over the holidays..christmas morning in Indiana left us with a still-dark-outside-morning scene for opening presents.
not exactly your ideal setting for taking good memorable shots with that natural light that i like so much. i hate orangy light, too bright (blown-out) faces, or blurry kids which is what i usually get when shooting inside. you know i often shoot on manual, but christmas morning had enough things to think about besides ISO and aperture so i wanted to just shoot on auto. plus, to be honest, i still have a long way to go to master inside photography to my own likings.
all that to say, i tried a little trick i heard from a friend about putting a white coffee filter in front of the flash to “diffuse” and soften the light and wow, i was so impressed with the results!
take a look at the difference: (there were all inside with little to no natural light and incandescent overhead lighting)
–all photos were on full auto with flash–
i think even the skin tones are just so much more natural when the flash is used with the coffee filter.
another example: we were just playing around in our kitchen (after dark the other day). no natural light and incandescent overhead lights. both shot on full auto with internal flash.
the second one is definitely not a perfect photo, but so much better than the first with no filter.
there are actual flash diffusers and flash bouncers that you can buy, but for me, an amateur, this little tip works great in situations where i have less than ideal lighting and want something quick, easy, and effective. there will always be a coffee filter in my camera bag from now on!
what do you think? have you tried the coffee filter trick? do you own/use a “professional” flash diffuser or are you strictly a NO FLASH photographer?
time to link up what you’ve been photographing this week! if there are pictures, you can link.
i’m going to be picking a few of my favorites and facebooking/tweeting about them so be ready!
have a blessed weekend, friends~
I love this tip! I’ve also seen where you put a business card underneath pointed up to redirect the light. I need to try both. I’ll be back to link up tomorrow.
Thanks for the tip Andi. I am definitely going to try it!
Great tip! I hate my flash, and all the shadows..I will take things outside to get pictures, Thanks for sharing this, I am deffinately trying this!
What an awesome tip!! Can’t wait to try
that is an awesome idea! i will definitely have to stick some coffee filters in my camera bag.
ps! it’s so exciting seeing people from my own hometown blogging/being creative! very, very cool! keep up the awesome work
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xo,
aubrey e
great photos! i wish to have a dslr so I can take photos like those.
I’m a tip junkie! I’ve heard of putting a milk jug handle over the flash, but never a coffee filter… thanks for the new trick!
I love that last shot. He looks so handsome!
That’s pretty darn cool!
Very cool. Looks a lot better! Thanks for sharing.
I have lots of trouble with my photos inside too! Thanks!
Thanks so much for the tip — love it!
that’s such a great filter! I can’t tell you how many photos were ruined by the flash
that is such an awesome tip!!! I’ve never thought about that before. I’m gonna try it!
Coffee filters are a great idea! I have used tissue paper in the past, which worked o.k. too. My daughter has used tape! I mostly use an attached flash that I bounce now, but when I use the pop up flash I sometimes use The Puffer (from Gary Fong) ,which works fine, but not necessarily better than the homemade ones.
Your little man is so cute in that hat!
What a great tip… the coffee filters! I never would have thought of that!
I like to use wax paper to cover the flash
Wow! Thanks for sharing that!
Great pics! I love that second one! Thanks for the tip
I got a couple photo scoops for Christmas and have had fun playing around with them. One of them is regular and one is golden, or something along those lines. See my use of technical photography words, haha! But I am loving them because I also am a serious hater of using my flash! Thanks for hosting!