TBH don't bother just get a stofen type diffuser. same effect and you look like less of a **** lol
Stofen diffusers are strictly for indoor use only. Anybody using them outdoors is wasting their time and wasting flash range.
Softness of flash light is made up of two key areas:
1. Bounce
2. Diffuse
The size of the light source is the main concern when you're looking for more natural results. The larger the source of light coming from your flash, the softer and more appealing the result becomes. If you bounce off a ceiling or wall then the ceiling or wall becomes the new light source. And because this new light source is hundreds of times larger than the head of your flashgun, the light reflected back onto the subject is much softer and more natural.
That's why a Stofen is so effective indoors. The Stofen spreads the light right out across the room so it bounces back off ceilings, walls, doors and your Uncle Bob's shiny head etc. That's also why a Stofen should ALWAYS be used with the flash head tilted up at 45 degrees. Using a Stofen straight on is a waste of time.
If you're outdoors or in a large hall a Stofen is useless. That's when you've got to resort to the more silly looking flash modifiers from Lumiquest and Mr Fong. They may look stupid but they work extremely well. I favour the Lumiquest models but that's just my own opinion.
Using a bounce unit such as the Lumiquest Pocket Bouncer effectively provides a small ceiling for your flash to bounce off. And because this little ceiling is 5 or 6 times the size of your flash head, the light it fires at your subject is much softer.
To take it a step further you can then also diffuse the light in addition to bouncing it. Using the Lumiquest Big Bounce as an example, it not only provides a little ceiling for your flash, it also diffuses the light through its diffusion screen creating an even softer result. The downside is that you lose more flash range. My advice would be to get the smallest diffuser/bouncer you think you can get away with. The results from the Big Bounce and larger softboxes are superb when taking portraits of individuals and small groups but you couldn't use one to take a picture of a group of 30 people in a hall because you wouldn't have enough flash power.
Also remember, the larger the light source becomes the more range you lose from your flash.
Take a look at
this site. If you click on some of their Lumiquest products there are some videos that demonstrate what I am talking about. Unfortunately there is no mention of Fong diffusers but it is still useful info for people wondering what diffusers and bouncers are all about.
How do I know all this? I take a LOT of portraits (indoors and outdoors) and learning this stuff has helped immensely.
