I'm a fan of big beautiful soft light for the beauty and fashion stuff that I shoot. As you might imagine I have a collection of large softboxes. While I love them and use them all the time, sometimes I need something that's large and more portable. Nothing is more portable than and travels as easily as an umbrella. Heck you can even carry an umbrella on a plane (as of today TSA has not banned them). Not long ago FJ Westcott introduced 3 NEW 7 FOOT Parabolic Umbrellas. You can get either a white one with a black cover, silver one with a black cover or white diffused shoot through one. It's a tough choice to make as I like all three for different situations. However, for starters I went with the white diffused one. Since it's a standard umbrella it should fit in any light setup/stand that you have that has an umbrella hole. In my case I used the Spiderlite TD6, which has an umbrella hole right on the included tilt bracket. Unlike the 1st two, you actually aim the light source into the umbrella and the light is diffused out from the other side. With the white and silver models you're bouncing your light source into the umbrella and back out the same way.
The bigger the light source and the closer to your subject, the softer it will be. 7 feet/6 feet curved is pretty big as you can see above in the production shot. The Spiderlites are already pretty soft and shooting though this umbrella makes them even more natural and soft.
The umbrellas come with a carrying case to store them and make it even easier to travel with. You can use what ever lights you want with them. Like I said above, i used mine with a Spiderlite TD6 to produce the shot below.
ISO 200, 85mm, f/1.4, 1/80 sec shot with my Nikon D700.
Model: Liz Hoang, Makeup/Hair: Joey Killmeyer
You can get the Parabolic Umbrellas here:
White with Black Cover – $99.90 Amazon or $99.90 B&H
Silver with Black Cover – $99.90 Amazon or $99.90 B&H
White Diffused (the one I used above) – $99.90 Amazon or $96.48 B&H
Have you tried it as a reflective umbrella yet? I have the Westcott b/w and the Paul Buff silver. I’m still working out if I should use a standard 7″ umbrella reflector on the flash head or go bare-bulb. I usually go bare bulb or ring flash in older parabolics, such as the Profoto or Broncolor. But have some friends who use the 7″ reflector. Haven’t had a chance to really see if there is a difference.
Not yet. It’s on my list to try next.
Awesome!! Thanks $T$.
Hi, Terry! I’m thinking about getting this parabolic white diffused umbrella, but I’m wondering if I would really get some beautiful light on my subjects with this size umbrella using my Nikon SB-900 and/or with my Quantum Trio. And will this 7′ umbrella be any better than a Westcott 43″ shoot-through diffuser? Have you tried those flashes with this jumbo umbrella?
Thanks!
David, I’ve tried both of those flashes with the parabolic. With the quantum I shoot with the diffuser dome completely off (bare bulb). With the 900 I back the umbrella off from the flash a bit to allow as much spread as possible before it hits the umbrella surface. I also put the domed diffuser on the 900 to make the light scatter more. Both of these flash units work really well with the parabolic umbrella systems. Jason
Thanks, Jason, for sharing this with me! I’m still thinking about getting this. It is huge!
Free knlowedge like this doesn’t just help, it promote democracy. Thank you.
Terry: what stand are you using under it?
I need to upgrade stands, but curious what you are using with the TD6 and the 7 footer.
Terry: What stand are you using under the TD6 and the 7 footer?
I use lots of different stands in my studio, but the one you see in the picture is this one: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/253069-REG/Impact_LS_96HAB_Air_Cushioned_Heavy_Duty_Light.html/BI/2167/KBID/2909
No particular reason I used it other than at the time it didn’t have anything else on it 🙂
Hi Terry
I’m having a hard time deciding on which one to buy. The B/W or B/S. I have a small 6x4metre studio painted pure white. So not sure how they will behave in this environment. I think the silver may be too harsh, but would be good for outdoor location work. Since there not available in Australia, I want to make the correct choice the first time.
I’d go with the white one.
Very nice tip Terry, Im already happy for the Westcott Apollo softbox. Im just not sure, it if will work with Elinchrom, because normally they use a smaller hole for umbrellas 🙂
Thanks for the feedback Terry.
I got the white one and it’s awesome. Good quality, compact, light and very inexpensive.
Keep em’ commin’ Westcott.
I just purchased two of these the white diffused for fashion and soft light, black/silver for contrast and highlights, using the white in the morning with my sb900, I have done some test shots, and Terry is right the light is soft and wraps nicely.