Tips and tricks (part 1)

Trying out some new tips from other photographers.

Shooting assignments always slow down for me this time of year (not much racing going on) so I find myself busy with other business projects and a lot of reading.

Some of that reading nets some interesting tips that I’ve recently tried in my photography. These are some of the ones that I found most useful (or most ridiculous!)

Cheapo flash diffuser

One challenge I’ve had taking indoor pictures of family members (for fun, not profit) is the blown-out image the flash makes especially when using my 18-55mm lens. It just makes them all look like they are wearing some extreme Goth makeup. Not the effect one is looking for when sending pics to family for the holidays.

It tried cellophane tape over the flashhead but that just gave a really dead looking color to their skin (very, very blue shifted light). Of course a custome white balance fixed it but what a pain to setup each time. I needed another solution. And voila.. a few weeks later I read a tip sent in by a magazine reader.

Select one of the semi-transparent white 35mm film canisters. Cut off the end (remove the cap from the other of course, split it and slip that over the pop-up flash head on the DSLR (or whatever you have). Well, guess what. It works, and works well! I can get right in close to the subjects and the light and skin tones look very natural!

Others to follow...