bbrowner Loc: Chapel Hill, NC

You can try a coffee filter attached somehow. Worth a try. Maybe good maybe not

MiroFoto

Oh well. Thank you for the avalanche of tips.

I understand some of you have a point - get real and buy a decent flash. I have had the big Youngnuo . I just do not want to drag a big camera + big flash. I had in mind just a ???? piece of prismatic plastic card. Let me explore all your tips.

Thank you again for the quick response. Miro

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

Miro. I was serious. I use a piece of clean toilet paper as a diffuser. Try it. It works.t

paulrph1 Loc: Washington, Utah

[quote=MiroFoto]Can somebody direct me ?-- I would like to take some family portraits with my Nikon 7100. The pop up flash is a bit harsh I think. Yet it is weak and no flexible for bouncing off the ceiling. I wish to use low ISO. ( the same task in photobox for pictures of small items.

Is there any way how to spread=soften light from this small flash? I tried to use the plastic from a milk bottle, but it was not that great. Is anybody selling some prismatic material ? I am trying to avoid the shadows too.
You might try some cheese cloth or others soft white material that allows the light through and is not too dense.

Rick from NY Loc: Sarasota FL

The guy gets the point that a separate flash is better. He is asking about how to make the best out of the pop up flash.

http://www.dembflashproducts.com/products/pop-up/

I seldom use the pop up flash, but for times when I do not have my dedicated flash, the above product improves the pop up results by a lot. I have one of these in my bag anytime I am using a body that has a pop up - just in case.

bobmcculloch Loc: NYC, NY

IMHO, you need two things for a start, a decent external flash with swings and tilts, you pick the brand, and a Lumiquest flash reflector, mine allows me to point the flash at the ceiling and it bounces the light toward the subject , gives a big wide light, little doors open to allow some light to hit the ceiling if you desire, now this does not have to be Lumiquest or even purchased, I have made several before I purchased mine, check it out on line and see what it is, check other brands or make one yourself, depends on how professional you need to look , this arrangement is a tremendous help in improving direct flash photos, the other aid I utilize is in the tilts or swings depending on design, whenever practical I move the flash head off to the side of the lens instead on on a lens axis, very easy with my Sigma Flash, not familiar with others so No comment on others, Bob.

rpavich Loc: West Virginia

As has been said, there is more going on here than just softening up your flash. The main issue is one of direction. If the flash and the camera come from the same angle, no amount of diffusing will make it look flattering. That's just a fact.

You need to have shadows; even soft ones, and that means that the light must come from some other direction than the camera's viewpoint.

So that means one of a couple of things.

1.) Get a speedlight that swivels and start learning to bounce flash. This is easy, and works great.

2.) Get a speedlight and a softbox or umbrella and a cheap wireless trigger set up.


Anything is better than on-camera flash.

rpavich Loc: West Virginia

We also get that, but what folks are trying to convey is; there IS no best of the pop up flash.

I'd rather buy the cheesiest crap speedlight and bounce it or take folks outside and use a bedsheet to scrim the sun rather than use the pop up flash.

Heck...I'd take them into open shade before I'd do that.

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

The best use is not to use it to directly light the subject with the pop-up... put it in commander mode to control other flashes.

catchlight.. Loc: Wisconsin USA- Halden Norway

Try the Gary Fong Puffer for 24.95:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1010804-REG/gary_fong_puf_pls_puffer_plus_flash_diffuser.html

Rick from NY Loc: Sarasota FL

" there IS no best of the pop up flash."

I disagree. While I would only use the pop up as a last resort, if I did not have my external flashes with me and I needed some fill, the pop up can be useful. There is a "best" way to use the pop up which might not be the best way to shoot a flash image. Of course your first choice would be to mount a flash, reposition the subject or use a diffuser, but do not dismiss the tiny little pop up that most all of us love to malign. I have used it successfully outdoors in cases where I need a little catch light in the eyes or open up some shadows under eye-sockets, noses or chins and I have nothing else with me. I learned a long time ago that there are no absolutes in photography. Learn how to make do with what is available at hand. If you shoot a body with a pop up flash, learn how to use it for the infrequent emergency situations where there are no other options.

rook2c4 Loc: Philadelphia, PA USA

I've been doing this for years - works great!

CaptainC Loc: Colorado, south of Denver

NO. Read Gene's post. The ONLY way to soften light is to make the source BIGGER.

latebloomer Loc: Topeka, KS

Try some bubble wrap. You might be surprised on how well it works.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Buy an accessory flash, off-camera shoe cord and a flash bracket.

An accessory flash has a lot of advantages over the built-in. It will nearly always be a lot more powerful and still recycle much faster. Built-ins rely upon and rapidly drain the camera's battery, reducing the number of shots you can take... while an accessory flash has it's own, separate power supply. Finally, built-in flashes are located in the worst possible place for redeye and ugly shadow problems. The accessory flash positioned off to one side and higher up using a flash bracket will greatly improve things.

Try to avoid bouncing at all, because you'll always be at the mercy of the color of the bounce surface and wasting much of the light output from the flash, forcing it to fire more strongly which will cause it to recycle more fully and slowly.

Instead use the flash directly, not bounced, and modify the flash's output with some sort of diffuser.... a mini-softbox or translucent panel of some sort or similar. For more dramatic lighting effects, move the flash farther off-camera and control it wirelessly. Radio controller/trigger on the camera and a receiver at the flash are the best way... Some cameras have built-in wireless but it typically relies upon rapid white-light flashes from the built-in to communicate, which limits where you can locate the off-camera flash, plus the strobing effect is pretty obnoxious. It is even possible to use multiple flashes off camera, if you have the time to set things up carefully.

If you get an accessory flash capable of tilting upward and/or rotating and simply must bounce, use some sort of bounce card or reflector (such as Lite Genius) that attaches to the flash. This puts you back in control with consistent bounce surface color and minimizes the waste due to the distance the light needs to travel. There's still some wasted light, but not nearly as much as when bouncing flash off a ceiling or wall. The only problem with bounce cards or reflectors mounted on the flash is that they tend to be a bit cumbersome.

There are some relatively inexpensive, but very capable accessory flashes. Look into Yongnuo and similar.

Flash brackets and off-camera shoe cords can be expensive, too... but simple, inexpensive generics can be found and work pretty well too.

There also are a range of prices for radio controller setups, if needed. Some are quite expensive... but others are relatively affordable.