# Best portable, inexpensive (but decent) light kit to use with newborn



## rachelrach11

My friend is allowing me to come photograph her sweet baby and she is due any day. She doesn't have a room with enough windows ( or natural light). I would like to get something that will provide just enough "soft light" but nothing extremely dramatic or 'contrasty'. 

I currently have a rinky dink plastic diffuser that attaches to the hot shoe of my Nikon D7000. Although it makes the flash less harsh, it still gives more of a dramatic look than I would like to use with the baby.  

What can I get ( preferably inexpensive and portable) that would be suitable for this type situation?


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## MLeeK

I am partial to speedlites. They work very well for newborns and are super portable. I'd prefer to have them off camera, but you could also bounce from the camera as well. 
You really need to give us a budget to work within here.


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## Mach0

Depends on the budget. I'm a huge fan of the older nikon speedlights. I have the sb24 and 28 that I love. They can be used on and off camera. I also have a couple of vivitar 285hv's that work well.


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## Village Idiot

You can get a manual speedlight for about $100, a set of radio triggers for about $30, a stand, umbrella, and bracket for about $50 for all three. That should get you started. That or a 150w/s Adorama Flasphoint II monolight for about $100, and the stand and umbrella for about 35 or so.


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## Mach0

If you are interested, pm me. I might be selling a pair of 285hv's.


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## rachelrach11

I would like to stay around a $200 budget. I've read that several newborn photographers prefer to use a soft box vs and umbrella. 

Is this because  the umbrella typically applies more direct light and the soft box has a softer overall light ?


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## Big Mike

The main difference between a softbox and an umbrella, is that an umbrella spills more light.  If you are shooting in a small space, that spilled light will bounce off the walls/ceiling and affect the lighting of your photo.  There are other, more subtle differences, but that's probably not a discussion for now.

My advice would be to get a hotshoe flash...an SB700 or whatever.  You can then use that flash to bounce light off of walls and ceilings to create nice soft light, without having to use stands or a big clunky softbox or umbrella etc.  

Eventually, you can use that flash off-camera, which will be useful for portraits etc.  But with a baby, in a home setting, bouncing is easiest and therefore best.


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## MLeeK

Softboxes are easier to control. If you want to feather the light you can. If you use an umbrella there is no side preventing light from spilling out of it for feathering. 
I MUCH prefer softboxes to  umbrellas too. 
Under $200 for a full one light kit Flashpoint II FP320SB2 Monolight Kit, 150 Watt Second FP320SB2
Add a trigger/receiver Flashpoint 4 Channel Radio Remote Control, 65ft Range A22

I am not sure I could come up with a complete kit using a speedlight under your budget. They aren't really portable, but I carry my strobes with me for a LOT of things!


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## 2WheelPhoto

Vivitar 285's.  $90 new, $40 ebay in brand new condition.


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## JAC526

I recently saw someone shoot my newborn with two umbrella's through the umbrellas and it came out extremely soft and very even.

Edit:  I re-read my idiot post and meant to say she used two monolights with two umbrellas both shot through.


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## jwbryson1

EBAY EBAY EBAY!!!

If you want a soft box, forget Adorama and B&H (which I LOVE), but I just bought a pair of 24" x 24" soft boxes from a company in California for $60, all in, and they are excellent quality.  Pair those with a couple of YN 560 speedlights and some inexpensive radio triggers, and you are golden.

But, I agree with Big Mike.  Get a speedlight like the SB-700 and bounce off the wall or ceiling.  Much easier.


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## KmH

Soft light is produced by large light sources. The larger the apparent size of the light source, the softer the light.

Window light is soft because of how big the window is, and unless the Sun is directly in the window the sky is an even bigger light source than the window. That's why outdoor portrait photographers put their subjects near the edge of open shade. The big large sky becomes a nice soft light source.

At some point speedlights have difficulty filling large light sources, though the spread of most speedlight's beams can be adjusted between a tight beam and a wide beam.


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## KmH

jwbryson1 said:


> I just bought a pair of 24" x 24" soft boxes from a company in California for $60, all in, and they are excellent quality.


Excellent quality compared to what?


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## Village Idiot

KmH said:


> jwbryson1 said:
> 
> 
> 
> I just bought a pair of 24" x 24" soft boxes from a company in California for $60, all in, and they are excellent quality.
> 
> 
> 
> Excellent quality compared to what?
Click to expand...


Probably not this:
Photoflex Inc. | Essential Lighting Tools for Photography | Photoflex

I use Photo Flex. Easy to set up, decent price, and 6 year warranty.


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## KmH

Or Interfit, Photek, Wescott, Chimera.


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## Derrel

I saw an on-line comparison of an expensive "big-name Octabox" versus a Chinese cheapie...there was not much difference...


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## Mike_E

You can do an awful lot with a monolight, a 5-1 (as long as one of the five is a diffuser) and an umbrella/brolly.  Bounce the monolight off the ceiling, use the umbrella/brolly as key and the reflector as fill, use the diffuser for subtractive lighting and go high key and so on and so on.

Less than $200.

If you have one of those cheapie tripods from wally world with a center post you can even get by without a light stand.  (go to a hardware/bigbox store and get a long 1/4 x 20 nut ((they're used usually to put two rods together)) and put that on the quick release to attach your monolight)  This also makes a good background stand.


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## Village Idiot

KmH said:


> Or Interfit, Photek, Wescott, Chimera.



Some of Wescott's stuff is cheap. Interfit too.


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## ghache

ebay 24X24 speedlight softbox with ring, light duty stands with some weights, ebay triggers and 3rd party speedlights. you cant go wrong, it works and its cheap.


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## Village Idiot

Derrel said:


> I saw an on-line comparison of an expensive "big-name Octabox" versus a Chinese cheapie...there was not much difference...



I can tell a big difference in quality between my Elinchrom Deep Octa and Photoflex boxes vs. something like the PCB boxes I used to have. The Photoflex is much sturdier and has a system where the boxes can be folded away without removing the rods from the fabric, which makes for a much easier and faster setup and tear down. The Elinchrom is similar where the rods don't even have to come off of the ring. They have a locking mechanism that the rod swings in to that rotates from and open position to a closed position. Very handy.

The PCB boxes on the other hand had material that was just flimsy in comparison and had the standard design where everything had to be broken down and set up separately. Plus, what chinese brands give you a 6 year warranty?


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## jwbryson1

KmH said:


> Interfit



Interfit Strobies Folding Softbox (24 x 24") STR127 B&H



KmH said:


> Photek



Photek Umbrella - Softlighter II - 46" SL-5000 B&H Photo



KmH said:


> Wescott



Westcott Photo Basics Softbox - 24x32" (61x81cm) 787 B&H



KmH said:


> Chimera



Chimera Maxi Softbox, White - Extra Small 1740 B&H Photo Video


EBAY:  These are 1/2 the price of any of the above, and they are good quality.  

2x Portable 24" 60cm Softbox Soft Box For Flash Light Speedlite Photo Speedlight | eBay


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## KmH

Confirmation bias - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The point is that one usually gets what they pay for. Inexpensive gear, be it soft boxes, speedlights, or lenses are usually inexpensive because they are made with inexpensive materials, less labor intensive (less cost) manufacturing processes, and less effective quality assurance methods. Another way gear makers can sell for less is to included fewer features or capabilities.


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## pixmedic

KmH said:


> Confirmation bias - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
> 
> The point is that one usually gets what they pay for. Inexpensive gear, be it soft boxes, speedlights, or lenses are usually inexpensive because they are made with inexpensive materials, less labor intensive (less cost) manufacturing processes, and less effective quality assurance methods. Another way gear makers can sell for less is to included fewer features or capabilities.



Unless you have the budget for all top end equipment, (it must be nice to be able to start out with all top pro gear) the trick is to find where you can, and can NOT, use budget gear. I will agree that in a lot of cases you DO ultimately get what you pay for, but like with ANY other industry, you do not always have to have the absolute newest, best,  state of the art gear to get the job done with satisfactory results.  I would suggest that before buying anything not OEM, researching it well enough to make sure that it will be adequate for your needs. also remember, that being on a "budget" also doesn't mean that you should buy gear just because it is the cheapest. you are much better off waiting to buy something, and do without for a while, than buying the cheapest one you can find on Ebay and having it be junk. somewhere in the middle you can usually find a decent product.


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## Derrel

KmH said:


> Confirmation bias - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
> 
> The point is that one usually gets what they pay for. Inexpensive gear, be it soft boxes, speedlights, or lenses are usually inexpensive because they are made with inexpensive materials, less labor intensive (less cost) manufacturing processes, and less effective quality assurance methods. Another way gear makers can sell for less is to included fewer features or capabilities.



You're *just confirming your own bias* that more expensive automatically equals "better". When a high-level commercial fashion shooters tries an $89 Chinese octabox and *says it's good*, and the photos look good, I believe him...even though my original bias was, like yours, that Chinese-made stuff was almost always crap...the idea that one "gets what they pay for" is...yet another old saying that's often not borne out by reality...this is no longer 1985...a regular softbox is not worth $149 in medium size...but that's what I payed in 1986 dollars for a Photoflex Litedome XTC in 36x48 size...today, I can get that in vaaaaaastly depreciated dollars for $79 or so from e-Bay, from China...a country where one American dollar is worth one hell of a lot more than it is in the USA. Secondarily...when a product is manufactured in a high-wage, high-inflation country, like the USA or England, prices are elevated tremendously over a place where wages are LOW due to HUGE labor pools and lower standards of living. Your outdated line of thinking ignores cost of manufacturing and cost of labor, and focuses on alleged superiority of higher-priced products based on a pretty stereotyped, mono-cultural point of view.

Another example: a very BEAUTIFUL light is the Lastolite Umbrella Box....about a $70 enclosed face umbrella, and one that I recommend OFTEN....even though it is from a BIG name in light modifiers, the quality of the construction is crappy, as noted by me, and noted by the dg28.com website founder, who ALSO recommends these lastolite Umbrella Box modifiers...the sewing on these is poor....the rib-caps pop off all the freaking time...contrast that with many *cheap, Chinese umbrellas, which are made better, and sewn better*. So, are the British simply incapable of sewing properly on $70 umbrellas, or...is some kind of confiormation bias affecting my judgement...because the CHEAPER umbrellas I own have been BETTER-made...lol...

SOmetimes one does NOT GET what he has payed for...the $70 lastolite UMbrella Boxes I have have had absolute rubbish sewing on the rib-caps, easily broken zipper on the closure, and tears in the umbrella carrying cases...the sewing is for $h!+ on these things....the WORST I have seen and I have been accumulating umbrellas since 1986....and yet, I LIKE them because the light they produce looks beautiful...but at $70, not $19, the quality I GET is not what I PAYED for...


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## jwbryson1

KmH said:


> The point is that one usually gets what they pay for. Inexpensive gear, be it soft boxes, speedlights, or lenses are usually inexpensive because they are made with inexpensive materials, less labor intensive (less cost) manufacturing processes, and less effective quality assurance methods. Another way gear makers can sell for less is to included fewer features or capabilities.



I don't disagree.  I'm just making the point that I think there is a lot of retail write up on the cost of these items and that comparable or at least workable, more cost effective alternatives are readily accessible.


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## Mike_E

You DO get what you pay for, it's just that sometimes you pay too much.

Photography supplies and equipment seems to be the biggest money maker in the industry.


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## ghache

In term of light modifier, stands, dishes and all kind of crap i've bought cheap gear and more expensive gear and i have noticed that the cheaper stuff, isn't that cheaply made. You can find cheaper softbox that comes with grid, ring, extra rods and bags for dirt cheap and it works flawlessly.
Who buy 300$ beauty dishes anymore? no me.

moonlight? i have bought cheap lights (all bowens mount, used opus pro K, some inspironphoto digital flashheads at 800ws for 250$ and 400ws heads for 150) and never had problem with them. I also own some bowens strobes and i could probably say they work as good as the cheap ones because i cannot see any difference working with my cheap strobes or the most expensive heads i have. i bring these cheap strobes everywhere, shoot in rain and could care less (financially) if they break or get wet.

reflector? you can get 70X40 reflector online, with mount and stand for about 100$ shipped. who buys lastolite ate 4 times the price.

who buys this Lastolite Hot Shoe EZYBOX Softbox Kit - 15x15" LL LS2438M2 when you get get it off ebay, twice the size for 60 bucks?


at the end, there is some stuff you cant cheap on it, and there is other stuff you can because it make no difference.

buying the cheaper stuff that works, gives you that extra money you can invest in the stuff you should pay for because you need to pay extra for quality.  shop wisely.


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## billross77

Anyone have experience with Fotodiox?  I bought one of their EZ Pro solutions softbox's from amazon. Hope I didn't make a bad choice.


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## MLeeK

ghache said:


> In term of light modifier, stands, dishes and all kind of crap i've bought cheap gear and more expensive gear and i have noticed that the cheaper stuff, isn't that cheaply made. You can find cheaper softbox that comes with grid, ring, extra rods and bags for dirt cheap and it works flawlessly.
> Who buy 300$ beauty dishes anymore? no me.
> 
> moonlight? i have bought cheap lights (all bowens mount, used opus pro K, some inspironphoto digital flashheads at 800ws for 250$ and 400ws heads for 150) and never had problem with them. I also own some bowens strobes and i could probably say they work as good as the cheap ones because i cannot see any difference working with my cheap strobes or the most expensive heads i have. i bring these cheap strobes everywhere, shoot in rain and could care less (financially) if they break or get wet.
> 
> reflector? you can get 70X40 reflector online, with mount and stand for about 100$ shipped. who buys lastolite ate 4 times the price.
> 
> who buys this Lastolite Hot Shoe EZYBOX Softbox Kit - 15x15" LL LS2438M2 when you get get it off ebay, twice the size for 60 bucks?
> 
> 
> at the end, there is some stuff you cant cheap on it, and there is other stuff you can because it make no difference.
> 
> buying the cheaper stuff that works, gives you that extra money you can invest in the stuff you should pay for because you need to pay extra for quality.  shop wisely.


BUT your cheap stuff is the GOOD cheap stuff, not the bottom of the barrel. 
I have some of the flashpoint strobes Derrel and I like to suggest which are much the same as yours and for cheap? They are damned good! There is cheap-good and cheap crap.


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## ghache

MLeeK said:


> ghache said:
> 
> 
> 
> In term of light modifier, stands, dishes and all kind of crap i've bought cheap gear and more expensive gear and i have noticed that the cheaper stuff, isn't that cheaply made. You can find cheaper softbox that comes with grid, ring, extra rods and bags for dirt cheap and it works flawlessly.
> Who buy 300$ beauty dishes anymore? no me.
> 
> moonlight? i have bought cheap lights (all bowens mount, used opus pro K, some inspironphoto digital flashheads at 800ws for 250$ and 400ws heads for 150) and never had problem with them. I also own some bowens strobes and i could probably say they work as good as the cheap ones because i cannot see any difference working with my cheap strobes or the most expensive heads i have. i bring these cheap strobes everywhere, shoot in rain and could care less (financially) if they break or get wet.
> 
> reflector? you can get 70X40 reflector online, with mount and stand for about 100$ shipped. who buys lastolite ate 4 times the price.
> 
> who buys this Lastolite Hot Shoe EZYBOX Softbox Kit - 15x15" LL LS2438M2 when you get get it off ebay, twice the size for 60 bucks?
> 
> 
> at the end, there is some stuff you cant cheap on it, and there is other stuff you can because it make no difference.
> 
> buying the cheaper stuff that works, gives you that extra money you can invest in the stuff you should pay for because you need to pay extra for quality.  shop wisely.
> 
> 
> 
> BUT your cheap stuff is the GOOD cheap stuff, not the bottom of the barrel.
> I have some of the flashpoint strobes Derrel and I like to suggest which are much the same as yours and for cheap? They are damned good! There is cheap-good and cheap crap.
Click to expand...


you're right.
same thing for softbox....i bought a bunch a bowens softbox and needed grid for them, it came cheaper to but some same sized VISICO softbox that came with the ring and grid than buy the grid only....i end up using the visico softbox as much as the bowens.


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