shadow edges will be similar but the falloff will be very different.
What that means in practice is that a close, small octa will tend towards lighting only the 'mask' of the face.

 

[Garry Edwards]

This is getting over complicated...
In a perfect world, we would all have a variety of both different sizes and shapes, but if all that the OP wants to do is to produce light that is "less soft" then moving the light further away will achieve that.
And if he wants the light source to be smaller whilst retaining the fall off characteristics of a close light source, simply reduce the effective size by masking.

 

[HoppyUK]

Tend to agree with Steven and Simon - moving a bigger light source back only produces a similar effect as a smaller softbox used close, not the same. And at the risk of upsetting Garry and making things even more complicated, I'll throw in another variable, in addition to the softness and fall-off effects already mentioned...

...and that's the environment. If you work in a huge studio (or outdoors) this does not apply, but if it's a home studio or somewhere else where there are normal height white ceilings etc, then moving a big light back increases the amount of light spilled around the room substantially (sometimes even dramatically). In which case, a lot of that spill finds its way bounced around the room and back to the subject, significantly lightening shadows.

If you want the kind of distinctive look of a smaller softbox used close (it's not dissimilar to a beauty dish, often of a similar size and also used close) then get a smaller softbox. They're so cheap these days.

 

[Deleted member 49428]

If you find your softbox to large find something to use as masking material. Then see which size to get.

 

[sk66]

but if all that the OP wants to do is to produce light that is "less soft" then moving the light further away will achieve that.

I didn't read it that way; what I read was "more shadow." And IME, when someone (w/o a good bit of experience/knowledge) says that, what they are actually wanting is more dramatic lighting, i.e. more falloff... harder lighting is seldom the goal with head/shoulder portraiture.