Editing Softbox

{{short description|Photographic lighting device}}
{{refimprove|date=April 2008}}
[[File:Elinchrom flash equipment DSCF2813.JPG|thumb|Two softboxes]]
[[File:Softbox demo, by MorrowLess.jpg|thumb|upright|Outdoor portrait photography with a softbox]]
[[File:Comparison of softbox to direct flash.jpg|thumb|Photograph of fruit with (top) and without (bottom) softbox lighting]]

A '''softbox''' is a type of [[photography|photographic]] [[lighting]] modifier, one of a number of photographic [[soft light]] devices. All the various soft light types create even and [[photon diffusion|diffused]] light<ref>Brooks, David. ''How to Control and Use Photographic Lighting''. HPBooks, 1980, p. 54. {{ISBN|978-0-89586-059-0}}</ref> by transmitting light through some [[light scattering|scattering]] material, or by [[diffuse reflection|reflecting]] light off a second surface to diffuse the light. The best known form of reflective source is the [[umbrella]] light, where the light from the bulb is "bounced" off the inside of a metalized umbrella to create an indirect "soft" light.

A softbox 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]] 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]] or with an [[umbrella reflector]]. 

A softbox can be used with either [[Flash (photography)|flash]] or continuous light sources such as [[fluorescent]] lamps or "hot lights" such as quartz halogen bulbs or [[Incandescent light bulb|tungsten bulbs]]. If softbox lights are used with "hot" light sources, the photographer must be sure the softbox is heat rated for the wattage of the light to which it is attached in order to avoid fire hazard.

==Types of softbox==
<gallery>
Photo studio equipment - octabox.jpg|Octabox
Photo studio flash.jpg|Squarebox
Stripbox and honeycomb grid.jpg|Stripbox
Октобокс с сотами.jpg|Octagon honeycomb grid
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Beauty dish]]
* [[Light tent]]
* [[Reflector (photography)]]
* [[Speed ring]]
* [[Striplight]]

==References==
<references/>

{{Photography}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soft Box}}
[[Category:Photography equipment]]
[[Category:Photographic lighting]]

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