Flash Diffusers - Which do you use?

After reading and reading, trying and trying - yesterday I bought Lumiquest Promax System. Many good reviews and my tests were the trigger for buying Promax. Here you can look at short test with examples.

SoccerRef wrote in post #6059115
Which one do you use, and why?

I shot my first wedding as a second shooter recently and learned that I NEED a diffuser. I had such harsh shadows, I won't use half my shots. Thank goodness I was just there to learn from my mistakes, because I made plenty of them.

However I learned, and THAT is the important thing!

My need... I need a diffuser for fill flash...

Any chance of seeing some examples of the kind of shots you're not pleased with?

I made my own diffusers for my two 580EX flashes, all for a total of about $5. They increase the apparent size of the light source by quite a bit. I can choose to throw all the light forward, or I can bounce and throw forward at the same time.

They're similar to this:

http://super.nova.org/​DPR/DIY01/

Regards.

Heres what I use.

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Golf Nut wrote in post #6068239
Any chance of seeing some examples of the kind of shots you're not pleased with?

I made my own diffusers for my two 580EX flashes, all for a total of about $5. They increase the apparent size of the light source by quite a bit. I can choose to throw all the light forward, or I can bounce and throw forward at the same time.

They're similar to this:

http://super.nova.org/​DPR/DIY01/

Regards.

Unfortunately, I don't have permission to show any of the photos yet. (I was second shooter and we are still very close to the wedding date.)

But, I might be able to recreate the situation and get a few examples. I am facing a very busy weekend, but maybe I can squeeze out some time to try. I like your solution though, I might give it try. I love DIY stuff. In fact, I just completed an external battery pack for my flash! And, I love it.

airfrogusmc wrote in post #6068334
...
Results:
this is not a very good photo but it give you the idea. I usually go with the flash up one stop from the ambient and expose for the flash. So the ambient is a stop down as not to over power and the gel is color balanced for the ambient. I will use a fluorescent gel in that situation and I frequently shoot a ISO 1600.

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Looks good, and indoors with a nice white ceiling that is fairly close, I agree 100%, a bounced flash and card works great. But I was indoors with a 60-80 foot tan ceiling, or outdoors with nothing but blue sky and white clouds. Bouncing wasn't possible.

The harshness of the flash turned straight on is what I am trying to fix. I have used your method many times and will again... I do like your "paddle", I may try that as it looks like it will bounce a lot more light forward than a card the width of the flash. But when bouncing isn't possible and I have to go straight on with the flash, a card just doesn't cut it.

Check out this link..very helpful:

http://planetneil.com …hoice-of-flash-modifiers/

I'm using the LumiQuest bounce Kit (just picked it up yesterday and i tottally see the difference in my photos already:

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SoccerRef wrote in post #6070137
Looks good, and indoors with a nice white ceiling that is fairly close, I agree 100%, a bounced flash and card works great. But I was indoors with a 60-80 foot tan ceiling, or outdoors with nothing but blue sky and white clouds. Bouncing wasn't possible.

The harshness of the flash turned straight on is what I am trying to fix. I have used your method many times and will again... I do like your "paddle", I may try that as it looks like it will bounce a lot more light forward than a card the width of the flash. But when bouncing isn't possible and I have to go straight on with the flash, a card just doesn't cut it.

I even use the card in those situations because the light is still softer than direct flash, and the ceilings in here were 20+ ft high. But the important thing are the gels to get the color temp close to the ambient. Also wanted to say it cost what $4.00 for an entire sheet of white art board and couple bucks for the velcro and does just as good or maybe a better job than the far more expensive modifiers and when it gets beat up ya just make a new one.

fjgindy wrote in post #6070221
Check out this link..very helpful:

http://planetneil.com …hoice-of-flash-modifiers/

airfrogusmc wrote in post #6070262
I even use the card in those situations because the light is still softer than direct flash, and the ceilings in here were 20+ ft high. But the important thing are the gels to get the color temp close to the ambient. Also wanted to say it cost what $4.00 for an entire sheet of white art board and couple bucks for the velcro and does just as good or maybe a better job than the far more expensive modifiers and when it gets beat up ya just make a new one.

AHA!! It finally clicked! Thanks fjgindy and airfrog! I just realized what I am battling... I will double check when I get home, and I think I am going to blind my son this weekend with test shots, but Between these two posts and the article from Neil... I see that my issue is I believe, two fold. One, I was turning the flash 90 degrees straight onto my subject. (I mistakenly was thinking, well there's no way I can bounce my light, so I must shoot it straight.) While I might not be able to bounce light behind the subject, I can still shoot less light at them by using a card, or other method.

The "bigger" issue (I am speaking from memory here, I don't have the photos in front of me...) but I believe the larger issue is that the shadows are exagerated by the white light coming out of my flash. I.E. my subject is "lit up" by the white light, which makes the shadows look that much darker. That affect may be reduced significantly by just the simple addition of the filter!

I coincidently just got a set of Rosco gels last week for another project I am going to play with... Finding the right one to use to warm up the light out of the flash for portraits should be fairly easy.

I don't think the white light is causing your shadows. The gels are used to bring the white light down to the ambient light in the room, generally tungsten. That exposed the whole image with the same color light allowing the background and foreground to come to the same true 'white'.

In airfrogs's example, if he had not used the gel, the subjects would have been properly exposed and the right color but the background lights would have a yellow cast to them.

Harsh shadows are caused by direct light, un-diffused.

Titus213 wrote in post #6071282
Harsh shadows are caused by direct light, un-diffused.

True, but having shadows that are a different color can make them more noticable regardless of how soft or harsh they may be.

Thats why ya not only soften the light you balance it color wise also.

FONG!

Gary Fong Lightsphere II Cloud.

SoccerRef wrote in post #6070137
Looks good, and indoors with a nice white ceiling that is fairly close, I agree 100%, a bounced flash and card works great. But I was indoors with a 60-80 foot tan ceiling, or outdoors with nothing but blue sky and white clouds. Bouncing wasn't possible.

The harshness of the flash turned straight on is what I am trying to fix. I have used your method many times and will again... I do like your "paddle", I may try that as it looks like it will bounce a lot more light forward than a card the width of the flash. But when bouncing isn't possible and I have to go straight on with the flash, a card just doesn't cut it.

Here are some random shots I took at a friend's wedding last year. All of these were using the DIY-type of diffuser I linked to above, with the diffuser shaped to throw all the light forward. Flash is a 580EX on an RRS B85-B bracket on my 30D.

I see that the Lumiquest ProMax system has gotten some mentions. Finally inspired me to do some tests of it myself. Found myself a handy wooden model of a brain of a trout to pose for me.

First up is the 580 directly:

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