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October 6, 2010

Strobox – Learn About Light

Strobox is an application geared towards helping photographers take better pictures. Packed full of tips, tricks, and diagrams that explain how to mimic the lighting seen in specific images, Strobox is an online community where photographers of all skill levels can work together and learn about the many effects that lighting can have on the pictures they take.

Joining Strobox is completely free, and it doesn’t even require you to think of a new username or password. Just log in with your Facebook, Google, Yahoo!, Flickr, Twitter, or LinkedIn account to begin. The natural place to start is by scanning through photos with lighting effects that you’d like to mimic in your own photography. Sort uploaded photos by category, lighting effect, or upload date, and you’ll be presented with pages of images that meet that description. To find out how a specific photograph was taken, click on the image to see a larger version plus a lighting diagram on the right-hand side of the page. This lighting diagram shows exactly how the object, camera, and flash were set up. Additional information such as the focal length and exposure bias are usually listed underneath. Using all this information, you should be able to recreate the photo exactly, or at least take a similar picture with the same type of lighting and exposure.

Of course, Strobox wouldn’t be beneficial if its users weren’t willing to share a few of their own creations, as well. Click “Add Photo,” then upload an image onto the site. The more information you include, the more helpful the photo will be to other aspiring photographers. Strobox also offers discussion boards and even an iPhone app for people who need a little more help trying to re-create the perfect shot. For photographers of all skill levels, Strobox is an interesting application that can help anyone take better pictures right away.

Practical Uses:

  • Learn how to take more interesting pictures
  • Give younger photographers some expert advice
  • Make sure your camera’s settings are set up correctly
  • Find out how your favorite photographer took such a memorable shot

Insider Tips:

  • Log in with your Facebook or Flickr account and upload photos right to the site
  • Participate in the Strobox discussion board on Facebook
  • Leave comments underneath any photo
  • Although it’s not required that new users submit their own photos, it is strongly suggested

What we liked:

  • Lighting diagrams are simple and straightforward
  • Users can add their own camera information underneath any photo
  • Photographers can read the comments that others leave under their photos
  • Strobox diagrams can be shared with anyone as a PNG file

What we didn’t like:

  • Some categories didn’t have as many photos added as we expected

Alternatives:

Company Info:

  • Launched: December 2009
  • Privately Held
  • Headquarters: Canada
  • Founded by: Janis Lanka and Isa Goksu
  • Web site: http://strobox.com

Costs:

  • Free

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