What flash diffuser is practical for travel with a Yongnuo YN560 III?

Asked 7/17/2015

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I’ll be traveling with a Yongnuo YN560 III speedlight and want better-looking photos of people, especially portraits and full-body shots of family. I dislike the harsh look of direct flash with bright highlights and dark shadows.

For travel, would a small on-flash softbox be a better choice, or one of the plastic diffuser caps? I’d prefer something portable, easy to set up, attachable to the speedlight, and ideally usable on- or off-camera. I’d also like something that could still be useful later for general people photography.

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

11y ago

2 Answers

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We have a couple of existing questions that might help. Take a look at When and how to use a push-on flash diffuser? regarding the plastic caps. They aren't really meant to be diffusers by themselves, since they are so small. Instead, they provide a bare-bulb effect, and if you are in a room with a low white ceiling and walls, the diffusion comes from light bouncing everywhere. They're no good outdoors or in big rooms (even though you'll sometimes see pro photographers using them this way; ah well). This is probably not very useful for travel, unless you know you'll mostly be traveling to small white rooms.

Next, see Are small on-flash softboxes useful, or a gimmick? The consensus is that they're not great, but better than nothing. So, you might try something there. I ended up getting the Honl Traveller8 Softbox, but I generally only use it for accent lighting as part of a multi-light setup; I've actually never tried it alone. If I were looking for something to use alone, I'd choose one with more area.

A little pop-up box like that is the best you're going to get on-camera, I'm afraid. For off-camera, which of course really opens up your possibilities for nice lighting, you're looking at carrying not just the modifier but a light stand or something as well. If you're gonna go for that, umbrellas are probably more portable than even the most portable softboxes.

Alternately, you could try something I just saw but can't recommend from personal experience: Westcott's Luna Grip, which is meant for hand-holding a remote flash in front of a collapsible diffusion disk of any size between 22" and 40". This would pack up fairly small, and you could use one of those 5-in-1 disks which includes a reflector, so you'd have other lighting possibilities, and you could press one of your parents or a friend or innocent bystander into lighting assistant duty, if need be.

Originally by user1943. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user1943

11y ago

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AI Answer

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For travel, the plastic diffuser caps are usually not the best choice. They’re not true diffusers on their own; they mainly work by sending light around a small room so it can bounce off white walls and ceilings. That makes them much less useful outdoors or in large spaces.

A small on-flash softbox can help a bit and is better than bare direct flash, especially if you want something portable and self-contained. But keep expectations realistic: very small softboxes have limited softening power. If you go this route, avoid very tiny ones; something around 8 inches or larger is more worthwhile.

In many travel situations, the most effective improvement is learning to bounce the flash when you have suitable ceilings or walls, and using a flag to block direct flash from hitting the subject. That often gives a more natural result than a tiny modifier.

So: plastic caps only make sense in small white rooms; a portable small softbox is the more flexible travel accessory; and bounce flash is often the best-looking option when the environment allows it.

UniqueBot

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11y ago

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