The 5 Seconds Flash Bouncer/Gel Holder
Brian Carey (site, Flickr) just sent me a very cute mod/hack to create a flash bouncer (much like the omni bounce) only it can be made in 5 seconds and it folds crumbles flat.
It allows your strobe to fire light in all direction much like a bare bulb studio flash. And aside from providing a bare bulb mode on your strobe, it also doubles as a gel holder.
Read Brian's Flash Bouncer/Stopper/Gel holder tutorial after the jump
To illustrate the uses here are two images taken with this wonderful and sophisticated device:
Flash + bare bulb mode
Flash + gel holder
For many years I, like many of you, have been trying to find a flash diffuser/bouncer I’d be satisfied with. I bought some, made some out of different materials but I was never happy and kept looking.
Now I can say I finally made one I’m happy with and can use in many applications. Also a couple of things I like about it is it didn’t cost a cent to make and takes up no room in your camera bag!
My camera bag was often packed so tightly, even the tiniest of space was hard to find.
I made it out of packing material. It is very flexible and can be left on the flash, can be put in your pocket (and you won’t even know it’s there) and also serves as a gel holder. It will work great to convert your flash to bare bulb mode indoors and as a gel holder outdoors.
Build Instructions
1. Place the flash over the material and draw out lines around the flash extending 1½ inches, 4cm around the flash. Draw lines from the corner of the flash to the corner of the material and cut along these 4 lines.
2. Fix the material around the flash and tape in place. Don’t tape it to tightly, you want to be able to remove put it back on easily.
3. The final product
4. Doubled as a gel holder
A small word of warning: the if you are using packaging material for this, be aware of heat. Using the flash with full power pops rapidly can melt the paper. So fire gently :) Another option is to use baking paper like this mod does.
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Comments
heat
Doesnt the heat generated by the light kind of melt or burn the packing material which is made out of plastic?
and second... how do you fix the gel on the packing material? with some more adhesive tape?
gabriel, italy
www.gabecnc.it
re: heat
You have a good point, Gabriele.
I would not go popping like a mad man on full power with this. Another option is to use baking paper which is more heat resistant. I have updated the post on this.
Heat
Hi Gabecnc, I wouldn't run the flash to hard with this on it. I just lay the gel inside and remove when I need to!
Brian
A bad one
It seems as if the white thing blocks the flash light.
There are better diy solutions for that one...
I like the portability of
I like the portability of this, and it is similiar to some on the market.
Great Idea
Thanks a lot for the tip. I'll put it in practice.
Brilliant!
Thank you so much for this post! I too have been looking for a good flash diffuser. Presently, I use toilet paper on my flash. It looks funny, but I don't care. It doesn't hold up at all (obviously). This is a much better solution!
Double ply or single?
Do you use double ply or single ply for the toilet paper? Maybe double for a softer feel. Sometimes toilet paper can come in various colors that can double up as colored gels.
So Easy
Thanks for the great but simple tip.
I'll be doing this next!
diffuser size
As with the diffuser dome that comes with a flash there will be very little difference due to the size of the diffuser . All it will do is waste energy . Try a comparison with and without the diffusion paper on front of the flash - there will be very little difference .
re: diffuser Vs/ bouncer
Hi Desmond,
This is a good point about this device acting like a diffuser. As you noted it hardly provide any since it makes very little change to the size of the light source.
But, this is not a diffuser - it is a bouncer. what it will do is throw the light in every direction rather than in a forward beam. If you are in a closed space with white walls, the reflected light will do the work for you, as far as shadows go.
If you are outside that you are correct, it does very little other than knocking a few stops off, but still useful as a gel holder
Diffuser size
Hi Desmond your right the size of the diffuser is most important, the larger the light source relative to the subject the softer the light. This does provide a small increase in effective size and a little more if moved away from the flash head. It certainly has its limitations but it also has some uses.
Even wasting energy has its applications. For example I took this shot, “One Night Under the Milky Way”, and had to “manually knock back” my flash power.
I was experimenting shooting high iso with flash and found my Vivitar flash, at it’s lowest setting 1/16 power, much too powerful so I had to place 12 or 13 paper towels over the flash to knock it back, to soak up the light. When I got home I cut out several folds of the material so that I would be able to place these inside this unit so I could use those for the same purpose!
It’s great to be able to experiment and try new things!
All the Best
Brian
very nice
i should try this...
thanks for tips
visit DIY collection : www.oneclickz.net
Great effect
Simple and useful!
Another example
Just digging through the archives and found another shot I did with this...
Brian
Thanks!
This was helpful, thanks :)
The Material
I wonder what white materials did you use in that tutorial? is that plain white paper or special kind of paper?
Thanks b4 for the wonderfull tutorial
Hi Anan, it is a thin foam
Hi Anan, it is a thin foam wrapping or packing materiel. Any soft flexible translucent material should do. If you have any more questions please feel free to ask.
All the best
Brian Carey
http://briancareyphotography.com/
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