Softlight Kit

The Profoto Beauty Dish is a larger-than-a-wok rigid reflector dish which takes a grid without additional adaptor and can also have a diffuser put over it, for further softening.Like all Profoto gear, this has the quick release fitting which means you can put it on a light in about half the time that you would need for a Bowens or Elinchrom bayonet fitting. Because Profoto heads have glass domes over the flash tube, there's also no chance of smashing the tube while you put it on — something which always terrified me when I used Bowens and Elinchroms, much as I loved them for other reasons.A beauty dish is a harder (but not hard) light, between a soft box and a silvered brolly. Because the bulb itself is obscured by the central ring, you get distinctive donut shaped catchlights in the eye, which look a bit like a ring light, but are off-axis. Beauty dishes are so called because the combination of this light as a key light and a well made-up model is dramatic, riveting and captivating.There's another reason for using a beauty dish, and that is speed. You can put a beauty dish on at a location shoot in less than 20 seconds in virtually any wind conditions, whereas you can be fumbling with a big soft box for five minutes even in perfect conditions.The grid loses you 1-2 stops of light — not a problem if you have separate channels, mono-lights, or one power pack dedicated to the key light, but enough to mess things up if you are using ratios. It both hardens and softens the light at the same time, in a way which you only 'get' by using it. The diffuser adds an additional bit of softness.This kit is pretty robust, but you'll want to get a decent case for it. I was at a loss to find one in the UK for less than the price of the kit itself, but eventually found some in the US which do fine. Some people say you can use a bodhrum bag, but I never found one big enough. Of course, you can also keep them in the Profoto boxes they came in.For outdoor location work, I definitely recommend these over soft boxes and brollies. Indoors, you need to get used to the different lighting effects that different tools create. Some people swear by these, others swear at them. Personally, I love them.