Photography DIY: Diffusion Domes

Final Result

To demonstrate the effectiveness of the diffuser, I set up a flash softbox and photographed the face of it at f/11 at 1/250. This shutter speed eliminates all ambient light and demonstrates only the results of the flash itself. As you can see in the image on the left with no flash diffuser, the face of the softbox has a focused hotspot in the center with a rapid falloff, while the image on the right (with the dome diffuser installed) softens and spreads the light much more evenly across the face of the softbox.

Keep in mind that the diffuser absorbs about 1.25 stops of light, so the image on the right was brightened by 1.25 stops in Camera Raw. You could compensate for this extra 1.25 difference by increasing the flash power, adjusting the aperture setting on your camera, or bumping it in processing, as I did.

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Looking for something else? Check out this review on a favorite item around here for your iPhone, the OlloClip. Tom Green has an online video tutorial (free!) for Creating WepPage Comps. 

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