Studio Lighting - Homemade Cheap Flash Diffuser (DIY)
In this article Aron Brand will demonstrate how, using homemade and accessible materials, you can improve the light quality of a simple slave flash, and get a natural and soft light. This sort of light is good for jewelry photography, shooting items for eBay and portraits. Note the picture at the end of this article, not only showing softer shadows, but also pops the look of the metal, giving it more polished, expensive look. Similar methods to obtain the same effect can be a light tent, of a flash mounted softbox. Good luck.
Materials:
- A strong slave flash or a long sync cable
- Two cheap tripods with a plastic pan/tilt head. One with flash adaptor on.
- A good steady tripod to hold the camera
- Aluminum pictures frame size 100x75 cm
- A 1/4" screw with matching "butterfly" and disk
- Half transparent drawing paper – two sheets of 100x75 cm
- Glue tape.
Instructions:
- Drill a 1/4" hole at the bottom of the frame
- Drill a 1/4" hole at the bottom of one of the cheap tripods. Yea, I know, it will ruin the tripod. I used a semi-broken tripod for this. Maybe you can get a bad-shaped tripod for really cheap at your local camera store.
- Screw the frame to the tripod and tighten the screw with the disk and 'butterfly'. I used an aluminum stripe to keep the frame from wobbling, but it is not necessary. See picture for details
- On each side of the frame, spread and tape a drawing sheet. Now you have a thin flat box, with paper as top and bottom and aluminum frame for sides.
Ok, now you have a great flash diffuser, and you can use all the axes of the tripod to manipulate the diffuser: tilt, pan and rotate.
- Place the flash on a tripod, and set the flash to its widest angle. Place the tripod about 1-1.5 meters from the diffuser.
- Make a test shot. If you are using a digital camera, fill the frame with the diffuser and shoot. The entire diffuser should be burned, if you only get a burned circle in the middle of the diffuser, place the flash further ftom the diffuser.
What can I use it for?
You can use it to shoot small or shiny objects, such as jewelry, action figures or small items for eBay.
This light is also very good for portraits.
Finally, you can use it where ever a large square light source is needed. It has a lot of similarities to a softbox.
Cons
Unlike softbox, a lot of the light produced from the flash gets lost (this is also called light spill). So you will have to use a strong flash.
Concepts
The further the diffuser is from your object the "harsher" light you get. Your light reflections will be smaller and the shadows harder. The closer the diffuser is to your object, you will get softer shadows. You can use this information to control light: place your diffuser close to your object to soften the light, and place it far to harsher it. Note that if the diffuser is very far from the object, you may want to use direct flash.
This is a shot of this "studio" in action. The two pictures are identical except the use of the diffuser.
See how the watch on the right looks newer, brighter and younger.
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Comments
How come the "after" watch has an earlier time?
:)
because its newer....
because its newer....
but "newer" is before We all
but "newer" is before
We all know that the after shot was shot before with the diffuser. The After refers to the addition of the diffuser :p
Thank you so much for this.
Thank you so much for this. I've often tried to create make-shift equipment that's never quite worked out. I've also splashed out on equipment that seems far too expensive. This is the perfect balance.
Very nice! The light &
Very nice!
The light & shadows are a lot smoother! I will definitly try this when I have some spare time.
Wow
I could really beat my monkey to this! Thanks!
Cheap Flash Diffuser
I intend to build a flash diffuser. When you say a strong flash - what wattage would you suggest. I am new to close up photography.
Thanks
David. UK
flash to use
Hi David,
I'd use an SB800 (or the cannon equivalent) at about 1.8 of the power or more, depending on the shot that I a want to take.
- udi
Great Jewelry Photo Tips!
I sell a bunch of Jewelry on eBay. (It is my sole income). And I have never used a diffuser when I photograph. This tip will make me money. I thank you much!
Studio Lighting
It is very attractive. I like it.
___________
aaron
Wide Circles
Thanks for your Overview
This is just amazing :) There is such a good selection with varying levels of technicality to them. I'm not very good at really in depth and technical things, so there are a lot of easier DIY projects that will really help me out.
:hug: Thank you so much for collecting these all together and posting it!
dog forum
Wow, it's amazing what that diffuser can do to the look of the watch.
this is really awesome. it's
this is really awesome. it's like im looking at two different watches.
I never realized the camera
I never realized the camera angle could change a shot by so much. I only always used to think the MP etc of the camera was the be all and end all of the shot. Looks like ive been proved very wrong!
re: camera angle
This is no so much camera angle as the fact that the flash is being diffused and softened by the sketching paper
Great stuff
Fantastic. I was looking to buy one of these. It's now a project for me to build one. I have pretty much everything. Will let you know how I get on!
This is great! Exactly what
This is great! Exactly what I was looking for. I'm not a photographer nor am I familiar with art supplies. Could you tell me what kind of paper you used and where I might be able to find it? Thanks for a great post!
re: paper
The paper is called sketching paper or tracing paper and it can be bought at any art store.
This is a link on Amazon to help understand what I am talking about.
Thanks again, just ordered a
Thanks again, just ordered a roll. In case you're curious, I'm building a 4'x6'x8' booth for shooting large items and will try to make walls out of this using PVC for framing, then aiming multiple 5100k fluorescent light bulbs at the paper. The goal is to reduce shadows and soften the light.
well done
I'm a huge fan of all things DIY :) This tones down the contrast in the shadows immensely. Same difference between raw strobe light and using a softbox or shoot thru umbrella.
diffusing for object photography
I tried many ideas, including using polystyrene panels as a background, as a fill-in reflector, and so forth, but the best and easiest was to buy a light tent made of transparent nylon/polyester, which folds into a smaller round disk.
I find them on sale from China, and I think I paid about £6 for mine. They come with a zip front, and you can light the top, back or sides, and they have velcro fastening front which is removeable, and about four colours of a velcro backing to give a contrast of colour.
I am able to photograph objects like cameras and jewellry in comfort and ease, with no reflections and hot spots. The tents are about 3 feet on each side, and you can buy smaller ones. Good value and fold to a flat square panel.
WARNING: - I tried twisting the whole thing back into the small pack it came in, but couldn't do it. I actually broke the frame, which was sprung metal. It unfolds a treat, but I think it would take an expert to fold it. So, I just flatten it to a 3 foot flat, and put it on the top of a cupboard out of the way. I recommend the same to anyone who buys one. They replaced it when I told them what had happened, and emailed a photo of the broken connection. Hope this is some help - I got it off ebay, by the way.
A really good flash photo idea
This is the first in a series of your articles i found today and i am off to read the rest now! Really good article, clearly explained. Thank you.
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