Technique on shadow softening???

[IzzieK]

Thanks for the tips. I will surely remember that when I get lazy to go upstairs. I am just learning to shoot food when I did I lot of these messes. Now I am more informed and ready when I tackle my next shots of anything...thank you again for your contribution to my knowledge. I will start practicing and practicing as soon as I can...love cooking, might as well incorporate photography with it...

Hi, IzzieK and to the person who couldn't see the shadows (relatively small but definitely there and distinct)-

In general, the easiest thing to do is to add a diffuser of some sort. I found one that fits over my onboard flash and another one that fits over the remote flash. I also use my umbrella (white on one side, silver on the other, and loose enough stitching to be able to turn the umbrella inside out).

For crisis situations when I don't bring my toolkit of pieces and parts, I have used a piece of Kleenex or tissue paper wrapped around the light source and stuck down with blue painter's tape (which doesn't leave sticky scum on my camera). I did this once when I had to shoot a shiny paint job with lots of glittery things on it and didn't have any expectation of even needing a supplemental light source. Whew! I really didn't want to drive on that road again; it had potholes bigger than my RAV!

virginia

[Manfred M]

In general, the easiest thing to do is to add a diffuser of some sort. I found one that fits over my onboard flash and another one that fits over the remote flash. I also use my umbrella (white on one side, silver on the other, and loose enough stitching to be able to turn the umbrella inside out).

A diffuser added to your small flash diffuses the light; BUT IS STILL A SMALL LIGHT SOURCE. This means you will still get harsh shadows, unless you do something else (like bounce light). It will give you wider light distribution, though.

Your umbrella = large light source which will give you softer shadows.

[Colin Southern]

A diffuser added to your small flash diffuses the light; BUT IS STILL A SMALL LIGHT SOURCE. This means you will still get harsh shadows, unless you do something else (like bounce light). It will give you wider light distribution, though.

Your umbrella = large light source which will give you softer shadows.

I think a lot of people mis-understand the purpose on of-flash diffusers; the purpose isn't to soften/diffuse the light directly (as you say, it's still a small light source so it doesn't make any difference) -- it's to diffuse the beam of light so it bounces off wall, ceilings, floors, and other reflective objects ... THAT'S what's doing the softening.

For what it's worth, in my experience, Lightshpere's are great at doing that, and Stofen's are hopeless at doing that.

[Manfred M]

I think a lot of people mis-understand the purpose on of-flash diffusers; the purpose isn't to soften/diffuse the light directly (as you say, it's still a small light source so it doesn't make any difference) -- it's to diffuse the beam of light so it bounces off wall, ceilings, floors, and other reflective objects ... THAT'S what's doing the softening.

For what it's worth, in my experience, Lightshpere's are great at doing that, and Stofen's are hopeless at doing that.

My comments were directed more at the Stofen style diffuser; the only real advantage I've seen is that the "hot spots" are not quite as harsh when using direct flash. I haven't seen any significant advantage to using a Stofen with an umbrella or bounce.

I don't have the Lightsphere, but know a couple of wedding photographers that swear by them, for precisely the reason you give; they throw light in all directions so the bounced light is very soft.

[Colin Southern]

My comments were directed more at the Stofen style diffuser; the only real advantage I've seen is that the "hot spots" are not quite as harsh when using direct flash. I haven't seen any significant advantage to using a Stofen with an umbrella or bounce.

I think of Stofens as the "UV Filter" of the diffuser world ... great for flash window protection, but that's about it!

I don't have the Lightsphere, but know a couple of wedding photographers that swear by them, for precisely the reason you give; they throw light in all directions so the bounced light is very soft.

I think I've got about 4 ... and none of them fit any of my 600EX-RTs!


They really do work great; not just spreading the light around, but also throwing a component forward. Gary Fong got all kinds of sh*t thrown at him for his "over-priced Tupperware", but (a) they work and (b) kudos to the guy for coming up with it first (I have little respect for those who ride someone else's shirt-tails and produce knock-off products when someone else has done all the hard work of designing the product and introducing it to the market).

Somewhat ironically, a plastic milk bottle also (apparently) works pretty well; bit more of an issue using that in a professional environment though!

[Tony M]

Interesting thread. Has anyone tried the Kindle version of the Light Science and Magic book on a tablet such as an iPad or Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1?

Tony

[Manfred M]

Interesting thread. Has anyone tried the Kindle version of the Light Science and Magic book on a tablet such as an iPad or Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1?

Tony

Mine is on both a Google Nexus 7 and an original 10" ASUS T101 Transformer. The only downside is that the image files do not scale. This seems to be Kindle "feature".

[Colin Southern]

Interesting thread. Has anyone tried the Kindle version of the Light Science and Magic book on a tablet such as an iPad or Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1?

Tony

Yep - I significantly prefer it to the printed version.