Soft boxes can be free standing or attached to a flash device.
A softbox is used in photography to diffuse shadows when taking flash picture. In studio and outdoor settings, using the camera's flash can create very dark, distinct shadows that take away from the picture's composition. While a softbox doesn't completely remove the flash-created shadow, it does make it far less noticeable. Bought at a photography store, softboxes can cost hundreds of dollars despite their rather simple construction. Amateur photographers can easily make their own softbox using only a handful of materials that can be found at any craft store.
Instructions
Flash Mounted Softbox Instructions
1. Map out the body of your softbox on the Bristol board. Start at the center and draw a rectangle that measures 15x10 centimeters. From the center of each side, draw a 15-centimeter line outwards. Cap off each outward line with another line parallel to the side of the rectangle (5 centimeters on the rectangle's narrow ends and 8 centimeters on the long ends). Connect the end of each of the shorter lines to the corners of the rectangle creating a 4-pointed star. Draw an additional rectangle onto the end of each point (2 centimeters wide) and on the sides of the larger points. Don't erase any of the lines you've drawn.
2. Cut out the softbox body. Within the center rectangle draw a slightly smaller rectangle with rounded corners. Cut away the smaller rectangle so that the center of the softbox body is empty.
3. Glue the Velcro strips to the edges of the softbox body. The Velcro should be affixed to the rectangles that were drawn onto the outer edges of the wide points. Once the Velcro is attached to the wide points of the body, turn it over and attach the Velcro to the edges of the narrow points.
4. Turn the template back over and glue the silk sheet in place over the opening in the center of the softbox body. Make sure that the opening in completely covered and that the silk sheet is firmly stuck in place.
5. Fold the softbox body along the lines that you drew earlier. The only lines that aren't folded are the 15-centimeter lines that extend outward from the center rectangle (they were necessary for measurement only). The points should all attach to one another along their edges, but not meet at the end (this is where the flash will go). The structure should resemble an old television or computer monitor.
Tags: softbox body, lines that, center rectangle, center softbox, center softbox body, rectangle that