[OM] Softbox Louver Question

[John A. Lind]

Question for someone with some studio lighting experience:
I've never used a softbox on monolights before and have a small one (16x22 
inches) I'd like to use for some studio shots to control the light better 
than my umbrellas can . . . to keep it off of the very low key backdrop.  I 
set up the light and backdrop just to see how it looked.  The light from 
the box wrapped around the subject material well, but the full softbox with 
plain white face has more light spilling toward the backdrop than I would 
like . . . even though the face is set back in from the sides by about 
1.5-2 inches.  I can get some louvers for it (along with strip and circle 
mask) without bankrupting the domestic treasury.

Question:
How well do softbox louvers actually control light spill to the sides of 
the softbox compared to just the plain face and compared to using barn 
doors?  Should I be looking at making some barn doors for the softbox instead?

(Note: Photoflex doesn't make barn doors for it.)

-- John Lind


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