My DIY Project : A Smaller Softbox

My 2nd audition of the Sony Double Exposure didn't go well. The judges told me to wait for phone call if I will be accepted into this competition or not. Well, I do understand that this was a polite way to say :"You are out !" LOL.

After the audition, I was a little bit disappointed and got home and start doing things in my so-call photographic-cum-DIY room. I have this habbit: when I face something bad, I just kept quiet and start to do things so I could forget about my bad feeling. To my surprise, I could finish those tasks that I didn't manage to complete on good mood days! LOL

This time, I made myself a smaller softbox ! I call it Softbox Mini ! LOL

My Softbox Mini !

This softbox measures about 12" x 12". I would make it small enough to be held by hand, and small enough to limit the flash spill to a certain area only. Yup, I am trying to make myself a LumiQuest Softbox. I know that this Lumiquest is super expensive, and I don't think it's available in Malaysia. So, I just make one for myself lah.

First thing first, measurement ! How deep my soft box I need for a 12"x12" flash coverage? I donnu. But it's very easy to find out. What I need to do is stick an Ikea measuring tap onto the wall, and position my flash from the wall so that my flash spill is about 12" like this:


And the flash is about 1 feet (300 mm) away from the wall so to have a 12" flash coverage. If I do remember correctly, my flash was zoomed at 24mm.

So, I have my dimensions. For the material use, I didn't get the corrugated sheets for my Softbox Mini, but the Eva foam sheet that I found in Tesco.

Yup, it comes with black colour, and it's cheap, only RM 5.90 for a piece of about A2 size. One sheet is good enough for my softbox. It's lightweight, easy to cut and easy to shape.

So, just cut out all four sides of the softbox, glue in the aluminium sheets to the internal side of the softbox, join the four sides of the softbox with cloth taps, cover the opening of softbox with the mahjong paper as diffuser, and walla, I have my Softbox Mini !

So, how do I install my softbox mini to my flash ? With the rubber band! LOL. Since it's so lightweight, the rubber band is good enough to secure the softbox in place and soft box stay tight with my flash if I hold it downwards.

My Softbox Mini vs Softbox Ver 2.0!

Ok, let's see the result ! The below photo was taken with F42 + soft box mini on camera left:

Notice the WB is out ? Yup, I forgot to switch the WB ! LOL. It was on AWB.

To my surprise that this softbox mini is small enough to be secured on my F42 and the flash is mounted on my camera! And the result is as follow:

Wow, look at the shadow ! Soft ! And look at the WB ! Now, I confirm that the auto WB function on my F42 works ! LOL

However, I do find the mahjong paper does not provide satisfied result. Hence, I'd gone to Kamdar and brought myself some length of white cotton cloth. I measured the dimension of my softbox mini, and paid a tailor a small amount of money to sew a velcro tap around it and walla, I got a better diffuser !

So, I have this loops side of the velcro tap on my diffuser, and hook side of the velcro strap on my softbox mini, and I'm done !

What I do with this Softbox Mini ? I camwhore !! LOL


I had a really a bad hair day, the barber didn't cut my hair that I wanted, and I have to live with it for about 3 weeks before my hair is long enough to do another cutting.

By the time I finished my Softbox Mini, a call from Sony confirmed my place in the Double Exposure competition. Yup, I'm one of the 30 participants in this contest, and I have to rushed back from Penang a day before the competition starts !

Am I happy about this being "selected" into the competition ? Hmm... well, I knew I wasn't good during the 2nd audition. So, I call myself as the "selected rejected" ones. LOL.

Anyway, since I'm in the competition, I should accerelate myself towards the winning line !

And I had signed a something like a MOU with Sony that I suppose not to Blog about this. Hence, no more post about Double Exposure. :p

Until then, wish me good luck on the competition ! Thank you thank you.