a silly question about diffuser

[wisena]

so just like the title said..when and where should i use it or shouldn't i ? is it really necessary?

the shop gave me three kinds of diffuser colors , white, orange and blue..damn...

thanks for the help

you guys ROCK !! \m/

[inkista]

We're talking about flash? Basically, you want to make sure the flash illumination color-matches the ambient lighting, so that when you white balance in post production, all the light matches. The flash's light tends to be white-blue.

So, for example, if you were shooting under incandescent lights, the background would be orange, and your subject would be slightly blue. Color-correcting for the subject would make the background more orange, correcting for the background would make your subject more blue. If you'd put the orange diffuser on the flash, the color would match, and you can more easily color-correct. Flourescents are generally green, though, so I'm a little confused as to why you got a blue one.

[wisena]

thanks inkista, now i get it, so does it come also with spreading the light? so i wouldnt got a "spotlight" which the flash usually tend to do?

i dont know how i got the blue one, when i tried it on, it turned my wife to a smurfette haha

[inkista]

When it comes to softening the light, opinion can be divided, so it's kind of a yes/no answer. The only way to guarantee having soft light is to use a large light source. Putting a little plastic diffuser on top of a flash doesn't really make it a lot bigger. This type of diffuser typically works best indoors, because it throws the light out in all directions where it can bounce off the walls and it's the bouncing off the walls that makes the light softer.

Just putting a little plastic cap on the flash, but still pointing the head directly at your subject and shooting may soften the light a little, but not nearly as much as using something larger, like an umbrella as a diffuser. Bouncing the light may actually be a better solution if you're indoors. Outside or in large spaces, though, you may have nothing to bounce the light off of.

[wisena]

now it's getting more clearer..thanks a lot inkista for your help, and thanks for tha link, it really helps :beer: