I've had a Speedlite 430 EXII for quite some time, but I've admittedly not used it very much. It's quite cumbersome for outdoor shots and as I don't have (a) a wireless / cable trigger, (b) a flash stand, or (c) walls in my home suitable for bouncing, it mostly gathers dust.
Rather than shell out on some accessories, I decided to make a few! What I really wanted to make this usable indoors (besides of a remote trigger, which I'll actually invest in soon) was a reflector and a diffuser.
So, while staring at an empty cardboard box that I was too lazy to get rid of, I decided I'd just make them!
The reflector looks a bit tacky, but I've since straightened out some of the creases and the surface looks a lot flatter now. I simply took a large plastic bowl and used the Stanley knife around the edge of the bowl to cut out a large circular shape. Then, using some scissors, I smoothed out the edges. I unrolled some aluminum foil carefully and placed the cardboard on it, I cut it from the roll, carefully folded it over the back and used some tape to tightly seal it down. Then I flattened out the surface with a book and it looks quite nice! Not had a chance to test it yet, but I'll do that tomorrow!
Next came the diffuser!
Naturally, I wanted a 'reusable' one, so the important part was measuring out the cardboard perfectly so that it'd fit onto the edge of my flash, and could be used regardless of the direction I chose to tilt it. This was the most time consuming part (mostly, because I was silly and actually taped it to fit over the top before making the final cuts) Then, when I was satisfied with the size, and it was taped and I could actually put it on the flash and take it off easily, I added the 'diffuse' material.
The diffuse material is actually a roll of sandwich paper. I was going to tape that on as well, but I decided to use an elastic band instead, as it'd make it easier to change the diffuse materials in the future (plus, it's just easier and more taught than with tape). I'm not sure how effective this will be yet. Mostly I did it just for the fun :) All of the tests will be tomorrow. I'll setup a scene with my tripod and so some tests with the reflector (I'll try bouncing the flash off the reflector, though I might get some odd silver lighting). I'll also try exactly the same scene with and without the diffuser, to see if it makes any noticeable difference. If not, I'll try either a different diffuse material, or I'll stack another sheet of the sandwich paper over it.
And... as you can see, it's totally legit!
I'm actually quite happy with what I've done. I feel a little bit creative and less lazy than usual :P The last DIY project I completed was the light box (below) and that was back in 2011! You can see the original lightbox post here: http://eye-gate.blogspot.com/2011/08/lightbox-project.html
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