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Rangefinder Magazine
March 2002

First Exposure: Profoto Professional Soft Boxes by Stan Sholik

Photographers generally fall into two broad-based groups: those whose work is controlled by light, such as landscape and available light photographers, and those who control light, such as portrait and commercial studio photographers and photographers who take lights on location.

Two of the new Profoto Professional Soft Boxes. Shown are the 2x3-foot and 3x4-foot rectangular units.

Photographers who control their lighting, either in the studio or on location, are, in turn, divided into two more groups. There are those who utilize umbrellas to soften the light, which is frequently the case with portraiture, where a round highlight in the eyes is desirable. And there are those that depend on soft boxes, which have become increasingly common since they first became available in the mid-1970s. Most commercial and some portrait photographers have switched to soft boxes for their clean, window-like highlights on reflective surfaces. They are also popular for their ability to be positioned very close to the subject and the directionality they provide. Tight positioning produces a soft, wrap-around light while the directionality produces a two-dimensional light without spilling light onto other surfaces, which can lower contrast and produce lens flare.

But soft boxes are not without their drawbacks. Some models produce noticeable hot spots in the center with considerable falloff at the corners. Manufacturers attempted to minimize this by making the boxes deeper (a disadvantage when shooting on location), designing elaborate diffusion screens inside the boxes, or using white rather than silver material to line the box. But things like heavier diffusion screens and other softening techniques can lower efficiency. And, possibly even more important, many soft boxes still have an enormous effect on the color temperature of the light inside, raising or lowering it by hundreds of degrees Kelvin, causing color shifts on transparency film.

Another drawback for earlier soft-boxes was the fiberglass poles used to hold the softbox shape. These tended to break from the exposure to heat and the continued stress of setup and takedown.

The Profoto Division of Mamiya America (www.profoto-usa.com) has introduced a line of Profoto Professional Soft Boxes that address the major limitations of soft boxes. There are six models available in the line: 2x2-foot square; 2x3- and 3x4-foot rectangular; 3- and 5- foot octagonal; and a 1x4-foot striplight. The two rectangular boxes were reviewed for this article.

Assembling the soft boxes is fast and straightforward. The metal poles slide through a loop inside the box and nest in a heavy fabric holder that is sewn into each corner. The poles are strong, yet flexible enough to be easily bent and inserted into the speed ring that holds the box to the flash head. The front diffuser is held in place with Velcro™ and is slightly recessed. An inner diffuser that can be snapped into place before mounting the front diffuser comes standard.

Once assembled, the narrow profile of these soft boxes is evident. They are noticeably thinner than those of all but one other line. This is a real advantage, particularly when shooting on location in areas with low ceilings or cramped working spaces. Even in the studio, the lower profile will be appreciated because they take up less room when stored fully assembled.

3x4-foot soft box used as main light.	2x3-foot soft box used as main light.

Quality and attention to detail are evident everywhere. Durable, heat-resistant materials are used throughout. The exterior is made of heavy cloth and the inner silver lining is dimpled to prevent hot spots. Even the loops inside the box through which the metal poles slide are made of the same silver material. To ensure longevity, seams that will see heavy stress are double-stitched. Even the Velcro™ seems heavier than that found on other soft boxes. These boxes should last for years even with tough professional usage.

It is considerably more difficult to remove the metal poles from the speed ring than to insert them, but perhaps this was more due to the fact that they were new than to their design. Once the speed ring is removed, the soft box, with diffuser(s) attached, packs quickly and neatly into the carrying/storage case provided.

The Profoto Professional soft boxes were tested with Profoto heads and power pack. Without the soft boxes attached, the color temperature of the head was 5450 degrees Kelvin, easily close enough to the 5500 degrees for which transparency film is balanced to render color and shades of gray accurately.

The color temperature remained the same when soft boxes without diffusers were attached. Such a configuration provides a specular, semi-spot effect and more contrast than when the boxes were used with diffusers. When the main front diffuser was attached to either box, the color temperature increased by 100 degrees, a negligible amount, to 5550 K. With both the front and inner diffuser in place, the color temperature of both boxes dropped to 5430 K, still well within the ideal range for transparency films. Light loss with both diffusers attached was less than a stop, when compared to the bare bulb exposure of the same head.

A simple still life of a wine bottle was set up with the3 x 4 foot box mounted vertically to the left of thecamera lighting the bottle. The 2 x 3 foot box,also positioned vertically but to camera right, lit the canvas backdrop. It spilled just enough light onthe bottle to provide a rim light.

While construction quality and technical details are important, the real test is how the soft boxes perform in real life situations. A simple still life of a wine bottle was set up with the 3x4 foot box mounted vertically to the left of the camera lighting the bottle. The 2x3 foot box, also positioned vertically but to camera right, lit the canvas backdrop. It spilled just enough light on the bottle to provide a rim light.

The larger box produced a beautiful directional light with falloff only at the very edges of the reflection. Only a non-portable, Plexiglas-diffused studio light box would have given a more even reflection. Contrast was not so high that the gold edge of the label was burnt out, yet the light wrapped far enough around the bottle so that the label edge on the shadow side is still visible, even though no reflector fill was used.

Headshots of model Melissa Ritter demonstrated that the boxes produce an equally beautiful light for portraiture. Each soft box, with both diffusers attached, was set up in turn to camera right, but positioned horizontally to provide a larger, softer portrait light. The box that was not being used as the main light was positioned to light the background. Again, no fill was used.

As would be expected, the smaller soft box produced a more contrasty, directional light and the larger box wrapped the light more fully around the model. Color was absolutely identical with both boxes. While many portrait photographers prefer umbrellas for the round catchlights, annual report, executive portrait and other location photographers will find a lot to like about these soft boxes.

For studio or location, for still life or portraiture, Profoto’s new line of Professional Soft Boxes is an excellent choice. MSRP of the 2x2 foot model is $240 while the 3x4 foot model costs $275. At present the only speed ring available from Profoto is one for their own heads with a MSRP of $102. However, speed rings for other flash heads from Chimera should also work with these soft boxes.

Stan Sholik is a contributing writer for NewsWatch Feature Service. He is also a commercial photographer with over 25 years of large format studio and location experience.