Soft box vs Umbrella with diffuser

I've been using a Soft Silver umbrella plus white diffuser with my new Paul C Buff Einstein lights, but still wasn't quite getting the look I was hoping for.

With the umbrella

There are two things I'm looking to achieve:

1) Darker background, lighter subject, and a softbox is supposed to give you more control over light spill.

2) A more natural looking light, and a softbox is supposed to mimic window light better (as it's directional rather than bounced).

My softbox came in the mail today so I took my trusty helper and tested it out.

Softbox

Diffused Umbrella

You might actually be saying that you like the right hand side better because you get more light on the left side of the face. This is an added bonus of the umbrella - the better light wrap-around means you can worry less about getting the positioning correct.  When I use the softbox more in front, I can get more light in both eyes.

Here are a few more comparisons:

Softbox

Umbrella

Umbrella

All photos underwent very minimal processing to show exactly how the lighting came out.

My first objective wasn't achieved - I still didn't manage to separate the object from the background enough.  I think I'll just need to buy bigger backdrops so I can move the dog forward and rely on the Inverse Square Law of Light to achieve the affect.  I do think the softbox achieved my second objective though.  While not an obvious difference, I do find that the light does looks more natural.

Honeycomb Grid for Backlighting

I traded in an umbrella for a set of Paul C Buff's honeycomb grids and got my first chance to try them out today, on a few adoptable dogs from Animal Rescue R Us.

I used the 20 degree grid, and buying all four was a bit much.  I have a feeling once I find the grid I like best, I'll rarely change it up.  One thing I needed to be careful of was blowing out the backlighting by making the front main light too bright.

It worked best when the dog was up on a table so I could position the main soft box very close to the dog (as in the first photo).  An issue with dog photography is that many of the light stands are too tall, while I'd like them closer to the ground.  At some point I'll have to invest in a platform or riser.

I also played around with using the grid to light the subject for a drama shot:

Fun items, will have to keep playing around with them!