Softboxes vs. umbrellas

- A lot of people are intimidated by using flash…with their camera,…and I think most of the time that's because…they use a bare flash.…Very often, the trick to flash is to modify it…and if you've seen my Foundations of Photography Flash…course, then you know that there are…a lot of different ways of modifying flashes.…So many, that you may get confused about…why would you choose one over another.…I have two here, I have a big reflector umbrella,…and I have a soft box, actually I have three,…I have this umbrella also which is a shoot through umbrella,…it's just like this except the flash…actually shines through it.…

So, why would I choose one of these over another?…Umbrellas have the great advantage of being small.…They pack real small, they're very easy to carry,…they don't weigh very much,…and they give you a round catch light in the eye…which can often be very attractive if you're…getting really picky about your portraiture.…Soft boxes though don't pack down as small,…they're often bigger even when they're collapsed…