Flash >Noob question<

just that! whenever you need it i've been using mine as fill a lot in the sunny weather. Mine is always with me. Just play

And yep - diffuse that baby!

landyman wrote: »

Try and get a diffuser for it, so portraits wont be all blown out (you can use the top of a plastic milk bottle)

This will not diffuse light. It will merely make it omni directional, and cost you up to 1 fstop of light and prescious flash battery power in the process.

In order to diffuse a light source, you have to make its size relative to the subject larger.

Think of the sun. On a clear cloudless day, the sun is a small, harsh circle of light in the sky. Doesn't make for great photos. Now, think of an overcast day. The suns light is being pushed through a blanket of translucent cloud before it gets down to our level, and in the process has become a larger light source. Much more flattering light.

The same principles can be applied to flash. This why we shoot through soft boxes and umbrellas.

In effect though an Omnibounce will do exactly that - it softens the light and reduces shadow on your subjects. I wouldn't be without mine (although I've been using a LumiQuest Softbox recently too - still not sure which I prefer. The Stofen is less ridiculous looking though :rolleyes: ). The omnibounce is only useful in situations where you have a reflective surface you can bounce off. Otherwise yes, they drain batteries and kill the range of your flash. They're incredibly useful though!

One thing I've read about the DIY versions is that the density of the plastic may not be correct. Worth a try indeed, but you might have to play around a bit. I picked my Stofen up in Gunns (I keep losing the bloody things) for 21 quid last week.

gloobag wrote: »

This will not diffuse light. It will merely make it omni directional ...

In order to diffuse a light source, you have to make its size relative to the subject larger.

sineadw wrote: »

In effect though an Omnibounce will do exactly that - it softens the light and reduces shadow on your subjects.

gloobag is right, a plastic yoke stuck onto the flash, will not diffuse it, but makes it omni directional, like a Stofen Omnibounce.

An Omnibounce does not soften a light source, but instead of a flash beam going straight at your subject, it send the lights in all directions, therefore only about 60% of the light is now heading straight at the subject. This give the appearence of a softer light, and you are also getting reflective light bouncing back from your flash. This is better than a straight flash, but can still look harsh. In fact if you put on a omnibounce, and point the flash at the ceiling, therefore most of the light is going up and reflecting back, i.e. using the ceiling as a light modifier and increasing the light source, you'll get a much softer light.

An onmibounce is great at filling a room with light, and reducing shadows.

However, as mentioned, the best way to give a softer light, is to increase the light source relative to the subject, by using some form of light modifier - umbrella, softbox, fill card, wall or ceiling.

HTH.