The built-in flash on your DSLR camera has many limitations such as short effective flash range, fixed coverage, etc. It may also be limited by the lens you use and the type of photography you want to do. One problem is that the light coming out of the flash may be blocked by the lens (or lens hood) when shooting subject at close range. That’s exactly what happened to a flickr user:
I’m having this problem of having shadows on my pictures whenever I take shots which is close-up and having less light. So I go with my built-in flash on my Nikon D90. I always use my hood lens for protection but I’m having these shadows bellow my pictures. What should I do? Should I change my hood lens or just remove it when there is less light? I’m using a 18-200mm lens and the hood lens that comes with it is pretty big. Please help. I need some tips.
Many others responded with suggestions to take off the lens hood (will help to a certain extend) or get an external flash. Indeed, an external flash such as Nikon SpeedLight
SB-400, SB-600, SB-800, SB-900, and the macro photography centric R1C1, are great light sources for creative photography especially when used off-camera. It would be very easy to avoid the lens or lens hood shadow. Read More…
Posted in
Photography DIY on April 21st, 2009.
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Many if not most DSLR cameras come with built-in flash unit. It certainly is convenient for snapshots and most of the time the results are decent for casual photos. The limitations of the built-in flash are well known to many especially the very flash-look photos caused by harsh lighting.
To illustrate the limitations of built-in flash, I used the following two set of photos. In each set, the one on the left was taken using built-in flash of a Nikon D200 and the one on the right was taken with the same camera but with a SB-600 Speedlight bounced off 60-degree angle to 8′ celling. I also attached a Sto-Fen Omni-Bounce Diffuser
to soften the light further.
Read More…
Posted in
Other on December 18th, 2008.
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Plastic milk jug for the shell, a piece of packaging material for the reflection liner, some gaffers tape, rubber bands, and some tissue paper – these are all you need to make this DIY diffuser. See more pictures of this setup and a test shot. The result is not bad at all for for this easy do-it-yourself (DIY) portable softbox.
