Best portable lighting for newborn shoot- Softbox with my speed light?

[photo_lovr]

Hello,

I'm going over to a friends to photograph their newborn. I usually just up my iso when shooting indoors but I've got a Nikon 700 speed light and thought I could use that.

I wanted to get a light source large enough to cover the newborn and something that is portable. I wanted a nice soft light source that's why I was looking at the softbox.

Can I buy a softbox that I can put my nikon flash in or do I need some other lighting equipment?

I currently have a Nikon 700, and 2 manual Yongnuo flashes. I have a couple of deflectors as well different sizes.

Appreciate any suggestions.

 

[tcphoto1]

Forget the flash, it will not be good for the babies eyes. Bring a tripod and use a window to light the portrait. You'll do fine with ISO 200-800 and your fastest lens.

 

[Ellis Vener]

Hello,

I'm going over to a friends to photograph their newborn. I usually just up my iso when shooting indoors but I've got a Nikon 700 speed light and thought I could use that.

I wanted to get a light source large enough to cover the newborn and something that is portable. I wanted a nice soft light source that's why I was looking at the softbox.

Can I buy a softbox that I can put my nikon flash in or do I need some other lighting equipment?

I currently have a Nikon 700, and 2 manual Yongnuo flashes. I have a couple of deflectors as well different sizes.

Appreciate any suggestions.

Use one flash , hand held off camera, and use this diffuser: http://amzn.com/B002T1OJZU aimed at the ceiling.
unless the parents have requested a full blown photo shoot you want to keep your gear as simple as possible as the new mom is very already feeling anxious enough without having to worry about a well meaning friend bringing all sorts of photo gear into the room.

Ellis Vener

http://www.ellisvener.com

Most photography is not rocket science, just snapshot keepsakes. The fun is found in just being there, not minding equipment.

 

[FJ Westcott]

There are Lots of Softboxes capable of being used easily with your speedlight but I would agree with photo_lovr on this one and forego the flash. Maybe a reflector at best to help direct the light or fill the shadows.

Pete @ F.J. Westcott

 

[photolando]

It's pretty much an old wives tale in photography that flashes hurt or damage babies eyes. No, I would not blast the little one with very bright flashes but then again, I wouldn't do that with anyone. Young or old.

Moderate flash levels are just fine. No harm will be done.

 

[Sr1racha]

Would recommend either continuous lighting or natural light + reflector as others have recommended.

Newborns are hard enough to chase around and get good lighting without having to worry about annoying them with constant strobes going off in their face

 

[Zedex10R]

Newborns are hard enough to chase around and get good lighting without having to worry about annoying them with constant strobes going off in their face

 

[Don89]

It's pretty much an old wives tale in photography that flashes hurt or damage babies eyes. No, I would not blast the little one with very bright flashes but then again, I wouldn't do that with anyone. Young or old.

Moderate flash levels are just fine. No harm will be done.

 

[Sailor Blue]

Flash will not harm the newborn baby's eyes.

Softening the flash with a diffuser is a good idea. Moving the flash off-camera is another good idea.

Tupperware "diffusers" like the Gary Fong LightSphere only work well when there are nearby neutral colored walls and a neutral colored ceiling. If the walls or ceiling are distant or are colored it is worthless. Here is my DIY device that works just as well as a LightSphere and cost me nothing but 2 minutes of my time.



There are nice small softboxes for hot-shoe flash units that will work well.

Westcott makes the Rapid Box Octa and Apollo Softboxes. Godox (eBay or Amazon.com) also makes popular lower cost small softboxes and octaboxes for flash.

Westcott Pro Photography and Video Lighting

You can mount the flash and softbox combination on a light stand or hand hold it by using a Westcott ProGrip Speedlite Handle or just a simple umbrella bracket. Having someone else hold the diffused off-camera flash is even better since it is easy to get them to position it places where you can't reach while holding both the camera and flash.

Hand Hold Flash - Big Swifty - How to Hand Hold an Off-Camera Flash from DPReview

Joe McNally - Da Grip - YouTube

--
Living and loving it in Pattaya, Thailand. Canon 7D - See the gear list for the rest.

 

[stinelise]

Flash light do hot harm the eyes, it will in some cases iritate, or scare the newborn. I use a flash with modeling light, And this makes it more easy to get used to - from the baby's perspective. Large 120cm shoot through umbrella, so I get soft light that wraps around the baby. I would not handhold any thing - except the camera, close to the baby, that is very distracting. If you do not have a studio flash, use your strobe, but make the light as soft as you can - shoot through umbrellas are the most forgiving alternative.

(If some one have a link to official medical info that can state if flash light may/can harm a baby's eyes please share, that would be very important info for a lot of people ..... And baby's)

 

[Don89]

Flash will not harm the newborn baby's eyes.

Softening the flash with a diffuser is a good idea. Moving the flash off-camera is another good idea.

Tupperware "diffusers" like the Gary Fong LightSphere only work well when there are nearby neutral colored walls and a neutral colored ceiling. If the walls or ceiling are distant or are colored it is worthless. Here is my DIY device that works just as well as a LightSphere and cost me nothing but 2 minutes of my time.



There are nice small softboxes for hot-shoe flash units that will work well.

Westcott makes the Rapid Box Octa and Apollo Softboxes. Godox (eBay or Amazon.com) also makes popular lower cost small softboxes and octaboxes for flash.

Westcott Pro Photography and Video Lighting

You can mount the flash and softbox combination on a light stand or hand hold it by using a Westcott ProGrip Speedlite Handle or just a simple umbrella bracket. Having someone else hold the diffused off-camera flash is even better since it is easy to get them to position it places where you can't reach while holding both the camera and flash.

Hand Hold Flash - Big Swifty - How to Hand Hold an Off-Camera Flash from DPReview

Joe McNally - Da Grip - YouTube

--
Living and loving it in Pattaya, Thailand. Canon 7D - See the gear list for the rest.

I like the inexpensive DIY approach. In another post, Someone else used a drink cup to do the same. Some folks appreciate the concept, others prefer store bought only. White balance is the only potential issue I can see.

 

[Sailor Blue]

Flash will not harm the newborn baby's eyes.

Softening the flash with a diffuser is a good idea. Moving the flash off-camera is another good idea.

Tupperware "diffusers" like the Gary Fong LightSphere only work well when there are nearby neutral colored walls and a neutral colored ceiling. If the walls or ceiling are distant or are colored it is worthless. Here is my DIY device that works just as well as a LightSphere and cost me nothing but 2 minutes of my time.



There are nice small softboxes for hot-shoe flash units that will work well.

Westcott makes the Rapid Box Octa and Apollo Softboxes. Godox (eBay or Amazon.com) also makes popular lower cost small softboxes and octaboxes for flash.

Westcott Pro Photography and Video Lighting

You can mount the flash and softbox combination on a light stand or hand hold it by using a Westcott ProGrip Speedlite Handle or just a simple umbrella bracket. Having someone else hold the diffused off-camera flash is even better since it is easy to get them to position it places where you can't reach while holding both the camera and flash.

Hand Hold Flash - Big Swifty - How to Hand Hold an Off-Camera Flash from DPReview

Joe McNally - Da Grip - YouTube

--
Living and loving it in Pattaya, Thailand. Canon 7D - See the gear list for the rest.

I like the inexpensive DIY approach. In another post, Someone else used a drink cup to do the same. Some folks appreciate the concept, others prefer store bought only. White balance is the only potential issue I can see.

White balance is a legitimate concern. I tested and found that the change in WB with my DIY device was small enough that it wasn't a concern.

A much more important concern with these pseudo bare bulb flash devices is the color neutrality of the ceiling and walls. Any colored ceiling or wall and the light reflecting from that surface onto the subject will color contaminate the subject, and most of the time a simple WB change won't correct for the color contamination.

--
Living and loving it in Pattaya, Thailand. Canon 7D - See the gear list for the rest.