Tangents

photography tutorials, reviews & workshops

tangents photography blog
learn : discuss : share
  • Tangents
  • Tutorials
    • Flash Photography
    • Wedding Photography
    • Studio Photography
    • Posing People
    • Understanding Your Camera
    • Exposure metering
    • BFT
    • Best Photo Books
  • Reviews
    • Sony
    • Nikon
    • Canon
    • Fuji
    • Profoto
    • lighting gear
  • Workshops
    • Info: Workshops
    • In-person
      tutoring sessions
    • Online
      tutoring sessions
    • Workshops in
      New Jersey (NJ)
    • Workshops in
      New York (NYC)
    • Photo walks in NYC
    • Studio Workshop
    • Video tutorials
    • Workshop results
  • Books
    • On-Camera Flash (revised ed.)
    • Direction & Quality of Light
    • Off-Camera Flash Photography
    • Lighting & Design
    • On-Camera Flash (1st ed.)
  • Projects
    • Two Perspectives
    • B&W Infrared
    • Vintage lenses
    • Time-lapse photography
  • Info
    • About
    • Contact
    • My Photo Gear
    • Books by NvN
    • Join us on Facebook
    • Acclaim
    • Success Stories

Controlling off-camera flash with a gridded stripbox / softbox

October 28, 2013 Neil vN 13 Comments

Controlling off-camera flash with a gridded stripbox / softbox

With this photo session of Carina and Carolina, (yes, they are twins), I decided to start off with a landmark spot in New York – Staple Street. That bridge walkway between the two buildings, and this surprising alley has somehow become a landmark. Yet, it works. That walkway makes a perfect frame at the top of photographs.With the tall buildings in Manhattan, you usually get brighter areas or sky towards the top, or you get more buildings in the background. But here, you get that neat visual border. Nice!

Shooting on this late Fall day, in the shadows, the colors went muted and cold. The background turns to bluer hues because I decided to use flash for my lighting – and I didn’t want to be bothered with gelling my flashes somehow to match the very cold tones. In this case though, their black tops and blue jeans very much fit the colors and hues here … which makes their faces pop out even more in the final image.

These two photogenic girls are naturals at posing and take direction extremely well – making this one of those shoots the subjects (and setting) really help carry it to give a set of images that are eye-catching.

More about the lighting and the setup:

Best light modifier for off-camera flash – gridded softbox / stripbox

I think most photographers, when they start off with off-camera lighting, and move beyond a bare speedlight, tend to go towards umbrellas and soft boxes. Certainly good obvious choices, and we do need these tools in our lighting arsenal. Specifically, an umbrella is so easy to set up and inexpensive, that it should really be the first light modifier we buy. But stepping further out from that, where the magic lies, is when we can control our light to a great degree, even on location. The wonderful thing about the smaller gridded softbox / stripbox, is that you can really control where the light falls … and how the light falls off. Much more so than you can with a regular softbox, or a beauty dish with a sock.

With this shoot, I wanted a portable light modifier that gives soft light, but which I can control how the light is spread. When I’m using more than just a speedlight (and a softbox) on location, I usually vary it up between a Profoto beauty dish (affiliate) and a Profoto RFi 1’×3′ softbox (affiliate).

As you can see from that photo session with the Modern Gypsies, the beauty dish with a sock throws a fairly wide beam, and it becomes tougher to control the light, or feather the light how you want it. A gridded stripbox takes care of that. Feathering the light with a gridded stripbox gives you quite remarkable control over the light, and how it is spread … while remaining soft enough. By the way, the grid is often called an egg-crate, if you want to search for more info.

camera settings: 1/125 @ f/8 @ 800 ISO

 


Direction & Quality Of Light

Lighting & Design for Portrait Photography

Lighting & Design is a follow-up of sorts to Direction & Quality of Light. It’s a slightly eclectic mix, discussing the thought-process with various scenarios shooting portraits. The examples use available light, bounce flash, off-camera flash as well as studio lighting.

The idea is that in every one of the 60 sections, there is something to be learnt and applied, regardless of your level as a photographer or where you shoot – all shaped to form a cohesive narrative arc throughout the book.

You can either purchase a copy via Amazon USA or Amazon UK. The book will also available on the Apple iBook Store, and Amazon Kindle.


 

Recommended gridded softboxes for speedlights

Staying with Profoto gear, one option is the Profoto RFi dual-speedlight Speedring (affiliate). Then the larger soft boxes (not just Profoto brand), that use a speed-ring, can be used. So if you want to get an accessory that allows more juice than a single speedlight, and also allows you to use more serious light modifiers, then check out the Profoto RFi Speedlight Speedring. It is very sturdy, as you’d expect from Profoto.

 

Equipment used during this photo session

  • Canon 6D
  • Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L II
  • (2x) Profoto B1 flash units  (B&H / Amazon)
  • Profoto RFi 1’×3′ softbox
  • Profoto 50 degree 1×3 grid

 

Related articles

  • Two speedlight setup for back-lighting
  • High-speed flash sync (HSS) with the Profoto B1 flash  (model: Melanie)
  • review: Profoto B1 flash
  • Photographing a vintage motorbike on location, with Profoto lighting
  • Photoshop filters – retouching for portrait

Filed Under: Book: Lighting & Design, Carina & Carolina, models, off-camera flash, Profoto Tagged With: off-camera flash modifiers, on-location lighting with Profoto


 

Help support this website

If you find these articles of value, please help support this website by using these B&H and Amazon affiliate links to order your photo gear.

I also offer photography workshops and tutoring sessions, whether in person, or via online video tutoring sessions.

Please follow me on Instagram for more.

You can also join our thriving photo community in the Tangents group on Facebook, where we show our photos and discuss all things photography.

Thank you,

Neil vN

Books by Neil van Niekerk


 




13 Comments, Add Your Own

  1. 1Rudy says

    October 28, 2013 at 11:54 am

    sweet! but you could have included some BANKSY art since he was in town…

    Reply
  2. 2Neil vN says

    October 28, 2013 at 12:00 pm

    We did … on Instagram. #twins # twin towers

    Reply
  3. 3Jeff Weeks says

    October 28, 2013 at 12:48 pm

    FWIW – I really like the Cheetahstand Q-Box 24″ softbox, which is very similar to the Lastolite version (pop-up construction, double baffle) except the grid is included, along with a mask to create round catchlights. The whole thing, including the swivel/speedlight harness, comes in its own bag for less than $120.

    Reply
  4. 4Jennifer Lynch says

    October 28, 2013 at 12:59 pm

    Thanks Neil. I was wondering, did you suggest those outfits or did you just luck out how well they matched the cool colors?

    Reply
  5. 5Neil vN says

    October 28, 2013 at 2:06 pm

    Jennifer … there was a bit of luck, and a bit of specific choice involved with the clothing.
    The twins’ mother and I had been in contact to coordinate the clothing. I wanted something more stark and monochromatic, so I nixed a few choices. In the end we settled on these outfits, and only when we did a few test shots, did we see how well this worked with the muted dark and cool tones.

    Reply
  6. 6andrew bott says

    October 28, 2013 at 6:19 pm

    Lastolite make a grid for their Ezybox Hotshoe Softbox, although it’s a square rather than rectangular box. In this instance it probably would’ve worked just as well.

    I don’t suppose you took a comparable shot without the grid on the softbox?

    Reply
  7. 7Neil vN says

    October 28, 2013 at 6:30 pm

    I keep the grid permanently in place. It nestles in neatly, so I am able to just put it face down on the floor without the grid being hurt. And it is such a mission to attach, that it is easier to carry and store it like that.

    Reply
  8. 8Rudy says

    October 28, 2013 at 6:39 pm

    twins and twin towers…nice

    Reply
  9. 9Derryl says

    October 28, 2013 at 6:49 pm

    Did you have to get a permit for this shoot?

    Reply
  10. 10Neil vN says

    October 28, 2013 at 7:04 pm

    Nope, no permit needed.

    Reply
  11. 11Andre says

    October 29, 2013 at 4:40 am

    Hey Neil,

    If you’re looking to gridded striplights to use with speedlights, I just came across these – Hotrod Strip Softbox
    http://www.lastoliteschoolofphotography.com/using-the-hotrod-strip-softbox

    And Lastolite has a grid for them too.
    https://www.manfrotto.us/lastolite

    I haven’t tried them yet, but they look promising.

    Reply
  12. 12Mary-Claire says

    November 4, 2013 at 9:10 am

    Hi Neil,
    Did you use TTL for the flash / strobe or manual?

    Reply
  13. 13Neil vN says

    January 19, 2014 at 1:50 pm

    Manual flash, as far as I remember.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

categories

Articles & Tutorials

  • • About myself & this site
    • Books by Neil vN
    • Best photography books
    • Black foamie thing
    • Photographers’ success stories
  • • Flash Photography Techniques
    • Natural looking flash
    • Flash + Ambient light
    • Dragging the shutter
    • Bouncing your flash
    • On-camera flash outdoors
    • Exposure metering
    • Flash exposure compensation
    • Bounce flash examples
    • Which is the best flashgun?
    • Flash brackets
    • Off-camera flash photography
    • Flash photography basics
    • Using video lights
    • Flash photography tips
  • • Photography workshops NJ / NYC
    • Models @ photography workshops
tutorials:
flash photography
Photography
Workshops

All rights reserved. Copyright © Neil van Niekerk 2025 · Customization by The Traveling Designer

Copyright © 2025 · NvN on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in