Cheap-o Bounce Flash
So bounce flash is a technique used to reduce the obnoxiously glaring built-in flash on most cameras (like my Nikon D-40). Usually you have a separate flash unit that you point straight up—instead of directly at—your subject. This evens out the illumination and “fills” in the dark areas.
Problem is the much-touted SB-400 is still $100+. An alternative could be to use the Lightscoop—but that’s basically just a mirror that mounts on your camera and redirects your flash up. And that’s ~$38 (including shipping). And I’m more of an “I want it now” kind of guy.
So if you hold a small pocket mirror in front of your flash, resting it on the mount in front of it, at an almost 30-degree angle, you get a slightly diffused flash. Not great by any means, but better than the crap you get from a directly-facing flash. Now, I bet if I just tape on some side walls to the mirror, then I got my own Lightscoop for… $0. I’ll try to post results of my experiments soon.
I took a picture of the wall in front of my desk. It’s night, with a low lamp in the far corner about 10 feet away. Here’s a shot with everything totally automatic, nothing fiddled:
And here it is with a mirror held at an angle in front of the flash:
Not great, but better. I’m going to have to explore this some more. Fiddle with some of the settings—I’ve read that when you use the Lightscoop, you should shoot in Manual mode with some specific settings.