If you had to choose a single light shaping tool, you might do well to pick the Impact 7' Parabolic Umbrella (White Diffusion) With Light Stand Kit from B&H Photo. In addition to the large 7' umbrella, this kit includes a 9.5' light stand, a triple-flash adapter mount, and an umbrella bracket with an adjustable shoe.
This 7' parabolic umbrella is a really huge, broad light source that wraps light around your subject, yielding clean highlights and rich open shadows. But due to the special shape of the umbrella there's a unique mix of soft enveloping light with the kind of crisp detail you only get from reflectors. Put another way, if you combined a beauty dish with a softbox, you'd have a parabolic umbrella.
This umbrella has a unique design structurally as well. Instead of bendable metal the 16 inner ribs are made of durable fiberglass. The white translucent version of this umbrella yields the softest light. Used in standard bounce mode, some of the light escapes through the material, slightly raising the ambient light level and lowering contrast while most of it is directed towards your subject. If you want a harder light, turn the umbrella around and aim the convex side at your subject and punch your light source through it. In both modes you can vary the light quality and output by changing the light-to-umbrella distance along the shaft.
You can also use this umbrella as a scrim over your subject to diffuse harsh light sources like the sun in situations like fashion catalog work outdoors or at the beach. Any way you use it, with the Impact 7' Parabolic Umbrella less is definitely more.
The Impact 9.5' light stand is heavy-duty black aluminum, with sure-twist section locks and air cushioning. Air cushioning gently lowers the light, preventing damage to light fixtures and fingers when section locks have not been properly tightened.
The Impact FA-300HS Triple-Flash Hot Shoe Adapter Mount allows you to mount, sync and fire up to three flashes from this single adapter. You can fire the flashes at full power for greater light output or, for faster recycle times, fire them at half power to conserve the energy. This unique adapter features a female 1/4"-20 thread for universal mounting, and may be combined with an umbrella, light panel, or other lighting accessories (all sold separately).
The Impact Umbrella Bracket with Adjustable Shoe is a versatile, lightweight metal bracket that includes a removable, reversible female stud to adapt to light stands with top studs smaller than the standard 5/8". An additional removable, reversible male stud mounts to the included flash shoe at the 1/4"-20 end, or to another accessory at the 3/8" end. The metal shoe features a knurled locking knob for secure mounting of all standard shoe-mount flashes.
If you had to choose a single light shaping tool, you might do well to pick the Impact 7' Parabolic Umbrella in translucent white. First of all, it's a huge broad light source that wraps light around your subject, yielding clean highlights and rich open shadows. But due to the special shape of the umbrella there's a unique mix of soft enveloping light with the kind of crisp detail you only get from reflectors. Put another way, if you combined a beauty dish with a softbox, you'd have a parabolic umbrella.
This umbrella has a unique structural design as well. Instead of bendable metal, the 16 inner ribs are made of durable fiberglass. The improved "finger-friendly" locking mechanism means you won't pinch your fingers when you're setting up or breaking down. The translucent white umbrella's fabric can be used in the traditional bounce mode, or for slightly snappier contrast and a low-ceiling-friendly smaller form factor, you can turn the umbrella around, aim the convex side of it at your subject, and "shoot through" by pumping the light source through the fabric. In addition, an optional diffuser is available for this umbrella, which effectively converts it to a large softbox with just a 1/2 stop loss of output.
The FA-300HS Triple-Flash Hot Shoe Adapter Mount from Impact allows you to mount, sync and fire up to three flashes from this single adapter. You can fire the flashes at full power for greater light output or, for faster recycle times, fire them at half power to conserve the energy. This unique adapter features a female 1/4"-20 thread for universal mounting, and may be combined with an umbrella or other similar lighting accessories (all sold separately).
The mount has a 3.5mm jack that allows you to use a sync cord to connect the adapter to your camera or wireless receiver. If you own an Impact PowerSync DC Radio Slave System or a similar wireless unit, you can fire them all with a single receiver attached to the adapter. While not designed for use with high-voltage flashes, you can mix and match flashes from most major digital camera manufacturers without issue - though the electrical requirements should always be considered beforehand.
This Impact Heavy-Duty Air-Cushioned Light Stand is a black anodized aluminum support that rises to a height of 9.5' and folds down to 42" for storage and transport. The stand will handle up to 22 lb and is topped with a removable 5/8" spigot with 1/4"-20 and 3/8"-16 threads. It has a wide footprint of 52" for greater stability. Air cushioning gently lowers the light when making height adjustments to protect equipment and fingers.
A useful and versatile addition to any lighting kit, the Deluxe Umbrella Mount with Adjustable Shoe from Impact is designed to maximize the utility of small lights or shoe-mount flashes while the mount has a socket that can support umbrellas up to 60" in diameter.
Able to tilt 180 degrees and swivel 360 degrees, the anodized black aluminum Umbrella Mount can be installed on any industry-standard light stand with a 5/8" top stud from either end of the mount. Additional 5/8" holes are tapped into to unit to allow you to mount it vertically or horizontally for maximum versatility. The Deluxe Umbrella Mount includes removable 3/8"-16 and 1/4"-20 brass stud adapters to support accessories. One of them, for example, fastens a cold shoe with a knurled locking knob for a secure connection to your flash.