DIY softbox II

Wow, the days can just fly by. So, the last post we ended with cutting out the pieces of the cardboard for the softbox. Instead of going into more details about the cardboard box, I'm going to start on the foam board softbox. Here's some things to keep in mind about the cardboard box though.

The cardboard is brown, so you need to either paint the inside white or line it with baking foil. I have some 3M spray glue, so I just glued some baking foil. I also glued the cotton diffusion cloth to the front of the box. This cardboard diy softbox was just to get some experience under the belt :)

Now, onto the foam board DIY softbox. (note, this is not some original idea I had. There are a number people that's done this as well) The same idea applies to the cardboard softbox as well. You can get these standard size foam boards at any art store. I got mine on sale for $1.50 each at JoAnne Fabrics. To keep it simple I just cut the pieces in half, down the center:


I also picked up a rain gutter down spout from Home Depot. This fits very fell for my Sunpak 422D. It is a very tight fit for a SB-900 though, since you need to run a bolt on one side for a simple umbrella holder mount, but you can use a different mount, which then will allow for a better fit on your SB-900.

Once you have the pieces cut in half, do the same measuring and cut like I explained in the previous post. It should look like this:


I used white duct tape to tape the pieces together. I did mine so that they can actually fold. I used some Velcro on the last side so that you can undo that edge, other wise you can't fold it up.


I marked one side of the spout and foam board so that the screw holes match the correct side. i drilled two holes on each side to secure the softbaox to the spout. Once this is done, I drilled two more holes, one on each of the short edge. Got a 4" long 3/8" bolt and bolted to one end. This becomes the mounting rod for the umbrella holder. The other side can be used with another 3/8" bolt to secure the flash head. This works for my Sunpak 422D. Depending on what flash you have, this may not work. For example, the down spout will not work at all for a 285HV because the flash head is way too big. Just an idea, if you are making one for the 285HV, you can get some L brackets to create the "box" end of the softbox. Obviously, you will have to think about how to mount the softbox and flash to a light stand.

Here's a view of the mounting:


Here's the Velcro edge. I'll probably add another Velcro piece in the center. This was just a quick pic right after making this. So far, after a few weeks, it's still holding fine.


A few more pics of the softbox:




I cut the cotton cloth and stapled some Velcro to the cloth, and glued the other side of the Velcro to the edge of the softbox. By the way, I buy the industrial strength Velcro which have glue backing built in.


Here's a quick test shot using the Sunpak 422D. Notice the soft shadow from Ashley's glass frame on her face.


Here's another quick shot I took yesterday under bright sun light in the back yard, using a SB-900 in iTTL and my old school manual focus 80-200mm f/4 ais lens :) No post processing to the picture itself, just a bit of EV bump and a crop.


I'm planning to do another softbox with the foam board as is. This will be a rectangle softbox running 40" long. I can't remember the length of the short side, but it does not matter, whatever the size the boards are, it will be :)

DIY Softbox I

ok, been super busy, so I've decided to post the DIY softbox project in parts.

The first part is the super simple one. Before I decided to make a 20" softbox from the standard art foam boards, I used some cardboard to practice with. Here's the end result of the cardboard softbox.


This is pretty simple really. Just get some cardboard boxes. I just cut each side into their own pieces. You need 4 pieces, so you may end up cutting up another box. It really depend on how large the box is. Keep in mind, this is just practice, so you don't need a large softbox. In my case, I think they ended up to be about 16".

Once you have the four pieces, just get a straight edge. Measure the flash head. The flash head will be a rectangle, so you need the long edge and the short edge. Next, decide how long the head will stick into the softbox.

Here's an example, say the flash head is 3" x 2" and I want the head to sit 3" into the box. Now find the center of the back edge of the cardboard. This is the edge that you will put the flash head into. For example, if the carboard is 16" wide, then the center will be 8". Your long edge of the flash head will be 3" / 2 = 1.5" each side from the center. So, just mark the edge 1.5" from the center to each side. Since the head sits in 3", draw up from each edge marking up 3". Basically you have a rectangle drawing in the center/edge of the box after.

Once you have marked the the edge noted above, take the straight edge and start at the top edge's corner. Left and right. Draw a line from each corner to the corner spot inside from the edge from your marking above.

Now do the same for another piece just like the above one. Using the same idea, do the same for the other two pieces, except this time, your are only marking 1" from the center to each side. Remember, this edge is for the short edge of the flash head which is 2".

Now that you have all the pieces marked, just cut the sections out.

More tomorrow...

got side tracked

Ok, I promised that I would write about the softbox this past weekend, but I got side tracked a bit. This Sat. I picked up a Ducati 1098S, so for now, I'll throw up a couple pics for the gallery. :)





These were just real quick shots outside the house Sunday morning. Yea, was a bit excited the next morning. :) Both pics were post processed by Trish.

I will try and get the DIY softbox details this week...