For a small group shot I would opt for a large umbrella depending on the size and nature of the group.

Kenny is 100% correct... Also he forgets to mention that 95% using a softbox with a pocket flash are using them incorrectly anyways.. 95% of newbies are using it with flash firing right out the front of the softbox when softboxes were not not designed to be used or be "EFFECTIVE" in that manner. Softboxes are designed to be used with a "BARE" tube head so the light bounces all around the interior of the box softening the light "BEFORE" it goes thru the front of the softbox.. If you stick a hotshoe flash right out the front of the box you might as well be shooting with a scrim or a shoot thru umbrella. But I think everyone is so stuck up in the "Whoopie" look at me craze of the strobist thing no one has stop to think or "So called Seminar" speakers have told anyone how to "PROPERLY" use a softbox with a speed light.

Depends how large the group is, but shoot-through umbrellas generally do this better than softboxes.

You can do a group photo with two large softboxes, but the shoot-through umbrella's shape allows better light distribution.

In Neil's blog, he uses shoot-through umbrellas to do the group shots at weddings.

I'm not sure what Vizcara is talking about, because Neil's blog teaches us how he uses a Lastolite softbox, and the speedlight is installed correctly and diffused by 0-2 baffles inside the softbox.

Actually, I mostly use the black-backing bounce umbrellas.

I did use a shoot-through umbrella at the most recent wedding, and flare was a problem whenever I stepped back to get a wider shot with my 70-200

Re Vizcara's comment ... with designs like the Westcotts, you can turn the flash around so it bounces "into" the softbox, but with the Lastolite, you only have the one option - sticking the flash through the hole in the back and shooting "towards" your subject.

Neil,
Oops, my mistake. I must have confused it with the softbox/shoot-through/bounce umbrella tests.

Thanks for the clarification on Vizcara's comment. However, I looked at a bunch of softboxes on B&H, and many of them only allow the light (speedlight or regular light) to be mounted from the back shooting "towards" the subject. Vizcara's comment makes it sound seem like a lot of these manufacturers have designed their softboxes incorrectly.


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Everybody else,
Here are some blog entries where Neil has his black-backing bounce umbrellas setup:
http://neilvn.com/tangents/2009/10/06/lighting-wedding-formals-1/
http://neilvn.com/tangents/2011/07/10/lighting-wedding-formals-4-large-groups/

Very late reply here but it is not the "Whoopie" look at me look and dont knock it untill you have tryed it for your self. The PhotoFlex 24x32 all white lined softbox Q39 with Canon 580 EXII does a good. Just wanted to know if anyone else used softboxes in this manor or not. Boxes are double diffused and remove hot spot then soften light very well. Will try the umbrellas also.

Light travels in straight lines and very few soft boxes are deep enough or have a mounting bracket set back far enough for them to be effective when using a speedlite (which is essentially directional in this case.) The light doesn't have enough space to be softened by the walls of the box before it is through the outer baffle.

Using both the inner and outer baffles softens the light greatly, but when used with speedlite's one may just as well be shooting through a diffuser.



USIN

I am using lastolite softbox with my SB800, so this is wrong?
I find this softbox + speedlite very portable in outdoor photo shoots, but when I am in studio I prefer a shoot through umbrella or a black lined umbrella depending on my desired image results.

The Lastolite (and similar) are tidy - easy-to-manage pieces of kit. Umbrellas blow away out doors and take the attached lights with them. Both systems have their positve attributes, but it is not possible to determine what is right for you without knowing your objective or style.

Personally, if shooting a single subject outdoors, I will take a mid-sized softbox ... and someone to wield it.

Jack, Thanks for your info. So what is the effect of bare bulb compaired to speedlite flashes used with softbox. A completly different look in the lighting im guessing. I have tried shooting through a 1 stop diffuser and did not care for that look could not get rid of hot spot from flash. Thanks

The softbox is a more forgiving light source in terms of how you place your subject (or how your subject moves) in relation to the light ... compared to the harder light of a un-diffused flash.