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Hotshoe Flash Modifiers

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JustinCambridge

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Hey everyone, so I'm looking to try to improve the quality of light coming out of my 430 EX II flash when it's on camera. (I know the best quality is off camera)

So I'm a modifier of some kind to use - has anyone had any positive experience with any products out there? So far I've look around and came acorss the Soft Box III and Big Bounce by lumiquest http://www.lumiquest.com/products.htm

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!
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Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/justincambridge/
 
What are your intended uses?

Without details, you could get answers all over the place that don't apply to YOUR needs

Do you shoot MACRO, small still life, puppies, nudes, dudes, bags, boxes, interiors?

What issues in your image of whatever you shoot are causing concern? Redeye, specular highlights, harsh shadows, flat lighting...what?
 
Location portrait shooting with the SOFTEST SHADOWS POSSIBLE would indicate you want a LARGE light source RELATIVE to your subjects.

You did not specify INDOORS or OUTDOORS or both.

Indoors... bounce flash off a nearby wall, celing, or wall-celing junction - IE: tilt/swivel flash to turn them into a LARGE light source.

Outdoors... If ambient light is good... you just want the flash to fill shadows anyway, so dial it down. If ambient light is poor... your flash must provide more light, and no flash-attachment will significantly change the relative size o the light source. To get really soft shadows outdoors with an on-camera flash, use a large white bounce surface ...again. It can be a collapsible fabric disc diffuser / bounce... or a piece of white foamcor... or side of a building.

A flash with tilt / swivel capabilities is essential.
Add an off-camera cord for added versatility
 
JustinCambridge said:
Hey everyone, so I'm looking to try to improve the quality of light coming out of my 430 EX II flash when it's on camera. (I know the best quality is off camera)

So I'm a modifier of some kind to use - has anyone had any positive experience with any products out there? So far I've look around and came acorss the Soft Box III and Big Bounce by lumiquest http://www.lumiquest.com/products.htm

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!
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Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/justincambridge/
Click to expand...
I have been looking for something similar after reading Chuck Gardner's tutorials, where he provides a DIY verison of such a diffuser.

I would think that one of these on each flash in a two-flash system for portraiture where no available walls/ceilings exist, as Chuck describes on his site should work great. Does anyone have experience like this?

Is that your intended use JC?

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Freeze and I'll shoot!
 
I've used similar items and they are certainly softer than direct flash at short ranges. There are some considerations though. The Big Bounce eats about 3 stops and the softbox probably 2 stops, so your flash willl be using higher outputs, increasing recycle times and reducing battery life. The big bounce is heavy enough to cause a tilt head to wobble a bit. If you move a lot, it'll probably loosen your head enough to fall down a lot.

I never liked the results of a softbox sitting on the lens. You need a little separation between the flash and lens. The Big Bounce is better at raising the light source, if only slightly, but the best tool for a roving photographer is a camera bracket.
 
rogue flash bender i have one and its very good would only like to have a diffusion panel somehow but it elevates the light source and it can work in multiple ways i will do a review soon with photos comparing the ways the bender can be shaped and it works for outdoors too and indoors it let you do may things
 
For indoors I primarily try bounce of walls and ceilings. Where I can't bounce or want to combine bounce and flicking some light forwards, I use the Demb Flip-It

For outdoors, I just use natural light and fill flash..having said that, i have a long way to go in improving my outdoor portraiture.....
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****************
Nikon D7000. Nikon 50mm 1.8, Tamron 28-75 2.8, Sigma 70-200 2.8 SB900 SB600

'I am a better critic than photographer'
 
I love the Lumiquest softboxes, the StoFen omni-bounce and Honl's Grid.

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if I mock you, it may be well deserved.
 
No matter what flash diffuser you put on an on-camera flash you will only very slightly reduce specularity in the image. The bounce types like the DIYS one are best. This helps with portraits, but is rarely enough to give you quality lighting.

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1025&thread=37080983

If you want better portraits you need to get your flash off the camera.

Look into buying an inexpensive light stand and a 24" softbox with an internal diffuser for your flash. Use the 24" softbox no more than 4' from your subject. A reflector can be your fill light. This softbox will be large enough to give you good lighting for chest to top of head portraits but small enough to allow shooting at reasonable power levels. Don't go the umbrella way, they require higher power settings for the same light output and scatter uncontrolled light all over the place.

If you are using a Canon camera with wireless external flash control then be sure to aim the face of the external flash body at your camera and use tilt and swivel to aim the flash head. Buy a RF system if you don't have built-in wireless control.
 
thanks for the help so far guys! I try to bounce the flash indoors whenever possible, and I've looking into some flash brackets as you guys have mentioned. I also didn't consider the loss of light that these modifiers would eat up - so thanks for raising that point.

Recently I've been doing some one-on-one shoots and I'm looking to be mobile enough to walk around and shoot at different angles - so that might rule out the flash on a stand approach

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Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/justincambridge/
 
Another vote for the Flip-it. The only modifier I use to soften the on camera flash at indoor events. For long range fill it is unusable.
When I have the room and appropiate I use umbrellas.

--
Viktor
'Happy shooting!'
 
Relative to the original post, you are correct, the best light is off camera. Bouncing your flash off a ceiling or wall gives you just that, a main light off camera. A modifier which will allow you to achieve a simultaneous bounce light source as a fill at the camera position gives you a basic portrait lighting set up. 2 lights, the stronger off camera and the weaker as a fill light. I thought it was interesting that the 2 kinds of modifiers which you cited in your original post provide all frontal lighting. They prevent you from getting the directional lighting you are seeking.
 
I was also looking at the Flip It! as a solution and I think this might be optimal for a two-speedlite setup. Almost none of the light is lost, unlike with a single softbox-type modifier, and they are portable.

Joe, if I portability was not so much of a concern to me, would you recommend a Mega Flip-it! for both the key and fill? Is there any reason to use the Big model for one of the lights?

I was also wondering about the concept of flash bracket/OSC - can a modifier not be designed to allow the light to travel the same distance before it gets reflected, thus eliminating the need for the bracket/cord? I know this would not address the need to rotate the flash head to accommodate for portrait orientation shooting, but I'm just wondering. My guess is that you would lose stability with a long base and the light would be spread too wide.
Joe Demb said:
Relative to the original post, you are correct, the best light is off camera. Bouncing your flash off a ceiling or wall gives you just that, a main light off camera. A modifier which will allow you to achieve a simultaneous bounce light source as a fill at the camera position gives you a basic portrait lighting set up. 2 lights, the stronger off camera and the weaker as a fill light. I thought it was interesting that the 2 kinds of modifiers which you cited in your original post provide all frontal lighting. They prevent you from getting the directional lighting you are seeking.
Click to expand...
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Freeze and I'll shoot!
 
The original post asked for the best portrait lighting solutions for one flash on camera. I attempted to give a suggestion which was strict to the inquiry, and offered an explanation of how an off camera main light with camera position fill light might be achieved with one flash on camera. Veering off into the subjects of camera brackets and second light modifiers is straying a bit from the original question. I would be happy to offer my opinions, but first would be curious to know if the original poster would feel his concern had been hijacked.
 
Justin, how about using a dolly with the flash on a stand to keep mobile?
JustinCambridge said:
thanks for the help so far guys! I try to bounce the flash indoors whenever possible, and I've looking into some flash brackets as you guys have mentioned. I also didn't consider the loss of light that these modifiers would eat up - so thanks for raising that point.

Recently I've been doing some one-on-one shoots and I'm looking to be mobile enough to walk around and shoot at different angles - so that might rule out the flash on a stand approach

--
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/justincambridge/
Click to expand...
--
Freeze and I'll shoot!
 
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