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.
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| Softbox |
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| 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:
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| Softbox |
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| 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.
