Outdoor portraits can be one of the biggest photography challenges, especially if you're working by yourself. As a professional photographer, you need to be able to produce quality work outdoors, whether you're covering events, weddings, engagement shots or doing model shoots.
Controlling outdoor lighting can sometimes require the use of lots of luggage and equipment which can be difficult to set up and even more difficult to move around to produce quality lighting conditions. No photographer wants to spend time moving around multiple softboxes and creating an outdoor studio to capture just a few photos. Luckily, there is a solution that comes in the form of a mini softbox.
The Advantages of a Mini Softbox
Mini softboxes are great way for you to get flawless outdoor portraits because they are convenient for travel and very easy to move even when you are shooting outside alone. These small and portable softboxes make it easy to focus your lighting, especially in outdoor environments.
You can very quickly use a mobile light shaping tool to change the lighting in your portraits, allowing you to add/remove shadows, outline the features of your model and emphasize different lighting looks.
How to Use a Mini Softbox
It can take a bit of time to get used to a smaller softbox outside if you are used to using one in an indoor studio. Smaller adjustments can make a larger impact and it's always difficult to adjust light when working outside.
As a softbox becomes more portable and smaller, it's also important to note that as you move the subject in your photography and experiment with the lighting, you can make a greater impact from just the tiniest movement in the softbox or subject.
Because of all of these small adjustments, sometimes it's easier to work with another person so you can quickly make changes to the quality of light and work faster. The nice part about a miniature softbox is that you can easily carry it with you and move to multiple shooting locations without hassle to capture a lot of different images.
Mini Vs. Regular
Miniature softboxes have many of the same features that you would get from a larger studio size softbox. In most cases they come with diffusers that velcro right into the box, as well as exterior diffusers that you can use for controlling lighting conditions.
Attachments
Many of the miniature softboxes also come with various attachments and diffusers that you can use to experiment with even more lighting conditions. You can easily carry most of these diffusers with you as well, giving you the chance for more experimentation.
A great example of a worthwhile accessory for a miniature softbox is a gold banded diffuser. This type of diffuser simply velcros onto the softbox and can work very well at creating warmer outdoor images. This could be the perfect accessory for you to use on an overcast day or to really emphasize the look of a sunny day.