How to Make a Camera Flash Diffuser
Use Styrofoam, Molding Compound, Tape and a Plastic Milk Carton
Nov 20, 2008
This project tells how to make a diffuser head that is perfectly sized for your removable flash. It is not for built-in flashes.
You will need:
- A piece of 3/16"-thick white Foam Board (styrofoam board), which is available at a crafts store.
- An empty plastic milk carton.
- A marking pen or carpenter's pencil.
- A tape measure.
- An 8 1/2"x11" sheet of paper.
- A utility knife
- Scissors.
- Modeling material to mold around the form. Usually this material comes is powdered form and is mixed with water. Do not use papier mache. Use a product that can be easily molded by hand and that does not shrink or crack and is lightweight after drying. Available at a crafts store
- A damp cloth or a few damp paper towels.
- Weatherseal tape or transparent tape. Weatherseal tape, which is used to apply insulation to doors and windows, is preferred because it is more easily removed and more durable than transparent tape. Hardware stores stock it.
Take Measurements and Make the Form
Wrap a tape measure somehwat loosely around the top of the flash. Write down this measurement, adding at least 2" to it. For the height, measure from the top of the flash to a point that will allow the diffuser to attach firmly without interferring with the operation of the flash. This will be, perhaps, 1" to 1 1/4". Now cut a piece of styrofoam board that is the height and total length described.
Mold the styrofoam around the top of the flash. To do this, you will need to cut part of the way, but not all the way through, at the lines/corners where you want to bend the foam around the flash. Use a utility knife to make the slight cuts. If the form is too long, cut off the excess. But make sure that before cutting, the two open ends touch each other. With a small piece of tape, tape the ends together and then try slipping the form off and on the flash a few times to make sure it is snug but removable.
Use tape to securely hold the ends together and to reinforce the outside of each bend/wraparound point. Again slip the form off and on a few times to make sure you still have the right fit. Now put your flash away until the modeling compound you will put on the form is dry.
Sculpt Modeling Mixture Around Form
Prepare the molding compound according to the manufactuer's instructions. Put the compound only on the outside of the form. Make sure the compound is on every part of the outside but not inside of the form. Also make sure no molding material gets on the surface on top of which you will lay and then tape the plastic diffusing material. Immediately wipe off any unwanted compound using a damp cloth or paper towel.
Let the diffuser head dry completely. This might take as long as three or four days. When dry, place the lightweight, rigid diffuser head over the flash and slip if off and on a couple of times. It should still fit snugly, yet come off and on easily. If it does not, you will have to start over. Using correct measurements to cut the styrofoam board and fitting the form around the flash properly before applying the modeling compound are key. Your final diffuser head might not look like a manufactured thing of beauty, but it is durable and gets the job done.
Making and Attaching the Diffusing Plastic
Put a piece of paper on top of the diffuser head and trace along the edges. From a plastic milk carton, cut a piece of flat plastic a little larger than the outline. Using scissors, cut off any plastic that extends beyond the edges of the head and round off the corners so they will not be sharp. Tape the diffuser plastic to the head along all sides but at the edges only.
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