Comparing HUGE Lighting Modifiers: Booklight vs Softbox vs 7ft Umbrella 

I love the 7ft umbrella it’s a beautiful light modifier. Huge yes and sure sometimes it’s just not practical but love it

I ordered an umbrella modifier before seeing this video but I now understand the actual difference between the umbrella and Softbox ❤❤❤

I also use a 7ft umbrella for photography and found it to be great for filmmaking as well. I would remove the reflector from the source so the light spreads inside a little more.

Welcome to the wonderful world of umbrellas. Super underrated. Start experimenting with the different kinds and sizes. You can get a lot of good stuff from the shoot through white ones, the silver reflector ones, and test them with and without diffusion in front. Plus, you can combine with barndoors on the white shoot through umbrellas to get more control. Lots of good comments with good suggestions on the video. Like you said way cheaper, way faster to set up. I feel like RU-vidrs got sucked into seeing other RU-vidrs using only the Softbox. And only using the circular ones. There are so many other modifiers. Even barndoors or a reflector with diffusion right on front gives a really similar look. Not as large of a source but for a lot of interview setups you don't need a huge 7 foot. A smaller 2 foot umbrella is all you might need.

Thanks for sharing about this lighting set up! Ever since I've discovered the 7 ft parabolic umbrella setup, it's been the only one I've used for talking head and gigs. It lights faces well and it also lights the space well too. Plus I think the umbrella is less "source-y" thank than softbox.

Dude, your chanell is awesome! You deserve many more subscribers, I'll be there when this gets huge!

I love comparisons like this. Keep it up!

I've always been curious about using an umbrella instead of soft boxes. Now I have to go order one.

I have the 7' umbrella in my shopping cart forever, but I just know it will cut my tiny studio in half. Love the light, though.

super useful to see the comparison. thank you for sharing!

Thanks for this great video. I'm thinkin' I needs me a 7' Impact umbrella now.

Awesome video! I ordered the umbrella! Have you ever compared it to the lantern soft box? Just wondering which one gives a softer light. I don’t care about spillage.

Nice video! I’ve been thinking of getting an umbrella bounce ando you sold me on it I love your video format 🙌🏽

Damn you've really sold me on the umbrella - although I agree the book light has a touch nicer quality - setup up time is a no brainer though. I wonder if additional diffusion with the softbox whether you could get closer results.

Great comparison, a couple other options you didn't mention: Umbrella softbox - only available upto 150cm AFAIK but quicker and easier to setup than a standard softbox. Less depth than your Aputure softbox. Manfrotto / Lastolite Hilite - Relatively quick to setup, but you can't really use it angled or boomed. You can also get umbrellas with a hole underneath you insert the stand / light through, which gives better balance and a setup that takes less space. But I have not seen these in large sizes. A good tip I picked up from one of Caleb Pike's videos regarding mounting large softboxes is to clamp the speedring with a cardellini / mattelini clamp rather than using the light mount. This reduces stress on the bowens mount of the light and helps even out the weight distribution a bit. The 7 foot umbrella does look like a good choice, though here in the UK I can only find a Westcott version, which is quite expensive.

The umbrella works even better if you remove the normal reflector from the LED XD the spread gets wider. Umbrellas with silver reflection inside give up to 1 av more than the white ones ... when mixing with daylight this can make a real difference. also get an 5ft too. They are so dirt cheap I would get a white and a silver in 5 and 7 ft. Diffusion from the 5ft works on the 7ft as well. I do this all the time. I use them here for gigs inside the city where using the metro is often 45min faster than using a car ... So I fell in love with the small packing umbrellas. Also there are Elinchrom travel stands which are so much better for fast in city work than the manfrottos everyone uses.

Almost no information about using umbrellas for video on RU-vid, so thank you for this video ;-) I bought two huge umbrellas (one white and one silver) and the cost and setup is great. I briefly tried to compare huge umbrella with softbox+grid, and with adding a little more contrast in post, and selecting background in DaVinci and making it darker a bit, i can get the look that a bit closer to controlled softbox+grid look

I have been feeling like the contrast from my light domes becoming noticeable. I might pick up that umbrella setup! Especially for big sources, i would want to ideally light a bigger subject anyway.

That 7ft umbrella ☂️ is clutch I never got one because I thought it was complicated.

Really good one, thanks

Great comparison, thank you!! 👏🏻 I‘m with you a 100%.

Helpfull video, how you get crystal clear audio with those high fan light noise nearby, wish you could provide us some information on DJI mic 2 in near future. New subs ,💯

Ohhh love this comparison my man. Great video!

Very cool video. I’m thinking about picking up a 7 foot umbrella for my doc work. Do you think a 300d would have enough power to light an interview?

Great vid comparison! I guess the closer the umbrella is to you, the less power you need to expose your face and “less spill” you get on the background. Flagging off the light would be another solution, but probably make it even more cumbersome. Wondering how much softer you could make the light if you double diffuse it or use a thick diffusion on a 6x6 and remove the thin umbrella diffusion. Have you tried this?

With the book light I would start with a single bar clamped in to stand and build frame from there so you don’t have to deal with a 6x6 monster frame when locking in the frame. Also I have a small 2 step folding stair to get extra reach in situations like this

To control spill from the umbrella without using other flags and blockers, try feathering your light away from the area you don't want illuminated and partially collapsing the umbrella

Great video, picked up one and I’m excited to use it! Have you experimented with any ways to add a grid? Or would flags be the route to go?

Oooooo👀 might need to get myself a 7foot umbrella soon. But real question do you think I would get a softer look for my YT setup on a 41 inch umbrella or my janky set up 36inch soft box that I literally have 2 layers of diffusion, the grid, then a dollar tree white table cloth to diffuse it more😂

Great video like always!!

this video is 🔥🔥. Thanks for the tip. Got an umbrella in the cart already😅😂

Great comparison. Wanted to check out the comparison for long time. I wish you could get hold of Lightbridge CRLS and add those to this comparison as that's also an alternative with lesser hassles hopefully but an expensive one though :P . for indoors I think umbrella is too good. outdoors in windy scenario that lightweight umbrella might become its CON . But for indoors Umbrella looks the best. Cheers for a great comparison :)

For the unbrella set up, did you attach the reflector to the light?

What type of adapter are you using to mount the light with the umbrella onto the C-Stand? I cannot find the right adapter to hold the light and also provide a hole for the umbrella handle to go through...thanks!

I never knew the grid created a more contrasted look. I always disliked that look. I can't wait to take that thing off. What Camera are you using while you vlog at the end?

This video is 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

What type of stand are you using in this video?

Great video, hows the fan noise on the B500?

Can you get a grid that works with an umbrella?

Never used an umbrella - this looks like a great option for me going forward so thanks! Does the light unit itself cast a shadow, or is it fine? Seems like one potential downside. Plus the fact the fan will be right near the talents face and might affect audio

Good video. Isnt Umbrella doing the book light itself? Why are you separating the "Book light" vs "Umbrella"?

Also how are you recording audio at the end with the pocket3??

Large LED panels is by far the easier way to go for your average interview . Godox or Intellytech Mega series with grid . One stand , one light.

are you still selling the 150 softbox

Love how you explained through the setups and gave the pros and cons for each! A long video but definitely worth the watch ✌🏼

Someone needs to make a grid option for the umbrella and it would be a no brainer. I have started using umbrella for almost all our light now. They are just so much faster, lighter, smaller footprint, and cheaper.

Indoors in such a small space it is difficult to see what the light vs. spill fill is doing as you mention @ 2:15. I learned portrait lighting assisting a Master photographer / teacher named Monte Zucker who rose to fame in the late 1960s by using a combination of daylight for his studio portraits and off-camera flash for re-enacting the wedding ceremony and the reception, which was new thing then and necessary because like with digital in was impossible to get detail in a black suit and white wedding dress at the same time without altering the scene range with a combination of even centered FILL to lift everything in the foreground the same amount up to the point the shadow detail was recorded, then add the off-axis KEY at a angle which created very flattering 3D modeling on faces - 45° to the side of the nose and about 45° downward so the shadow of the nose fell over half of it modeling its 3D perfectly in the 2D rendering. Back in 1972 when I started working for him flash gear was very primitive. He used flashes sold by Graflex company which were powered by 410V DC battery packs the size of motorcycle batteries with the on camera flash mounted 16” over the lens on a bracket off camera flash he mounted on converted medical IV pole which could be rolled around with one hand and was triggered optically by a simple photo-cell. He was the prototypical ‘Strobist’ who created color photos with stunning tonal ranges and 3D realism because he understood how to use fill, something he told me he learned from a studio photographer named Joe Zeltsman. Zeltman mounted a bank of studio flashes from the ceiling at the rear of his studio portrait bay aimed backwards at the white back wall and ceiling of the which flooded the space with diffuse fill light similar in character to sky light. Like skylight because the source (wall) was much further from the subjects than a typical fill scenario the inverse-square fall off was very gradual and in a front-to-back direction relative the camera. To understand how distance affects how “hard” or “soft” lighting in a face appears take a subject outdoor at night where there is nothing to create bounce the light and starting from the baseline of using direct flash with no modifier and starting with the light 32 feet from the subject and there head so nose creates a “butterfly” shadow beneath it. Then move the light closer to 22, 16, 11, 8 and 5.6 feet which per the inverse-square law will change the exposure one f/stop each time. Have the subject hold white and black towels as exposure reference and adjust exposure as needed with aperture so exposure in all the photos keeps the white towel 1/3 below clipping. What you will see in the photos is identical highlights but the shadows on the face front to back and the background get progressively darker. The light will go from looking “soft” to “hard” because that perception is create not only by how sharp or fuzzy the shadow borders are by the tone of the shadows relative to how we normally see them. In a second experiment shoot with the same 32, 22, 16, 11, 8, 5.6 distances for the centered flash but instead of exposing to put the white towel 1/3 stop under clipping adjust aperture so the black towel is seen to have detail in the playback. Towels rather than cards are ideal targets for exposure testing because they can be draped in 3D shapes like clothing and the loops in the fabric will create lots of specular reflections from the flash just like hair does. Once you find the ideal exposure for the shadows with light at 32ft. add an identical light at the same power at a 45° angle to the face and move it in until the highlights on the white towel are 1/3 below clipping. For most digital sensors the lighting ratio needed for detail over the entire range from black to white clothing is around 2:1 incident or 3:1 reflected which means the off axis KEY flash will wind up around 22 feet when centered FILL is at 32ft. As with the first test move the FILL flash closer incrementally to 22 - 16 - 11- 8 and 5.6 feet again adjusting it based on detail in the black towel, then move the off axis KEY until the white towel is 1/3 below clipping. You’ll find the KEY will need move to about 16, 11, 8, 5.6 and 4ft to maintain the same full range black to white rendering of the towels and subject standing with them. What you will observe is the same change in the character of the direct flash and the flash-subject distance changes and from the understanding gained in those two exercises you will then have a better understanding of what any modifiers you add to the character of the light when there is no spill fill. I’ve done a good bit do testing like that over the years and what I realized is that when there isn’t any spill fill biasing the results the most significant difference in the character of the lighting as modifiers get larger is in the specular highlight clues to shape, if fill is used as suggested, centered and adjusted based on recording detail in black clothing / towel target. Large and smaller modifiers used at distances where the ‘apparent’ size of the modifiers from the POV of the subject is the same will created similar specular highlights. I do mostly PJ style shooting with speedlights and since 2000 when I switched 100% to digital have mounted my on camera fill on a Stroboframe camera flip which keeps it in the same place centered over lens and heads of subject in both landscape and portrait mode. I did a lot of experimenting with speedlight modifiers where there is a trade-off between size and portability and created a DIY design made from letter size (8.5” x 11”) ‘Fun foam’ sheets which have a flap on top that can be opened to bounce more light off ceiling when needed. photo.nova.org/DIY01/. In rooms with 8-10 foot ceilings the diffuser creates a direct “Key” lighting vector with downward “butterfly” modeling with “Fill” created by the light which spills up past the top of the diffuser. It creates much more flattering single flash lighting than flash in the hot shoe with a piece of Tupperware does. The modeling of the face is the same with the flash when shooting outdoors with sun used as back rim light with the skylight acting as the fill instead of spill off the ceiling. Most of the time I shoot with an off camera Key with the one on the bracket changing roles and becoming Fill. Shooting with Canon ETTL flash with Fill as Group A and Key as Group B find a 1:2 A:B ratio gives me a normal “seen by eye” contrast and range of shadow - highlight detail.

That's what she said 😅

FORGET the umbrella. WHAT YOU WANT is the lightbridge set up. That’s a similar set up, but it’s gonna be so much easier and so much more versatile.

You want little work and big quality? Bounce the light off the wall. No wall? Ok you gotta thing about one of these horrid setups.