Homemade diffuser (on camera)

Got an indoor ****tail party/silent auction shoot coming up, and I
need suggestions on a good homemade diffuser which will be used on-
camera. I've used a milk jug, to some pretty good results, but it's a
little bulky to be lugging around. Isopropyl alcohol bottle?
Suggestions?

Thx,

B

"Ben" <kombi45@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:c05c8bef-184a-48c1-90e8-4c6fc4393e16@l64g2000hse.googlegroups.com...

> Got an indoor ****tail party/silent auction shoot coming up, and I
> need suggestions on a good homemade diffuser which will be used on-
> camera. I've used a milk jug, to some pretty good results, but it's a
> little bulky to be lugging around. Isopropyl alcohol bottle?
> Suggestions?

I used to use two large styrofoam cups, fit together top to top,
with a hole cut in the bottom of one to just fit over the up-turned
flash (I used the flash tipped up and turned at an angle that would
properly place the cups above and to one side of the lens without
moving anything for vertical or horizontal photos). I rubber
cemented aluminum foil to the inside back halves of the two cups.
The flash was set for its widest angle. This provided a far larger
light source size than the flash head alone, but it was not as good
as well-done bounce flash with a little front fill added.
--DR

On Sat, 12 Jul 2008 08:41:10 -0700, Ben wrote:

> Got an indoor ****tail party/silent auction shoot coming up, and I need
> suggestions on a good homemade diffuser which will be used on- camera.
> I've used a milk jug, to some pretty good results, but it's a little
> bulky to be lugging around. Isopropyl alcohol bottle? Suggestions?

Instead of a homemade one, which can cause color shifts or uneven
coverage, just buy a Sto-Fen Omni-Bounce. Best $20 investment I ever
made. Works best with tilt-head flash tilted up about 35 to 45 degrees.

Stef

Ben <kombi45@yahoo.com> wrote in news:c05c8bef-184a-48c1-90e8-4c6fc4393e16
@l64g2000hse.googlegroups.com:

> Got an indoor ****tail party/silent auction shoot coming up, and I
> need suggestions on a good homemade diffuser which will be used on-
> camera. I've used a milk jug, to some pretty good results, but it's a
> little bulky to be lugging around. Isopropyl alcohol bottle?
> Suggestions?
>
> Thx,
>
> B

Onion skin paper.

"Stefan Patric" <not@thisaddress.com> wrote in message
news9aek.20444$YO1.96@newsfe08.phx...
> On Sat, 12 Jul 2008 08:41:10 -0700, Ben wrote:
>
>> Got an indoor ****tail party/silent auction shoot coming up, and I need
>> suggestions on a good homemade diffuser which will be used on- camera.
>> I've used a milk jug, to some pretty good results, but it's a little
>> bulky to be lugging around. Isopropyl alcohol bottle? Suggestions?
>
> Instead of a homemade one, which can cause color shifts or uneven
> coverage, just buy a Sto-Fen Omni-Bounce. Best $20 investment I ever
> made. Works best with tilt-head flash tilted up about 35 to 45 degrees.

Or you could lash out $15 or so on one of these:
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI....m=380019675125
such as (at least two) astute, experienced and knowledgeable professional
photographers did.

--
Jeff R.

On Jul 12, 7:11*pm, "Jeff R." <contact...@this.ng> wrote:
> "Stefan Patric" <n...@thisaddress.com> wrote in message
>
> news9aek.20444$YO1.96@newsfe08.phx...
>
> > On Sat, 12 Jul 2008 08:41:10 -0700, Ben wrote:
>
> >> Got an indoor ****tail party/silent auction shoot coming up, and I need
> >> suggestions on a good homemade diffuser which will be used on- camera.
> >> I've used a milk jug, to some pretty good results, but it's a little
> >> bulky to be lugging around. *Isopropyl alcohol bottle? Suggestions?
>
> > Instead of a homemade one, which can cause color shifts or uneven
> > coverage, just buy a Sto-Fen Omni-Bounce. *Best $20 investment I ever
> > made. *Works best with tilt-head flash tilted up about 35 to 45 degrees.
>
> Or you could lash out $15 or so on one of these:http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI....m=380019675125
> such as (at least two) astute, experienced and knowledgeable professional
> photographers did.

Hell, that's the thingamadiffuser that comes witht he SB800. It's not
bad, but I've gotten better results with
"after-market" rigs. If I can get 'em like this, I don't need to
invest any more than $.97 and five minutes prep
time:

http://www.pbase.com/sigphotography/image/100067257

Don't ask about the backdrop, please.

On Jul 12, 9:31*pm, "Rita Berkowitz" <ritaberk2...@aol.com> wrote:
> Ben wrote:
> > Got an indoor ****tail party/silent auction shoot coming up, and I
> > need suggestions on a good homemade diffuser which will be used on-
> > camera. *I've used a milk jug, to some pretty good results, but it's a
> > little bulky to be lugging around. *Isopropyl alcohol bottle?
> > Suggestions?
>
> You need a Larry Thong LightBottle. *Why use a Fong when you can put on a
> thong?

Right, well, that's pretty much what I did, only I don't have a name
for it. Butcept the room I will be shooting in has pretty high
ceilings, so I cut the top open. Should I go with some reflective
tape on the inside, as well, d'ya think? If nothing else, it will
look pretty rad.

http://www.pbase.com/sigphotography/image/100072415

"Stefan Patric" <not@thisaddress.com> wrote in message
news9aek.20444$YO1.96@newsfe08.phx...
> On Sat, 12 Jul 2008 08:41:10 -0700, Ben wrote:

>> Got an indoor ****tail party/silent auction shoot coming up, and I need
>> suggestions on a good homemade diffuser which will be used on- camera.
>> I've used a milk jug, to some pretty good results, but it's a little
>> bulky to be lugging around. Isopropyl alcohol bottle? Suggestions?

> Instead of a homemade one, which can cause color shifts or uneven
> coverage, just buy a Sto-Fen Omni-Bounce. Best $20 investment I ever
> made. Works best with tilt-head flash tilted up about 35 to 45 degrees.
>
> Stef

While most people think they want to "diffuse" the light source,
what is really needed is to enlarge it (relative to the bare flash
head size). This is the ONLY thing that will soften shadow edges,
and this can be accomplished by increasing the effective size of
the light source, or by using bounce illumination. Adding a small
diffuser to the end of a flash head does nothing unless reflective
surfaces are very close to the subject. As for color shifts and
uneven lighting, these are unlikely unless there is something
unusually wrong with the homemade setup, or the WB is locked
down...
--DR

Rita Berkowitz wrote:
> Ben wrote:
>
>>>> Got an indoor ****tail party/silent auction shoot coming up, and I
>>>> need suggestions on a good homemade diffuser which will be used on-
>>>> camera. I've used a milk jug, to some pretty good results, but it's
>>>> a little bulky to be lugging around. Isopropyl alcohol bottle?
>>>> Suggestions?
>>>
>>> You need a Larry Thong LightBottle. Why use a Fong when you can put
>>> on a thong?
>>
>> Right, well, that's pretty much what I did, only I don't have a name
>> for it. Butcept the room I will be shooting in has pretty high
>> ceilings, so I cut the top open. Should I go with some reflective
>> tape on the inside, as well, d'ya think? If nothing else, it will
>> look pretty rad.
>>
>> http://www.pbase.com/sigphotography/image/100072415
>
> I'm not sure if it's just the lighting in your picture or your bottle is
> the
> cloudy white plastic and isn't as translucent as mine? It might not matter
> much, but I found from experimenting that it ate too much light. If you
> haven't you might want to try a slightly clearer bottle and leave the top
> on. Yes, add the reflective tape as it brings up the overall light
> distribution and takes less power to get the desired lighting. I've built
> mine in the D200/D2x days and found this to work great. It's even
> better on
> the D3. At the end of the day you will need to experiment to find what
> works best for your shooting style and needs.
>
>
>
>
> Rita
Hey RB,

What bottle is that?

Dave

On Sun, 13 Jul 2008 09:33:45 -0400, David Ruether wrote:

> "Stefan Patric" <not@thisaddress.com> wrote in message
> news9aek.20444$YO1.96@newsfe08.phx...
>> On Sat, 12 Jul 2008 08:41:10 -0700, Ben wrote:
>
>>> Got an indoor ****tail party/silent auction shoot coming up, and I
>>> need suggestions on a good homemade diffuser which will be used on-
>>> camera. I've used a milk jug, to some pretty good results, but it's a
>>> little bulky to be lugging around. Isopropyl alcohol bottle?
>>> Suggestions?
>
>> Instead of a homemade one, which can cause color shifts or uneven
>> coverage, just buy a Sto-Fen Omni-Bounce. Best $20 investment I ever
>> made. Works best with tilt-head flash tilted up about 35 to 45
>> degrees.
>>
>> Stef
>
> While most people think they want to "diffuse" the light source, what is
> really needed is to enlarge it (relative to the bare flash head size).
> This is the ONLY thing that will soften shadow edges, and this can be
> accomplished by increasing the effective size of the light source, or by
> using bounce illumination. Adding a small diffuser to the end of a flash
> head does nothing unless reflective surfaces are very close to the
> subject. As for color shifts and uneven lighting, these are unlikely
> unless there is something unusually wrong with the homemade setup, or
> the WB is locked down...

While that may be true with neophytes, the OP seemed to know what he was
talking about and what he wanted.

As to the Sto-Fen diffuser, it works surprising well for something so
small. I've used softboxes and umbrellas with portable flashes on camera
before and, although they work and give beautiful results, they are too
unwieldy, particularly in crowded conditions, and loose too much light.
And while the Sto-Fen does not equal softbox results, it's an excellent
compromise.

Stef