Andrea Belluso: On How To be More Creative with your Softboxes
“Everyone uses softboxes, but most people use them in the same way,” says Andrea Belluso, award winning international fashion and beauty photographer, known as the Light Shaper, for Profoto, through his company House of Belluso, based in London.
“To be a commercial photographer is not to have just one look and one lighting in one’s pictures, but it is the ability to communicate the client’s message and sell the client’s products with the best possible lighting according to the client’s needs and demands, without ego and without pretentiousness.”
By using two strip softboxes, photographer Belluso creates a silhouette on the model, with a rim light on both sides, to which he adds colour.
Softboxes as background light creates a soft feeling, which is really emphasised by building a cage around it. The direct light from the model is removed. With all the light reflected from behind, and very few shadows, images can fade slightly into the background.
Softboxes can also be used to create a very hard light. To diminish light, Belluso places his softbox further away from the model, so edges and shadows become crisp and clean, accentuating the details of the garments. Using the softbox as a top light, the folds on the lower edge of the garments appear deeper, and the overall image more grounded.