Flash diffusers can improve your photography but they are not all created equally.

First of all, what are flash diffusers? They can come in all sizes and shapes, but basically they are a device that you attach to your external flash to soften the light from the flash, prevent shadows and provide an even illumination of light that provides a more natural look. They prevent the "hot flash" look. A harshly lit image can be caused when not using this device and can cause areas of the image to be clipped on highlight side. Typically when this happens, the areas that are clipped have pixels that have been lost and cannot be recovered(unless you shoot raw, but we won't go there).

A flash diffuser is a piece of clear or cloudy plastic that fits over the flash head. It can be rectangular, cylindrical, large or small in shape. The key is to increase the light source because the larger the light source, the softer the shadows. Flash diffusers are also known as light modifiers. With that being said, lets look at four of the most popular flash diffusers on the market today.

Lumiquest offers a variety of flash modifiers. Their Pro Max system has six pieces that are a mix of direct and bounce flash modifiers that can all fit in your camera bag. Each piece can also be purchased separately.More information can be found on the lumiquest website

The Lumiquest bounce card



Gary Fong, a ex-wedding photographer from California has been selling products that includes diffusers for the last couple of years. His more recent invention is the Lightspere. It is a rather odd shaped plastic dome (pictured below) that fits on to the flash head. His claim is that while most diffusers point light forward, the lightspere lights up the entire room.

More information on the Lightshere can be found on Gary Fong's website



The newest system on the block is the Ultimate Light Box Kit made by Harbor Digital Design. They claim to not be just a flash diffuser but a full-fledged lighting system. They offer a Pro-kit which includes a dome that enlarges the diffusion. They also offer a larger domes design that spreads light more evenly and over a wider are than a small flat surface.I recently saw an ad for this system and immediately ordered it. It has been sitting in the box for over two weeks, so now I have an excuse to open it up and experiment with it.

More information on this system can be found at Harbor Digital Design website

The Ultimate Light Box box with the large bounce card.




Omni-bounce by Stofen is a small white plastic covering that is custom-made to fit flash units.It is the exact size as the flash head so softening is kept to a minimum because it does not increase the light source significantly.

More information on this diffuser can be found at the Stofen website

The Stofen Omni-bounce

Pictured below is a globe shaped flash diffuser I purchased many years ago. I could not find it online anymore. It looks like it could be made out of a plastic milk container. See the results below to see how this light modifier softened the light and caused only a minimal shadow.



I apparently have a thing for diffusers because over the past 12 years, I have accumulated four different types, the most recent being the Ultimate Light Box.

I decided to test each one separately under the same conditions. Here are the results.




The globe-shaped flash diffuser


Lumiquest Bounce-card


Stofen Omni-bounce


The Ultimate Light Box


The Ultimate Light box with the large bounce card


All five photos above were shot at ISO 400 at f/8 in ETTL mode. The clear winner is the last image using the Universal Light Box with the large bounce card. The Lightsphere will be tested soon.
Click here to go to the camera toys page

Click here to go to the online course

Click here to return from the flash diffusers page to the home page.

footer for flash diffusers page