Improve Your Photos with a Flash Diffuser - A How-To Guide
Improving Your Photography with a Flash Diffuser
A frequent concern among photographers is the undesirable effect of using a camera's built-in flash. Often, the flash can result in subjects appearing washed out and the creation of unflattering, strong shadows.
Furthermore, the flash frequently dominates the overall image, diminishing the detail and nuance of the background.
Understanding Common Flash Issues
The problems associated with direct flash stem from its concentrated light source. This intensity leads to several visual drawbacks.
- Washed-Out Skin Tones: Direct flash can strip away natural color and texture.
- Harsh Shadows: Strong, defined shadows can appear behind subjects, creating an unbalanced look.
- Overpowered Backgrounds: The background can become overly bright, losing its detail and context.
The Solution: Utilizing a Flash Diffuser
A flash diffuser offers a straightforward solution to these common issues. It works by softening and spreading the light emitted from the flash.
By dispersing the light, a diffuser minimizes harsh shadows and creates a more natural-looking illumination.
This results in more balanced photos where both the subject and the background are properly exposed and retain their detail.
Employing a simple flash diffuser can significantly enhance the quality of your photographs, mitigating the typical drawbacks associated with on-camera flash.
The Importance of Flash Diffusion in Photography
Often, utilizing a camera's flash is crucial for capturing a photograph, preventing it from being completely dark or severely underexposed. For many photographers, the flash is considered a necessary, though imperfect, tool. While it ensures a picture is taken and avoids blurriness, the resulting images can appear washed out with suboptimal lighting.
Beyond Blurriness: Improving Image Quality
However, settling for subpar photos is unnecessary. A simple flash diffuser can dramatically alter how light interacts with your subject and its surroundings. Whether constructed from readily available materials or purchased commercially, the improvements are substantial, making it almost irresponsible to continue producing unflattering images.
Consider, for instance, the image of our demonstrator, Spawn, captured in a dimly lit basement media room. Without flash, a photograph was impossible due to insufficient ambient light. Direct, on-camera flash resulted in the harsh, overexposed effect visible on the left. Only through diffusion did we achieve the softer, more appealing image on the right.
Illustrating the Difference: Direct vs. Diffused Flash
Let's examine further examples to highlight the contrast between harsh direct flash and the benefits of diffusion. The following images showcase a lily, photographed first with direct flash and then with diffused flash bounced off the ceiling:
The direct flash image reveals several issues. Shadows are cast by the filaments and anthers onto the petals, and the flower itself shadows the table. Furthermore, the reflective surface of the flower causes the background to appear darker than it should.
Conversely, the diffused and bounced flash creates even illumination. The flower is well-lit, shadows are minimized, and the background accurately reflects its true color, avoiding the darkened appearance of the direct flash image.
Another Example: Marbles and LEGOs
Let's analyze another scenario, featuring marbles arranged on a LEGO baseplate:
Marbles, due to their reflective surfaces, effectively demonstrate the impact of flash diffusion. The direct flash image exhibits harsh shadows, muted colors, and intense highlights on each marble.
The diffused image shows significant improvements. The baseplate and wall colors are more accurate, shadows are softer and more dispersed, and the highlights on the marbles are gentler and more natural.
The Benefits of Diffusion: A Comprehensive View
The power of effective flash diffusion lies in its ability to enhance overall image quality. It can make individuals appear more youthful by minimizing the visibility of fine lines and wrinkles. Diffused light improves skin tones for lighter complexions, preventing a washed-out look, and enhances the contrast for darker complexions against the background.
Beyond portraits, diffusion creates a more natural aesthetic. The direct flash photo of the lily clearly identifies itself as flash photography, while the diffused image resembles a shot taken in natural daylight. In essence, diffusing your flash consistently improves results, offering minimal reason to forgo this technique in most photographic situations.
Understanding Flash Diffusers
Demonstrating the benefits of flash diffusion is valuable, but providing practical application is essential. Let's begin with a discussion of camera flashes themselves.
Types of Camera Flashes
Two primary categories of camera flashes exist: the integrated flash, commonly found on DSLR cameras or point-and-shoot models, and external flash units. These external units connect to a DSLR via the camera's hotshoe – as illustrated in the reference image.
While other external flash types, such as studio-mounted units, exist, the principles of diffusion remain consistent. This tutorial focuses on flashes used directly with the camera.
These devices, whether built-in or external, are designed to emit a substantial amount of light, compensating for insufficient natural illumination.
What Does a Diffuser Do?
A flash diffuser is any material employed to soften the intensity of light emitted from a camera flash. Consider the function of a lampshade as a simple analogy for flash diffusion.
Without a lampshade, a bare light bulb produces a harsh, direct light. This light can be uncomfortably bright and creates strong, defined shadows.
However, adding a lampshade transforms the light. It becomes softer and more pleasing, potentially even creating a romantic ambiance. A person sitting near the lamp would be bathed in a gentle, diffused glow, rather than harsh beams.
The Core Principle of Diffusion
At its core, flash diffusion involves utilizing a material – much like a lampshade – to spread the intense light from the flash.
Whether large or small, homemade or commercially produced, a flash diffuser serves as a miniature lampshade for the flash, distributing light more broadly instead of projecting it in a concentrated beam.
Related: How to Convert Your Color Photos to Stunning Black and White Prints
What Types of Flash Diffusers Exist?
The variety of flash diffusers available – both for purchase and through do-it-yourself guides found on sites like Instructables – is extensive. These diffusers come in numerous forms, ranging from compact stick-on cards to spherical silicone covers, and even collapsible structures resembling small play tents.
A comprehensive review of every flash diffuser design would be a lengthy undertaking. Fortunately, the underlying principles behind these designs are generally consistent, allowing us to easily showcase typical commercial and homemade solutions. Let's explore the most prevalent methods photographers, both amateur and professional, employ to manage and soften the light emitted from their camera flashes.
Bounce Flash (Natural and Simulated)
The most straightforward form of flash diffusion is known as "bounce flash." This technique involves redirecting the flash's output, either onto a large white card attached to the camera or a nearby light-colored surface.
Technically speaking, utilizing a flash diffuser often involves spreading light and causing it to reflect off surrounding surfaces, resulting in even illumination and reduced harsh shadows. However, in this context, we specifically refer to directing the flash towards a substantial white surface – such as a room's ceiling – to distribute the light.
Bounce flash is particularly effective when used with a robust external flash unit. Most external flashes allow adjustment of the flash head's angle, ranging from 90 degrees (pointing directly at the subject) to 180 degrees (pointing straight up, aligned with the flash body). This allows for easy bouncing off a low, light-colored ceiling, providing even diffusion. Photographers frequently attach a small white card, like an index card, to the flash head to bounce some light forward, minimizing shadows under the eyes.
This bouncing method is highly effective when a large, light-colored surface is readily available. However, it becomes impractical when such a surface is absent – for example, photographing a child after a piano recital in a room with a dark, high ceiling. In such scenarios, a large surface attached to the flash itself is necessary to provide the bounce effect, as illustrated in the image above.
Related: How to Take Pinhole Photos with a Digital Camera
While bounce flash excels with external flashes under suitable conditions, it's less effective with on-camera flashes, which are typically less powerful and offer limited adjustability. Using an on-camera flash in Auto mode with bounce flash often results in underexposed images, as the camera meters for a full-power flash burst, but insufficient light is actually bounced onto the subject.
If you desire the effect of bounced flash without relying on a suitable ceiling, numerous commercial and DIY solutions can achieve this with minimal light loss.
The RogueFlag, shown above, is a commercial bounce card for external flashes. The Shell Bounce Flash Attachment is another common design. For those inclined towards DIY projects, consider this printable Bounce Shell from the Los Angeles Digital Imaging Group and this more durable Craft Foam DIY Bounce Shell.
Diffusion Caps
A common diffuser type is a small plastic cap or shell fitted over the flash head. The Stofen-Omni-Bounce is a well-known example of this simple design. It’s essentially a molded, milky white plastic cap designed to fit specific flash models. These caps can be easily crafted from various milky white plastic containers, such as thoroughly cleaned rubbing alcohol bottles, heavy cream containers, or small travel shampoo bottles.
For built-in flashes, small clip-on diffusers like Gary Fong's Puffer are available. A popular DIY version utilizes a white plastic film canister, as demonstrated in the Photojojo tutorial pictured above.
These compact diffusers are often effective, particularly when combined with supplemental bounce from nearby surfaces, and they add minimal bulk to your camera setup.
Flash Diffusion Domes and Soft Boxes
Larger than the compact flash diffusion caps previously discussed, diffusion domes are notably more substantial in size. The model showcased in the image above represents a well-recognized option available on the market: Gary Fong's LightSphere. This particular flash diffuser is frequently utilized by us and was employed in capturing the header image for this tutorial.
LightSphere and DIY Alternatives
Due to the LightSphere’s price point of approximately $60, numerous do-it-yourself (DIY) versions can be found online. These resourceful creations repurpose a wide range of materials, including deli salad containers, bubble wrap, and silicone mats. A favored DIY guide utilizes repurposed silicone drawer liners from IKEA.
Related: How to Cheaply and Safely Clean Your Camera's DSLR Sensor
Diffusion Softboxes: A Compact Studio Solution
Closely related to diffusion domes, diffusion softboxes function as miniature counterparts to the large soft boxes commonly used with studio flash strobes. The Opteka mini-softbox, as seen in the photograph, is a widely available and affordable model.
These diffusers haven’t achieved the same level of popularity as the rigid plastic caps and domes. This is largely because they can be more challenging to attach and generally provide less overall diffusion, as their sides are typically opaque or black.
While DIY tutorials exist, constructing one can be intricate and demands various materials, cutting, and sealing processes. Considering the Opteka’s price of around $10, the incentive to build a DIY version, potentially costing $2-3 and several hours of time, is limited.
Regardless of whether a dome or a box is chosen, this method of flash diffusion offers a broad and softened light output. It is comparable to bouncing light off a large, white ceiling, and is a viable alternative to utilizing studio strobes equipped with a 4'x4' softbox.
Investing in a diffuser, whether a $3 DIY creation or a convenient commercial product, will significantly enhance your photography. The practice of diffusing your flash and softening the light on your subjects leads to more beautiful and flattering images.
Diffused light is beneficial for capturing appealing photographs of interiors, items for online listings, or cherished family moments.