HOw do you make homemade softboxes?

[pj101991]

I am a poor college student, and I need to know what materials I should use to make homemade softboxes.

[dharmaone]

I actually made one out of the shower curtain rig I read about here.

Took a metal clothes rack (a cheapo self stander from *-mart) and put a shower curtain with loops on it. Put the light behind it (work light) and it looks great! Really softened up the light source.

A coloured curtain or one with holes/patterns in it is my next test.

-DharmaOne
www.mtfitz.com

[amoildani]

dharmaone,

Do you have someone holding it the whole time or do you have a way of making it stand on its own?

Is there an alternative to C-stands? or some cheap c-stands available online?

[Jim Brennan]

THere's a difference between a "softbox" and a diffuser. Making a homemade softbox is tricky because of the amount of heat generated. You need to use fireproof materials. Personally I made some diffusers that I attached to the front of my work lights. I made the frame from PVC pipe, using threaded rods to attach it to the grille. Then I use a variety of diffusion materials depending on my need. Because I made it with concave "wings" at 45 degrees which extend back toward the light, I can also use it as a reflector.

[Derrick_SA]

What about some pictures of the home made rigs ?

Thanks,
Derrick

[Walter_Graff]

how about an easier solution. Instead of a box why not just a frame. You'll get nearly the same type of light from it and its a lot easier to handle. You can make something like this for $40 bucks including a professional fabric.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=41949&is=REG

[Jim Brennan]

Yes if only I'd known about those ;D

Throw that on a c-stand (or something similar) and you are good to go. I'd recommend that over the setup I made.

[amoildani]

so that link only proviades the pro fabric right? and you'd make the frame out of PVC pipe?

[Walter_Graff]

so that link only proviades the pro fabric right? and you'd make the frame out of PVC pipe?

If you want or save yourself the trouble in the long run and buy theirs.

[mr._guiyotinne]

PVC frames are easy to made, easy to transport, light weight, and cheap... and you can find what you need in home depot... But they are little bulky (not a problem for me at all) I would go for them as a cheap initial equipment, or rough places. IMO, sure.

[mr._guiyotinne]

altough this photoflex is quite cheap... i did´nt see the price. Leave the pvc for big ones. ;D

[Walter_Graff]

altough this photoflex is quite cheap... i did´nt see the price. Leave the pvc for big ones. *;D

I don't think there is anything wrong with making your own stuff when needed but I think everyone is missing the boat. By the time you made something that cost a bit less to buy as parts and design your own, in many cases you could have bought the real thing and had something that will last longer, is constructed better, and makes you look more like a pro than a plumber or a painter. Why someone would want to spend 20 bucks on a work-light when you'll end up replacing five lamps and burning five gels which will put you a lot closer to what you would have spent for a real light in the first place is beyond me, let alone you'll never learn how to really light like a pro, and the professional light gives you so many more options, and safely too. So sure you could buy PVC pipe and glue at a hardware store for $10 and by the fabric for $15 but why have to go through the trouble of building it which will take a few hours of your time then have to deal with always putting it together and taking it apart? For $50 you could by a real Photoflex that is engineered and folds up into a 2 inch thick thing that fits in the box it came in quite nicely. It isn't much more of an expense than building it on your own when you consider the difference in the end product, the engineering factor, time involved, the versatility, and the lifetime. I can't tell you how many Rube Goldberg contraptions I see folks build who are ecstatic that it cost them a 1/4 of what it costs to buy, but when you sit down and factor in all the economics, they would have spent less and gotten more by buying the real thing. *

[amoildani]

good point.

where can one get the frame for that diffusion material....?

and an off-topic question:
How does one use gels on a worklight...? there's nowhere to stick them on there, and wouldnt a hot worklight burn them? what makes film lights different?

[Walter_Graff]

good point.

where can one get the frame for that diffusion material....?

and an off-topic question:
How does one use gels on a worklight...? there's nowhere to stick them on there, and wouldnt a hot worklight burn them? what makes film lights different?

Pro lights have barn doors to clip gels to which means they are not too close the the source of light so don't burn up and pro lights have smaller more efficient filaments which means that 80% of the energy created isn't infrared light which you see as heat. And pro lights are more focusable and adjustable where as with work lights you need gloves and a prayer to make quality light in most situations. And those long filaments in the work lights are very sensitive to vibrations and abuse so break easily.

As for where to get them:


http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=41943&is=REG

and

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=41949&is=REG

[amoildani]

hmm...well damn.

now that I was excited about saving money and using just worklights to get good at this stuff, Im reconsdering some briteks....although rostronics seems to be out of most things, bah agh.

I just need more money...

[Walter_Graff]

hey I don't want to sound like I'm putting anyone down as I know a few of you use these painters lights, I'm not. But I can say as a lighting professional that good tools allow you to learn the craft better. Today I could light a scene with a flashlight well but if it wasn't for a solid background using the right tools I would never be where I am today. As i said, half the folks I talk to that sit down with me and figure out what they saved, realize that they saved less and hit a wall as far as getting better without the right tools of the trade. Hey, you could use a rubber ball and a hose to go scuba diving but you'll never be able to reach the places and ability that those with the right tools can.

[Jacques_Meov]

Now that bhphoto.com has had their multiple plugs FOR THE YEAR, some reasons to self-engineer/self-build.
On less expensive things like lighting, stands, I agree with Walter. Why blow $40 on materials, get it allengineered, then ANOTHER $25 to get it right, and then it "doesn't look professional" rears its ugly head.
But when we start getting to $1000+...well, that's different.
I'll be honest, there was NO WAY I was affording a full steadicam rig with vest and sled and batt packas and monitors, not at like $5k+, on feebay no less. And then you have to tweak it, and hope that what you just dumped a used car price into ACTUALLY WORKS properly...considering that it was used by a "professional", whcih means LOTS OF HOURS under PROFESSIONAL conditions; read that abusive!
So, what to do? Well, consult the various web-sites that are germain, then do some trial and error building to get the "feel" down of what you're trying to do, and make the BIG DECISION: do I want to spend the cash that it will take to "build one" not knowing how it will look? (side note, I have designed products for myself, others, and for companies that have manufactured them and sold them...so I know a little about what makes a professional device)
Took three months, $300, and about 20# of scrapped aluminum, but I have a functional vest/steadicam rig that gets oohed and aahed from the average guy, as well as some pros that I have shown it to.
That's the big equation: can I buy it real, or is 'self-build' the only way I'm going to get one.
If I can't afford it, self build is the way to go.
And as to "pro looking": blow me...I want my projects end result, short/commercial/filmed event to look awesome, how I "look" getting those results matters NOTHING TO MY AUDIENCE!

[Walter_Graff]

I never said we shouldn't try building a few things on our own just that in some instances, its actually cheaper and better to simply buy it. If you want to be a painter you are never going to paint well if all you have to paint on is your windows with a crayon. And while work lights can produce light, they have limited ability and are also dangerous. I know of two instances where folks filming with work lights burned down a house and burnt out an apartment. As a result I never suggest them. A $3000 camera is really the last part of the equation to a good visual. Good lighting and the knowledge of how to use it is so much more important. I'd rather see someone buy a $1500 camera a $1500 light kit and Grame Natress' $100 film filter for editing than $3000 on a camera that they can't make great pictures with.

[taubkin]

I know we are really past that, but there is a good chapter on Box's Lighting Handbook about homemade (better - selfmade) softboxes.

I really want a chimera though... :P

[DEATHTOPRINT]

anyone ever considered using screen printing screens? Their are different Line Per Inch Ratings on them. (i actually work for one, that's where i got the idea... also, I know "silks" and "butterflies" are basically screen printing mesh)

The frames are wooden, so I don't think they'd catch on fire... I'd be worried about the mesh maybe before the wood since Clothes Pins are used to hold Gels when needed....

just a thought....