Flash Accessories..what do they do?

[Markw]

Im thinking about picking up the Nikon SB-600 for my D90 and I was wondering what lightspheres do, also different gels. I uderstand that ceartain gels will help with tungsten lights, but what could black and other colors possibly be used for? I have given links to what Im talking about. If you could help me out..I would greatly appreciate it.

Whats the difference between the clear:
Gary Fong | P1 Lightsphere II Inverted Dome Clear | LS2-P1 | B&H

And the White?:
Gary Fong | C1 Lightsphere II Inverted Dome Cloud | LS2-C1 | B&H

Also, here are the gels I was talking about. What could all these colors be used for?
Rosco | Strobist 55-Piece Filter Kit With Gel Holder | | B&H

Thanks so much!
Mark

 

[Big Mike]

Flash Accessories..what do they do?

For the most part....they make money for the people who sell flash accessories.

 

[Overread]

They also fill up your toy....er...kit bag really quickly
Honestly my advice is to walk before you can run - its very easy to collect a lot of accessories which all have a sound use and application, but which will collect dust on your shelf since you don't do the right things to use them - or when you do they are still sitting on the shelf because they are not part of your common kit setup.

Get the flash - play with it - see how it works and how you use it and then start to think about what things you want to add to it to overcome your limitations or to extend your possibilities.
One of the fewer "essential" buys talked about is a diffuser for the flash - great for when using it pointing at or near to the subject and if your going to be flashing those lizards I would strongly recomend a lumiquest softbox for this - good for people, bugs, animals - mostly anything (ok there goes my little plug - wish I got paid for it )

 

[Markw]

Ha, yes. Thanks. Makes perfect sense. I have seen people walking around with these lightspheres on and I didnt know what they were for, so I figured Id ask. The way I figure it, the more accessories I know what to do with, the faster I can know what to do if I encounter the specific problem with the flash that they happen to solve. Basically, by asking these questions, I wanted to be more prepared. I always like to know everything, the ins and outs and all the details before I get anything. Thanks alot!

Mark

 

[Village Idiot]

Gels are important. I'm figuring you're not going to always be shooting in perfect light. Gels allow you to change the color of your strobe to match any ambient or any other sources you're using with your lights.

Most flashes are daylight temp, about 5600K. Shooting with a flash and WB set to daylight inside with tungsten lamps will give you white light from the flash and orange from the tungsten lights.

 

[newrmdmike]

in my experience they usually just get lost easily, or tossed aside. i agree with the village idiot about the gels though. I USE THE CRAP OUT OF GELS

 

[Dao]

Flash Accessories..what do they do?

For the most part....they make money for the people who sell flash accessories.

Are you sure about that?

I thought they sell them for fun.:er:


And gels can color your background too. (i.e. backdrop)

 

[inTempus]

The Fong is a waste of money for the most part. It has very limited application, and honestly every thing you do with the Fong you can do without the Fong if you learn how to use your flash.

Use a Sto-Fen ($11) defuser for the times you want to defuse the light with the flash pointed directly at the subject.

I own a Fong Lightsphere and it was a waste of $40. I never use it. The last time I used it was to post some sample pics for another thread... and you guessed it, the $40 Fong didn't do anything the $11 Sto-Fen couldn't do.

Get some gels and if you need a defuser, start off with the Sto-Fen.

 

[Big Mike]

Use a Sto-Fen ($11) defuser for the times you want to defuse the light with the flash pointed directly at the subject.

Please tell me you are not talking about the Omni-bounce. That thing is mis-used more often than the Fong Dong.

Simply putting an opaque plastic cap over your flash head, will not soften the light when shooting directly at your subject. If you are shooting with direct flash, the Lightsphere would do a better job, only because it's bigger than the Omni-bounce. But neither one of them is really that much bigger than a bare flash head, to make them worth using for direct flash IMO.

 

[Overread]

Use a Sto-Fen ($11) defuser for the times you want to defuse the light with the flash pointed directly at the subject..

Does the Sto-Fen really do that much with direct applied flash? I know their main intended use is for bounced flash rather than direct flash. Since the amount of softening you get is proportional to the area that the flash light is coming from the Sto-Fen can't be adding too much to the softening effect since its head size is about the same as that of the flash - but it does cut down a little of the power output (which might be what the difference in shots is showing - at which point flash exposure compensation could be used instead).
Something that activly increases the flash head size, would (or should) be a better option for diffusion - like a margerine tub with a covered front attached to the flash (if your cheap) or the softboxes (if you like flashy things ). That is at least true for direct aimed flash at the subject - when bouncing the wall becomes the light source and thus is a far larger area of light source

edit - Mike got there first - must learn to type faster!!!

 

[Dao]

Instead of buying the fong, maybe try those from this link first.

Home made flash diffusers: Lighting Technique Forum: Digital Photography Review

Bubble wrap seems to be very handy.

 

[fstop]

In cases where you have no other choice but direct flash (lack of walls, cieling or other gear) what do you guys recommend to diffuse light when taking shots of a person? I see Sto-Fen noted above, is that the consensus? What particular stofen gadget?

thanks

 

[inTempus]

Use a Sto-Fen ($11) defuser for the times you want to defuse the light with the flash pointed directly at the subject..

Does the Sto-Fen really do that much with direct applied flash? I know their main intended use is for bounced flash rather than direct flash. Since the amount of softening you get is proportional to the area that the flash light is coming from the Sto-Fen can't be adding too much to the softening effect since its head size is about the same as that of the flash - but it does cut down a little of the power output (which might be what the difference in shots is showing - at which point flash exposure compensation could be used instead).

 

[fstop]

inTempus, I'm just starting out and don't have a critical eye, but it certainly looks to diffuse well (at least better than bare) to me.

The styrofoam looks to have a coating so that it would have a tendency to flare some, typically the same result on actual skin tones? Just wondering if the diffuser result would be same, better or worse with actual skin tones. Perhaps a dumb question but depending upon someones complexion, I would think that mileage would vary? Not questioning your experiment, just curious if mileage does vary or not depending upon the subject.

The Stofen definitely helps IMO.

Thanks,

 

[inTempus]

The foam is painted a flat gray. It's not glossy, however the eyes are gloss black. The second shot shows the proper tone of the alien skin whereas the first shot shows it washed out by harsh light.

I use the Sto-Fen any time I point my flash directly at a subject. Here's a shot from last weekend. The Sto-Fen was used to flash this leaf. I balanced the light from the flash with the ambient light.

Here's another shot that was a test shot for the thread I mentioned previously, where I was duplicating a technique used by another poster who accomplished the same thing with his Fong. This was done with a Sto-Fen:

Is the Sto-Fen ideal for all situations? No. I would say there's no single light modifier that is universally useful. They all have their unique applications. But I've found my Sto-Fen is more useful in terms of diversity than my Fong is, so the Sto-Fen stays in my bag and the Fong sits in my closet.