DIY Photography Hacks: boost your flash with foam and Velcro

DIY Photography Hacks: boost your flash with foam and Velcro

Using flash to inject impact into your portraits involves more than just whacking it on top of your camera and firing off a few frames.

Even off-camera lighting needs pepping up now and again, so for those days when you need something special, why not use a flash spotlight effect using a home-made snoot and honeycomb?

With nothing more than some foam, black drinking straws and Velcro, found in most art shops, you can make a flashgun light modifier that you’re bound to use time and time again.

01 Attach some Velcro
Stick a strip of ‘hooked’ self-adhesive Velcro tightly around the top of the flashgun. Make sure it butts right up against the flash head and leave the seam on the top.

02 Channel the light
Make a snoot by cutting a strip of thin black craft foam 8cm wide and long enough to wrap around your flash. Stick Velcro on the foam so it fits snugly.

03 Channel the light
Make a snoot by cutting a strip of thin black craft foam 8cm wide and long enough to wrap around your flash. Stick Velcro on the foam so it fits snugly.

04 Perfect your snoot
Trim the straws with scissors or a knife so the honeycomb fits inside your snoot. Roll the straws in your hands to shape them, and then attach a strip of Velcro to the end.

05 Finishing touches
Unwrap the snoot, fit the honeycomb and Velcro it back together. Fit your snoot to your flash and point it directly towards the area you want to highlight in the frame.

06 Try it out
Spot-lit flash will give your portraits a creative edge. Experiment by varying the flash’s distance from the subject. Moving closer produces a strong, small spot.

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