# A home made softbox made of scrap



## Garbz (Aug 12, 2007)

In response to a PM I received I decided to post this here. A quick and simple softbox for a flash and in the true DIY style a typical home will have all of these ingredients laying around somewhere.







The softbox was made out of a shoebox, and had to be small enough for quick hand held usage, hence the 20x20cm size. Yes it is small but every bit helps when making lighting softer. The box is constructed from triangle bits which have been taped together. The inside of the box was covered with glue and lined with shiny aluminium foil. This prevents wasting flash power and I gained more than a full stop in power. It also makes the specular light source wider since this now reflects off the walls. The front is covered with very thin paper. Experimentation is the key here as the paper needs to be thick enough not to let the source light through defeating the diffusing action, yet thin enough not to waste power. 

The end result works remarkably well, cost $0 not including the $100 shoes, and at the expense of between 1-2 stops of light you get a significantly softer source.

Poorly exposed sample image: http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a241/Garbz01/junk/DSC_1074-1.jpg Softbox was around 2m to the left. No it's not as good as a studio softbox, but a) it helps, and b) who can argue with the price


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## deanimator (Aug 12, 2007)

Next up from Garbz will be a snoot made from a Fosters can (pre-emptied!)


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## Pixie42 (Aug 12, 2007)

That's pretty neat, thanks for sharing.


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## DeepSpring (Aug 12, 2007)

Looks good. I made a similar one out of a tupper wear container. I just glued paper to the front and cut a hole in the back that my flash slips into. 

I eventually just got the real foldable mini soft box so i can carry it easily


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## Jon, The Elder (Aug 12, 2007)

Nice to see creativity in action.  Stuck out in nowhere on a remote....that knowledge and ingenuity could come in handy.


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## DeadEye (Aug 12, 2007)

For a few bucks (yea it kills the 0 budget) try a sheet of mylar drafting film matte finish both sides instead of paper.


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## neea (Aug 12, 2007)

Neat. I'll have to try my crafty skills at this project.
Right after I finish my mile long list of other things to build. Backdrop stand, light stand, etc.


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## gravy (Aug 12, 2007)

that's awesome! thanks for posting this!


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## Garbz (Aug 13, 2007)

Oh just a note on the paper. The paper used here is actually a paper bag, funnily enough the paper bag you get given from a newsagent when you buy sheets of paper 



deanimator said:


> Next up from Garbz will be a snoot made from a Fosters can (pre-emptied!)



Hey just because I live in Australia doesn't mean I have bad taste. It definitely won't be made from a Fosters can  Speaking of which I don't actually have a snoot. I remember needing one desperately once so I used a rolled up newspaper and a piece of string and had someone hold it for me. 

Seriously I should start up my own home brand photography company called ghetto photography. Along with all of this the only cameras I will allow are Holgas


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## NJMAN (Aug 13, 2007)

Thanks for the great tips on the homemade softbox!  Looks quite interesting and fun to build.  Thanks for sharing.

Yes, I am the one who PM'ed Garbz about this in the first place.  ;-)


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## DeadEye (Aug 13, 2007)

Garbz said:


> Oh just a note on the paper. The paper used here is actually a paper bag, funnily enough the paper bag you get given from a newsagent when you buy sheets of paper
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
  I call this homebrew. In Ham Radio I build about half of my equipment. A lot of the Ham Homebrew is far better than anything you can buy plus you lean a great deal by building.


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## Big Mike (Aug 13, 2007)

Nicely done.

I made a flash deflector one time, it worked well but it's not as portable as the store bought models.

Here it is...






As for a snoot, I've made one with the same 'sheet foam' that I used for the deflector.  I just rolled it around the head of the flash and put a rubber band on it.


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