A little bit crafty

Completely unrelated to my current projects, I decided to create something I have been meaning to do for a while now: a Flash Diffuser. The point of a flash diffuser is to try and soften the light that comes from a hot shoe mounted flash and give off a more natural light with pleasing shadows. I didn't want to just buy one because I didn't know how useful it might actually be. 

Creating my own seems to have the following benefits:

• Custom size, so it fits snug on my model of Flash
• An operational door (for changing diffuse)
• The ability to change diffusers (sheets of paper) means I can control the strength of light, as well as the colour (by using coloured paper)
• Cost under £1 to make using cardboard and duct tape.

This shows the "box" fitted nice and snug around the head of the Flash.

Can't say it's the neatest construction ever, but it's sturdy and holds well.

This shows the little "door" I created, which is currently fixed with masking tape for now. This opens and paper can be inserted and held in place properly. I specifically added protruding corners so that everything held in place.

This shows the "door" open and a piece of test paper is inserted.

Finally, this shows the "door" closed and the Flash shooting. It's a lot softer than the flash on it's own.

Here are a few quick snaps I did to test the results:

Note: The shadow under the knife in the first shot is from the ceiling light, not the flash!