Like any good child who spends more time playing with the boxes they came in than with the toys they contained, I converted the box that brought my lightstand to me into a DIY softbox.

The box is probably about 6" x 12" in cross section. I taped aluminum foil inside the box on all sides, cut a hole on one of the narrow sides to stick in a flash unit aimed backwards (at the closed end of the box), and then unable to find tracing paper at my local bookstore I instead purchased a pack of Japanese calligraphy paper to close the open end and serve as the diffuser.

It has a lot of limitations and drawbacks for practical use, but it works well enough for me to experiment with it.



SMC Takumar 55/1.8

GIMPed to b/w, added selenium brown toning, film grain, and vignette.

[roscot]

Mike,
Sounds like a fun solution. Oh, by the way, that is a superb photograph.

[toobacat]

I like the results of your softbox. Do you have any pictures of it that you could post?

[roentarre]

An intense image somehow. What is she doing really?

I like the hair taking up a large proportion of image. Powerful

[jfdavis58]

Another forum had a sub-cult of cheap b@#$%rds; all who McGyvered as you put it--any chance you might have been a member of that group?

This is a very intense portrait; might not need either the large black area at the top nor all the jacket/blouse at the bottom--zero-in on just the look of the face.

Like any good child who spends more time playing with the boxes they came in than with the toys they contained, I converted the box that brought my lightstand to me into a DIY softbox.

The box is probably about 6" x 12" in cross section. I taped aluminum foil inside the box on all sides, cut a hole on one of the narrow sides to stick in a flash unit aimed backwards (at the closed end of the box), and then unable to find tracing paper at my local bookstore I instead purchased a pack of Japanese calligraphy paper to close the open end and serve as the diffuser.

It has a lot of limitations and drawbacks for practical use, but it works well enough for me to experiment with it.

SMC Takumar 55/1.8

GIMPed to b/w, added selenium brown toning, film grain, and vignette.

[Mike Cash]

It never occurred to me to include photos of something as dull as the box itself.




That's the whole thing. Lined with taped-on aluminum foil, without bother for 100% coverage. Just a sheet across each surface. I opted to have the flash face the rear in hopes of better diffusion.

The big problem is that....well....it is a cardboard box. No real good way to mount it to a stand or to secure the flash unit to the box. But it works well enough for me to see the advantages of a broader and more diffuse light/flash source, which is something I've never had the chance to experiment with before.

Thanks to everyone for the nice comments. What she was really doing was reading something out of the local paper while patiently cooperating with her husband's experiment. (She came home and caught me using a stuffed Hello Kitty! doll.....oh, the shame....the shame). I like large black areas in photos, but I certainly agree with John's thoughts on this photo. Only problem, John, is I gotta live with this woman. The older they get they less they tolerate close-up photos, and she's no spring chicken anymore.

And I'm not a cheap b*stard; I'm an impoverished b*stard. Big difference.

[Mandi]

I've been meaning to come back to this thread to say what a wonderful portrait it is. Thanks for posting it.

And as regards the "older woman" thing (I feel entitled to comment as I'm sure I'm older than Mrs Cash - I certainly LOOK older and I photograph a LOT worse as I never keep my mouth shut for 2 seconds in a row - that's why I am the photographer of the family!!) tell Mrs Cash that she is much more gorgeous when photographed lovingly than any young "chick" with youth on her side who is being photographed by someone who doesn't know her at all and whose personality is then going to be airbrushed out of existence. Long live REAL portraits, I say!!!

[Mike Cash]

Thank you, Mandi. But I have to say that the one thing I am learning about doing photos/portraits of women (young or old) is that they are never satisfied and they always have some self-critical remark. Having learned that it is unavoidable, I no longer worry about it.