09 February, 2009

DIY Party Bouncer!

Had a bit of a play on the weekend when we went to help Flyingpops' friend Emily celebrate her birthday (she took over the whole of the Skimmington Castle pub in Reigate for the night)...it being a party I decided to try and mock up a party bouncer, and it kind of worked! All I did was borrow a card from Flyingpops (happened to be a Radley one, but any card will work as long as it's completely white on the back)...and hold it at a 45 degree angle in front of the flash (making sure there was a nice white ceiling above me) so as little as possible of the flash fell directly on the target, the subject then being lit by what bounces off the roof...and (when I was holding the card just right) it really did work!
Party Bouncer Okay
- you can see where some of the flash managed to creep over the top of the card here (I was holding it a little too low), but with a bit of cropping that one is a miracle compared to how it would have looked if the flash had fired straight on the subjects -
Party Bouncer Mistake
- this one was an example where it didn't really work (too much of the flash crept round the side on the left), but overall I'm extremely pleased, the shots look great, and no-one had to put up with being blinded by the flash going off - just need to figure out a way to keep the card in just the right place now (maybe some blu tac), as hand holding it was a bit of a fiddle (as you can see)...!

4 comments:

Absolute Beginner said...

Could have done without the side angle... but good technical idea there Fink! My memory is a *little* hazy but I am sure you took lots more?.. I dread to think actually ;-)

boohoo said...

You're not meant to be playing with your camera at a party - you're meant to be enjoying yourself! ;)

sam said...

Hi Fink

Hi Mark

My name is Sam, I am a reporter with Get Surrey (www.getsurrey.co.uk).

I am trying to build up more contacts in the east of the county so I might come to you for comments on local news stories at some point.

I would also appreciate it if you could give me a subtle 'heads up' when you hear of any breaking news in the area!

Where exactly do you live?

Sam
(sam.blackledge@surreyad.co.uk)

Twitter:

samblackledge

or

getsurrey

Unknown said...

Heh, yes, I did take loads AB, Flyingpops has the rest...

Ys, hey! Playing with shapes and light *is* enjoyable for me! ;)

Sam, I emailed you! It would be a pleasure (if you are okay with where I work)... ;)