Last Updated on 02/17/2015 by Chris Gampat
There are lots of really cool hacks that you can do to turn something or another into a softbox or beauty dish. Photographer Trent Dang came up with a very affordable solution using a very underrated reflective material: styrofoam.
By taking a small styrofoam food container (that looks like it’s had a more than adequate amount of cleaning and perhaps bleaching), Trent was able to cut a hole in it, stuff a flash head, add a diffusion sock, and also incorporate a bounce card to add extra diffusion.
Granted, this is something that we’d use only if an actual softbox broke down. Real softboxes are all about specific shaping of the light, add different reflective and diffusion properties and overall just look much more professional. We surely wouldn’t roll up to a wedding with a softbox made of styrofoam and it also wouldn’t be the best constructed thing to use.
Just think: if the DIY Softbox takes a tumble it’s going to shatter into a million pieces. But again, if you need to MacGyver something in a hurry, this isn’t a bad idea.
The video showing you how to make a DIY Softbox/Beauty Dish for $2 is after the jump.