Diffusing light from your flash
6 October 2020
in Tutorials

Diffusing light from your flash

Diffusing light is something I’ll never be happy with, and am constantly trying new ideas and diffusers. When you are out in the field you need something that you can carry in your bag easily and most importantly – doesn’t spook the insects or subjects you are shooting.

 

This Blog entry is how to build a home made diffuser from a Pringles can, and the results from it.

I use a Godox V860ii speedlite on top of my Sony A7riii Camera, with the 90mm macro and a Raynox 250.

What you’ll need:

Pringles cans

A knife

Pliers

Gaffa tape

Light diffuser materials or plastic

First, after emptying the can and eating all the Pringles, give it a wipe inside with a damp cloth then cut out the end of the can (leaving the metal rim).

Using the pliers, carefully bend the metal rim into a square shape to fit your flash head (make sure you don’t leave any sharp edges that can damage your flash).

Make sure it fits nicely, and do any extra shaping of the metal rim around your flash by gently pressing on it.
Cut out an elbow from the can, making sure you don’t completely cut around the can.
You want the angle to be just right to be above your subject (check your lens nearest focal distance). I’ll be using a Raynox 250 magnifier, so I need it just over the lens.

Strengthen the angled part with Gaffa / Duck tape.

For the end of the can I’m going to use material from an old diffuser (you can experiment here and try baking paper or plastic, or even bubble wrap).
Using the Duck tape again to attach the material on the end of the tube.
Again, do some experimenting yourself whether the plastic cap works for you (I found it quite good at diffusing the light a bit more).

You can see here, with the Raynox 250 on the lens, the rim of the diffuser is just resting on the top (because my minimum focus distance is about 11cm).

ave a look at some comparisons. Firstly without any diffusing, second with a material generic diffuser and lastly with the pringle can.
The Results speak for themselves I think… As you can see above, I’m not losing all the light going behind the subject like with the material diffuser and I’m not over shadowing the subject like a bare flash, and its giving me sharp definition. I’m looking forward to testing it out in the field, join me on Instagram to see the results!
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