on-camera flash modifier – the black foamie thing

Latest update:
Check out this video clip where I demonstrate how I use the black foamie thing to flag the light from my on-camera flash.

In essence, the (in)famous Black Foamie Thing is just a simple little device that I use to shield my speedlight’s output from directly hitting my subject when I bounce my flash forward. It has another benefit in that since I usually fasten to the ‘underside’ of the flash-head, it blocks light from hitting people in the face that are standing behind me or next to me. It really does help with being more unobtrusive with flash.

soft, directional light from my flash

This is the main reason why I use this piece of black foam on my speedlight when I use flash indoors. The moment I start bouncing my flash ‘towards’ my subject, instead of over my shoulder, away from my subject … then I stand the chance of there being too much direct flash on my subject. This usually results in hard shadows and specular reflections on skin. The light from direct on-camera flash rarely looks good. Yes, and in my opinion that would include ring-flash - ugly light which somehow has become trendy again. But that’s another story.

What I am trying to achieve in bouncing my flash when shooting indoors, is directional light that is also soft. I get the light to be directional in not bouncing the flash directly behind me, and also not bouncing the flash off the ceiling above me. Bouncing flash off to the side, and even slightly ‘towards’ your subject can give you strikingly dramatic light from just an on-camera speedlight. Here’s an example from a recent workshop:

To my eye this looks surprisingly good for merely one on-camera speedlight (and allowing some of the ambient light to come into play.) What we’re mimicking here is ‘short lighting’ as it is usually achieved in a studio.

Also read this follow-up article on why I chose a piece of black foam over something that is white.

Then there is an additional side benefit to using this piece of black foam to shield my light:

- blocking flash light from directly hitting other people in the eyes

This becomes important too. In bouncing flash behind you, or off to the side, you are wasting a huge amount of light from your flash. It really isn’t the most efficient use of your speedlight’s output .. but it does look pretty. With this, you are dumping a lot of light .. and this can be hugely annoying to guests and other people standing close to you.

If you look here, you can see that the light from the flash is now directed upwards, and very little will be able to sear the retinas of people next to you.

Now, what I also wanted to show with this post, is that I manipulate this piece of black foam.

The original post on my favorite flash modifier, showed a neat piece of black foam .. and also longer than I usually have it when I actually shoot. In practice, I fold it, and shape it the way I want it to be .. juuuust enough to block the light in the way I want it to be. The piece of foam can be slid around the flash-head, and it can also be slid up and down the flash-head. I position this half-snoot / flag in whatever way I need to at any particular point .. depending on what I want to do with the light from my flash.

.
And finally, another benefit ..

- it is inexpensive and simple.

This little device is all about the best quality of light you can get from your on-camera speedlight. There is no expensive ver.2 that needs to be bought again next year. It is a cheap piece of black foam held into place by two hairbands. That’s it … oh, and the thought you need to put into HOW you use your flash.

In the end all this is NOT about a specifically shaped device with an a fantastically designed strap; and manufactured to tight specifications and engineered perfectly … this revolves entirely around technique. HOW you use the light from your speedlight.

It divorces the gear-head approach; (“this device on top of my flash will solve all my flash problems!”) .. from an artistic approach; (“what do I want to achieve with my light?”)

At the very center of all this, this is about technique in lighting.

… and there are always more articles on flash photography being added to the list.

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95 Comments »

I’ve been using this “black flag” idea since reading your original post about it…quite a while back I’ve more recently made one with a velcro band attached to hold it on. Thanks for continuing to share your techniques!

Comment by Alan B — November 21, 2009 @ 11:52 pm
Love using this now, took a little to get used to it but it is finally coming together for me.

Always love reading about this as well.

Comment by Rene Skrodzki — November 22, 2009 @ 2:56 am
Neil
Would it be possible to do a plan sketch of the above shot of the model.It looks like the flash was pointing to your camera left,am I corrrect.Maybe I am a bit slow but a small diagram would really help me understand the lighting process you take to produce these fantastic portrait on-camera flash shots..Thanks Paul

Comment by Paul Keith Dickinson — November 22, 2009 @ 6:55 am
Paul, here is a diagram of approximately how I bounced the flash.

As mentioned before, it is an inefficient way to use the speedlight, but the light that returns is sweet indeed .. and directional. As you can see from the diagram, I use the piece of foam to flag the light so that no light from the camera’s point of view falls directly on the model.

Neil vN

Comment by Neil — November 22, 2009 @ 7:04 am
Hi Neil,

Since reading your articles on the black foam half-snoot, I’ve been using a cine-foil version as I had no black foam to hand. It works great but allows more control in shaping and folds even smaller than a sheet of foam.

Comment by briandaly — November 22, 2009 @ 8:07 am
Hi, I have been using the “black foamie thing” too – I made it from a mouse pad and velcro – works perfect and it is the cheapest part of my equipment :)

Comment by Tom — November 22, 2009 @ 9:37 am
Hello sir
I am a great fan of you and your techniques. just a query, what flash mode to use when using this black foam or any other flash modifier.
I use Nikon speedlite sb800 with D80 camera lens Af18-70mm ED

Comment by kamal Govil — November 22, 2009 @ 10:13 am
Kamal .. typically I’d be in TTL mode on my flash, since when I use on-camera flash, I am most likely moving and not in a constant position relative to my subject. The moment that my subject is in a static position relative to my lights, then I would use manual flash .. and different methods of creating softer light.

Neil vN

Comment by Neil — November 22, 2009 @ 11:43 am
Hey Neil,
Great site, great images and great book.
And thanks, someone finally said it . . .
“…ring-flash – ugly light which somehow has become trendy again.”
_rob

Comment by Rob Flores — November 22, 2009 @ 2:50 pm
Hi Neil,

I must admit I rarely use flash photography but when I do I use techniques that I have learned from you.

In this post you made the comment “In bouncing flash behind you, or off to the side, you are wasting a huge amount of light from your flash. It really isn’t the most efficient use of your speedlight’s output .. but it does look pretty.”

If this is the case why not make a black foamie thing with a white colored or reflective surface on the side that faces the flash in order to bounce just a little bit more light?

Comment by Warren — November 23, 2009 @ 10:20 am
Warren .. check out the original post, and scroll down to comment #37 with the image of the bride preparing. The explanation is there why I chose something black to flag and direct my flash.

Neil vN

Comment by Neil — November 23, 2009 @ 11:47 am
Hi Neil

In the interest of saving some time with trial and error, what dimension of your ‘foamie thing’ seems to work the best overall?

Thanks,
Bill

Comment by Bill White — November 23, 2009 @ 12:28 pm
Bill, it’s about 6×7 inches .. but as you can see from the images here, I fold it and shape it and pull it back as I need. So the actual dimension is usually quite smaller.

Neil vN

Comment by Neil — November 23, 2009 @ 12:48 pm
To those who use velcro: I too had velcro on mine until I went to the workshop and what I learned is that the velcro is a real limiter, and the hairbands are a key part of the system as well. These allow, as Neil points out in the original post, one to slide the 1/2-snoot around arbitrarily and easily depending on which way you are pointing. No more velcro and things are working that much better…(except my daughter is minus a couple of hairbands — for which I blame the cat).

Comment by Andrew — November 23, 2009 @ 1:55 pm
Very interesting.

Now stop teasing us!!! :-)

And give us a tutorial post on a few techniques and examples.

By they way, I started scrolling down the post you suggested we should look at for an explanation as to why you use a BLACK foamie (http://neilvn.com/tangents/2007/12/13/my-choice-of-flash-modifiers/), and therein looked for Comment #37 but I note that when I began scrolling the comments are not numbered. So how do we find Comment #37 (short of counting each and every comment)?

Thanks in advance.

Regards

Comment by plevyadophy — November 23, 2009 @ 5:43 pm
You want more tips and tutorials on flash photography and lighting techniques?
Then I suggest you check this link out!

As for the numbering of the posts .. it’s a hiccup with Internet Explorer. Only some numbers show up in IE, such as track-back links. The numbering works properly in Firefox and Safari though. But .. that’s why I specifically mentioned to look at the post with the image of the bride preparing.

Neil vN

Comment by Neil — November 23, 2009 @ 6:27 pm
Neil -

Just started reading your book – love it. I am looking forward to a sequel called “Flash x2 – Make effective use of 2nd flash, or assistant…”

So, I happened to have black and white foam around, which resulted in immediate experimentation upon reading your posting. Ok, I now understand that black is used because…

1. Any “colored” foam will impart a color cast
2. White foam, even pretty thick stuff glows pretty bright when flaging a flash…

So, I am playing with a two layer version. White on the inside ( > flash efficiently ?) and black on the outside…

Thanks for sharing your knowledge and skill.
Erik

aka ErikCincinnati on flickr.

Comment by Erik — November 23, 2009 @ 10:05 pm
Yep….the “black foamie thing” is a great tool. I use it and love how simple and effective it is. I bought some cheap stretchable velcro and made a strap rather then the hair bands you use. Works like a charm.

Thanks for this update on a wonderful invention.

Comment by Tom K. — November 24, 2009 @ 1:07 am
Neil,

Since I read your book, I’ve been using this black foam + hair band contraption. And this thing almost never leaves my flash. Recently though, I’ve learned that if I use smaller apertures like f5.6, my 430EXII is sometimes not powerful enough (even at higher ISOs) when I bounce my flash with the foam. So sometimes, I do have to remove the foam and just bounce the flash over my shoulder. Or when the flash is slightly pointed towards the subject, I try to block it with my hand.

My foam is longer and looks like how you did it in your book. The only problem I have is that I find it inconvenient to take the foam on and off my flash. Is there an easy way to do this? Do you just slide it down or fold it out? Or do you completely remove it when you don’t need it?

Chris R.

Comment by Chris R — November 24, 2009 @ 3:26 pm
Chris, I just roll the foam around or whip it off. With the one end (at the hairbands’ side) is rolled up, then the whole thing slides around more easily.

There’s no specific thing that I do. I just manipulate it as I need it.

Neil vN

Comment by Neil — November 25, 2009 @ 10:38 pm
Neil
is yor 5802 flash set to any particular setting when shooting with the black foamy thing? Example what was your zoom setting and your compensation setting at the time of the shot? or was everything shot with the TLL setting.

Comment by David — November 26, 2009 @ 9:42 am
David, I usually zoom out to the maximum setting.
Flash exposure compensation is something that I dial up and down as I need to. I do this by pre-judging the tonality of my subject and scene .. and then by looking at the LCD preview on my camera and adjusting it for the next image.

Neil vN

Comment by Neil — November 26, 2009 @ 11:40 am
Hi Neil,

I am a big fan of your website, techniques and now have even purchased a copy of your book. I must say that you have helped me understand a lot about lighting in general. The black foamy thing was kinda what started it all for me. I do not have the inclination to carry around a bunch of flashes, battery packs and modifiers and was looking for the best way to get soft lighting with an on camera flash. Your website was the first place that showed how to achieve this without going gear crazy.

Now for a technical question. One thing I have noticed while using the black foamy thing is that when using lenses that cannot go below f/4.0 aperture it does not matter how you direct the light one still gets the flat flash color when mixed in with the ambient light. The trick works well when using larger apertures since the ambient light mixes well with the bounced flash. I am going to assume that you would need to add a gel of some sort to mix the light better. Would that be your take? Thoughts?

Once again thanks for this very informative website and a great book to boot.

Regards,

Vijay

Comment by Vijay Sundaram — November 26, 2009 @ 12:47 pm
Viljay .. your choice of shutter speed and aperture will also affect how much ambient light comes into play in the final image.

So I wouldn’t say that this is dependent on having large apertures. That said, bounce flash techniques usually require a medium to fast aperture due to the amount of light “eaten up” by the surface you are bouncing your flash off, and also the distance the surface is from you and your subject.

So that usually does require a fast aperture for best effect. But shutter speed and ISO do matter equally.

Neil vN

Comment by Neil — November 26, 2009 @ 1:04 pm
Hi Nei, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!! I thought it be informative and interesting if you would spend a whole tutorial on TTL. I know you have touched on it in other tutorial but to do it in more detail would be more interesting and informative…Thanks

Comment by cappy — November 26, 2009 @ 1:20 pm
Hi Neil,

I searched for something that might be just right for the “black foamie thing” and finally got this: the back foam of any mouse pad fits perfect! :)
Maybe this can help the others…

I wish you a nice day ahead!

PS: great site! I am reading all your posts!!

take care,
Mihai.

Comment by Mihai Blanaru — November 26, 2009 @ 4:39 pm
Neil,
I love the way you use your flash. I’m also interested in your thoughts about your cameras. I shoot Nikon also and I’m wondering if you feel that the D700 is worth the extra money over the D300. The ability to shoot quality images in low light situations like weddings would be sweet. I’m just not sure the D700 is worth the extra money. Thanks

Comment by Dennis — November 27, 2009 @ 2:37 am
Dennis .. a camera like the D700 has the ability to change your photography. As great as the D300 is, the D700 just takes it that much further in image quality. Have a look at the 3200 ISO image here. It really is impressive performance.

Neil vN

Comment by Neil — November 28, 2009 @ 4:51 am
Howzit Neil (some South Africanism thrown in there)

Your idea about the foamie thing is great. I constructed my own version from material which I found in my house. To keep it unique I named it … wait for it … black-non-foamie-thingy-majingy !!!

From the few test shots on my irate kids I can already see a VAST difference in the quality of my images. Because of your site I don’t suffer from straight-flash-sindrome anymore and my shots are now so much more balanced.

My wife and kids are not too impressed with you though, I drive them nuts :-)

Keep up the good work.

Rean Kriel

Comment by Rean Kriel — November 29, 2009 @ 9:35 am
Hi Neil- -I was abble to find the blackfoamie thing this weekend and I was wondering if you can tell me the size that you cut it to?

Thank you,
Joram

Comment by Joram Freudenfels — November 30, 2009 @ 12:02 pm
Joram .. hi there! As I mentioned elsewhere, the piece of foam is about 6×7 inches, but the actual dimension is usually quite smaller since I fold it and shape it and pull it back as I need.

Neil vN

Comment by Neil — November 30, 2009 @ 2:14 pm
“a neat piece of black foam .. and also longer than I usually have it when I actually shoot. In practice, I fold it, and shape it the way I want it to be .. juuuust enough to block the light in the way I want it to be.”

What is the difference in result of photos between an unfold foam and fold foam?

Does a fold foam block lesser light and allow more light to reach the subject?

In other words, by folding the foam, does it make it a little more efficient in using your speedlite than a non folding version?

Comment by Jon — November 30, 2009 @ 2:42 pm
Jon, its just how I adjust and change it as I need at any time .. just enough to block the light from hitting my subject directly .. or hitting those people who are standing next to me, in the eyes.

Neil vN

Comment by Neil — December 1, 2009 @ 4:56 am
Hi Neil! I’ve been using a black foamie thing for over two months now and love it! Mine hangs off just about 4 or 5 inches. I am wondering if you have any simple examples of why you would adjust it longer or shorter? Since it’s not a full snoot, I can’t think of any reason I would have adjusted mine in the couple months I’ve been using it. Thanks much!

Comment by Claybrook — December 2, 2009 @ 7:04 pm
Claybrook .. if the piece of foam is too long, it tends to eat up too much light. So I adjust it just short enough to flag the light as I need.

Neil vN

Comment by Neil — December 4, 2009 @ 4:59 am
Thanks for the response, as always!

Comment by Claybrook — December 28, 2009 @ 4:53 pm
[...] Seriously simple and not so elegant the “Black Foamie Thing” is a flash modifier of choice for lighting expert and DWF Pro member Neil Van Niekerk. Read more about how you can make your own black foamie thing and how to use it for excellent effect on Neil’s blog. [...]

Pingback by DWF » Blog Archive » The Black Foamie Thing — January 7, 2010 @ 8:57 am
Hey Neil,

I get the black foam idea and the bounce concept – but why not simply use a short snoot – you then don’t have to spin it for verticals, and you have no spill at all for more efficiency. You can then have the inside of the snoot silvery like the HONL ones and not absorb any wasted flash at exit. Shooting a snoot beam can also be directed better, will have better range as it is a concentrated circle rather than a spread rectangle light shape, and over distance the smaller exit beam will spread to create a large reflected bounce back. In my understanding of your technique, it’s vital to get the flash reach your chosen bounce surface as efficiently as possible and a full snoot seems better for this.

I’ve not found an explanation on your site as to why you do not use a snoot over a half snoot?

Comment by George — January 11, 2010 @ 10:48 am
George, the main reason why I don’t use a full snoot, is that the items commonly available in the shops, have a silver interior to help with the inevitable light loss. However, I quite often bounce my flash slightly towards my subject, and I would still get a measure of direct light that I don’t want.

I really want to block all the light and have it all be indirect when I bounce flash.

Also, the piece of black foam that I use can easily be rolled up and scrunched into your pocket. You can’t do that with any of the commercially available items that I know of.

Neil vN

Comment by Neil — January 12, 2010 @ 4:02 am
Does anyone have a link to an online store where I could buy this “Black Foamie Thing” by sheets.

Viktor

Comment by Viktor — January 16, 2010 @ 12:56 pm
Viktor,
click (or copy and paste) the link

http://craftsuppliesforless.com/shop/search.php?terms=Foamies+Black+2mm+foam+sheets

Comment by Alfredo Medina — January 16, 2010 @ 6:27 pm
Thanks Medina! I’ll check out that website!

Comment by Viktor — January 17, 2010 @ 1:24 pm
Hi Neil!

Firstly, thankyou for your website – it’s amazing.

I was wondering, though… it seems that most of the indoor photography on your site deals with photos of one, maybe two people at a time – so a smallish depth of field works well. (largeish aperture + high ISO + indirect bounce flash)

Can I ask if you take group shots indoors, like table shots and the like, which may require a larger depth of field (@f8-ish) and maybe more of a direct flash technique?

Thanks again – really appreciate your insight into flash photog. :)

Comment by Andrew — January 28, 2010 @ 12:15 pm
Andrew, you’re right. If you need more depth of field, then you have to change something so that you get more light on your subject. I sometimes hold up another unit in my left hand while taking a group shot .. and use the two flashguns (one of them on my camera), in Master / Slave mode so that I get double the power. This works well for impromptu groups.

For more formal setups, it is hard to beat manual flash bounced into an umbrella, for efficiency and ease of setting up.

Neil vN

Comment by Neil — January 28, 2010 @ 2:18 pm
Just bought the black foamie thing from Michael’s. .99 cents for a square foot. Pliant and easily placed on and taken off the flash. I bought a white colored one, too, in case I ever need more light.

Comment by Manny Felarca — January 28, 2010 @ 9:27 pm
[...] to brighten faces but today I tried something else. I used photographer Neil van Niekerks’ black foamie thing to bounce the flash of the walls and roof or a larger version which is white that I use by pointing [...]

Pingback by First party of 2010 | Photographer Max Edin — February 1, 2010 @ 12:24 pm
I’m a new arrival at the Tangents website, and have to say I really enjoy your content here so far. There is such a rush now to get your flash off camera and throw various umbrellas, softboxes, grids etc. on there… so this is a very refreshing reminder of the power and flexibility of on-camera flash.

Brilliant technique with amazing results!

Comment by Matt — February 2, 2010 @ 3:26 pm
I love the comment “no expensive version 2.0 coming next year”. Ha!
I have been using your backwards bounce technique now for a couple of months.
It truly has made a difference in my images. In sincerely thank you for the help.

Curtis Copeland

Comment by Curtis Copeland — February 11, 2010 @ 12:58 pm
[...] NeilvN’s Tangents – this guy is a new addition to my RSS feed, but he certainly knows his small flash work. And you’ve gotta love his accessories, particularly when they’re called ‘the black foamie thing’. [...]

Pingback by Photography resources for photography nuts « Photografica — March 21, 2010 @ 2:55 am
[...] on camera flash at full power and the black foamie thing (credit the name to Neil Van Niekerk) bouncing off the wall. Worked out great. I think this concept [...]

Pingback by Erik Christian Photography Blog | Check out the latest images from the Hudson Valley & Catskills — April 2, 2010 @ 4:13 pm
Hi, For those living in the UK, I have just bought the black foamy thing from Amazon. Just type in ‘Funky Foam Sheet A4 Black’ or A3 costing just 49p a sheet, postage is just under £3.00.

I haven’t tried this technique yet, but desperately trying to improve my use of on-camera flash.

Would be interested to know Neil of your view on the BetterBounceCard. as I have one of those two. Great in some situations, but because some of the fill light is directional there is still some harsh shadows, but this I believe can be avoided depending on the situation, like all techniques I guess.

Thank you for all the inspiration here.
Teazle

Comment by Teazle — April 25, 2010 @ 5:31 pm
Teazle … thank you for the note about the supplies in the UK.

Re the BBC … my experience is similar to yours. Sometimes it is useful, but mostly I am better off bouncing flash in an indirect way, a la the Black Foamie Thing.

Neil vN

Comment by Neil vN — April 25, 2010 @ 5:34 pm
[...] Shriners Clown Unit helped out at the Discovery North Bay museum. Armed with the black famie thing so I didn’t blind anybody walking by, I took a number of portraits by bouncing my flash off [...]

Pingback by Clown Unit – Discovery North Bay « A Light Inspiration — May 16, 2010 @ 7:24 am
Hmmmm…maybe that Fong guy with his spew light everywhere devices should read this and study some good common sense.
Well Done!!

Comment by Vince — June 15, 2010 @ 11:36 pm
Hi Neil, I found your site today and have it very helpful so far. As an amateur and having just shot my first maternity shoot in a client’s home I wish I had bounced my flash more. A question please, when you are quickly jumping between portrait and landscape mode, do you change the direction of your on camera flash for each photo? Do you know exactly what you are expecting to get from each pose or do you look through your viewfinder and change from portrait to landscape as you see each shot? If so, do you have to make rapid changes to the direction of your flashgun to make sure you don’t get any shadows? Regards, Peter

Comment by Peter Fanning — June 29, 2010 @ 7:37 am
Peter, I do swivel the piece of foam around as needed. But mostly, I try to keep it simple, and less of an effort.

When working indoors I try to be specific about the direction, but if need be, I just rotate the camera horizontal to vertical and take the shot. The light will be soft. That’s how I have photographed maternity and babies.

You really do get used to just pulling on the piece of foam and swiveling it around as much as you need to.

As another example with the wedding reception, I pretty much just stay with a horizontal composition. Most of the photos at the reception will be of two or more people. That a horizontal shot. That semi-candid shot where two people will hug each other for the camera? That’s a horizontal shot. They don’t want to see that as a full-length photo .. they want to see themselves together. It’s horizontal.

In the same way, you can simplify nearly every photo at the reception to a horizontal image. One exception would be the toasts. Then I keep one camera with the longer lens, and a black foamie thing swiveled around for a vertical shot. The other (wider) camera, will have it set for a horizontal shot.

Neil vN

Comment by Neil vN — June 29, 2010 @ 6:21 pm
Hi Neil. This is probably going way back, but would manually zooming my 580EX to it’s max setting achieve a tighter patch of light, when bouncing off, say, a church wall, and have a similar effect to using a black foamie?

Nigel Davis
Dubbo, Australia

Comment by Nigel Davis — July 26, 2010 @ 12:30 am
Hi there Nigel

Not really.

The black foamie thing is used as a flag, not as a way to contain the spread of light.

bounce flash portrait
throw away the tupperware
directional light from your flash
using flash to mimic window light

In these cases the flash is partially pointed towards my subject … and the black foamie thing is necessary then to avoid direct light from the flash.

I do zoom my flash-head though, to get more efficient use from my flash.

Neil vN

Comment by Neil vN — July 26, 2010 @ 12:37 am
Neil, how do you get catchlights in the eyes using this method?

Dave

Comment by Dave — October 16, 2010 @ 9:44 pm
Dave .. here you go: bounce flash and catchlights.

Neil vN

Comment by Neil vN — October 16, 2010 @ 11:02 pm
Hey Neil. I was at a jQuery Developers conference in Boston this weekend, and I was taking a ton of photos while attending. I happen to be using just my SB-800 and the black foamie thingy, which is great for bouncing and flagging the light. A guy came up to me and asked me about it and asked if I had read your blog. I told him your blog was where I learned how to use the black foamie thing. ;-) Thanks again for all the advice. It’s meant so much.

Oh, and you can see the conference photos at http://www.jqueryphotos.com/gallery/Boston2010/#1051060951_D4qQE

Luke

Comment by Luke Brookhart — October 18, 2010 @ 5:15 pm
Luke,
That guy at the jQuery conference was me. :-)

Nice job with the photos of the speakers at the podium.

Comment by Stephen — October 18, 2010 @ 9:04 pm
Bookmarked! Thank you!

Comment by Jan — October 18, 2010 @ 9:22 pm
Ringlights are great with a lot of post production retouching. And who cares about searing the retinas of people around you. I’m on the job for my client to produce the best images that I can. Not to worry about every guest and whether their comfort level is being compromised. Come on, this “politically correct” society just goes too far so many times.

Comment by Roger — December 17, 2010 @ 10:24 am
Roger .. that is incredibly arrogant.

It’s not ‘political correctness’ on my part to want to be less intrusive.

The black foamie thing makes sense on a fundamental level in using flash. That it can shield the flash from directly blasting people in the face, is a side-benefit I will gladly take.

Also consider that I may have the bride’s mother close to me while I am photographing the bride and her dad. I can either recklessly blast her in the face with flash while I am taking photographs .. or I can be much less intrusive. Keep in mind that this is the same mother of the bride who might .. or might not … recommend me to all her friends and colleagues.

The truth of the matter is that most of my work is from referrals. I do my best to keep my clients happy. And to keep their families happy, and to not be *that* wedding photographer to all the guests. You know the one … the one they distinctly remember afterward for an annoying attitude and his arrogance.

Anyway, I think I’ve said enough in reply. Anyone else will surely read your comment for the belligerent posturing that it is.

Neil vN

Comment by Neil vN — December 19, 2010 @ 7:04 pm
Yesterday night, at a party, it was one moment I was embarrassed: my flash fired in the eyes of three persons. They said Wow…!, etc…, but at least they were taller then me, so not my “attitude” exploded in their eyes and brains.
To be well raised, sometimes has a connection with seeking better ways to do one thing. Any thing.

Comment by Dragos — December 20, 2010 @ 10:27 am
Neil et al

I have also used the BFT with great success. Recently I found a light modifier that fills all of the needs of us photographers and is commercially available from Exoimaging. It’s called a Rogue
and comes in several sizes…Uses a well fitting Velcro band. Check it out

rick

Comment by Rick — January 3, 2011 @ 4:41 pm
[...] tamaño. A mayor tamaño y cercania del sujeto a fotografiar, mas suave caera sobre él. Os dejo aqui un enlace a varios de sus articulos donde explica su tecnica. Lo que usa es una pieza de foam [...]

Pingback by Como mejorar la iluminacion con el flash sobre la camara » Daniel Perez, Fotografo de Bodas en Madrid, Reportaje de Bodas, Cobertura de Eventos — January 4, 2011 @ 11:42 am
Here is a link of my HOWTO black foam thing, im spanish Photographer from Madrid (Spain) an the next post is in spanish, but have a lot of images, maybe could help you to build your own black foam thing

http://www.daniperezfotografia.es/wordpress/para-fotografos/como-mejorar-la-iluminacion-con-el-flash-sobre-la-camara/

Thanks Neilvan for all your information about flash photography, really inspiring me.

Comment by Daniel Perez — January 4, 2011 @ 11:57 am
Daniel, thank you for putting that together and adding the link!

Neil vN

Comment by Neil vN — January 4, 2011 @ 1:31 pm
Hi Neil, I just discovered your “the black foamie thing” (which at first I rather saw as “the black bouncer thing”) – thanks for the idea. But, I still have to experiment to get to the point of fully understanding how it works – that obviously is not ment to bounce anything!? My initial attempts suffered from huge losses of light! Is it something to expect or I was doing something wrong – or I got it all wrong and was doing everything wrong? And, I usually do not go over ISO400 – and prefer to stay there! Is in your experiance that approach going to be in the way of using “the black thing”? And, also, while learning/thinking through your “the black foamie thing” thing I noticed that you do not even mention (or I could not find it on your site) the “technic” I often use – those white bounce cards and ceilings!? Can you please comment on it – many would probably like to here your opinion/reasoning… I also lately tend to use built in camera flashes (Nikon) as fill-in light (in commander mode, manually control output) while bouncing off camera flash (still on my flash bracket) in remote mode from ceilings or walls. To be honest I do not get results I would want – or often not so, and would appreciate if you could pass your experiences or opinions about that “technic” on us. Thanks. Nick

Comment by Nick — January 29, 2011 @ 4:41 am
Hi there Nick .. There are a number of other articles explaining the technique. Follow them further on from the article on how to bounce flash.

In lower light, I easily go to 800 ISO or higher.
What camera are you using that you don’t want to go over 400 ISO ?

The way to use this piece of black foam, is NOT as a reflector. THat doesn’t make sense. It is there to flag your flash, and you only let so much protrude as is necessary to direct your flash … and not have any direct flash fall on your subject.

I don’t use the built-in white bounce card on the speedlights. And I very very rarely use a white bounce card of any type.

In any case, follow that link. All the info is in there and the related posts.

Neil vN

Comment by Neil vN — January 29, 2011 @ 4:50 pm
[...] Essentially, in execution, the technique is the same as used by David Hobby on the strobist blog. The exposure, and the interpretation are different, however. The equipment used is also essentially the same, with a few small differences. The main difference being that, instead of cardboard snoots for the flashguns illuminating the base of the light bulb, I used pieces of black foam rubber – an idea that many photographers will be familiar with from Neil van Niekerk’s blog as the “black foamie thingy“. [...]

Pingback by Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery — February 13, 2011 @ 7:16 am
[...] shadow you see above. The solution to this is to use a technique that Neilvan Niekerk describes as “The Black foamie thing”, which I adapted using a Flashbender. The technical term for this is to “flag the [...]

Pingback by Photography by Eduardo Suastegui » Flag that Flash and other suggestions — March 5, 2011 @ 12:45 pm
Hi Neil,

What a very generous person you are to share your techniques! I am humbled by your generosity. I have a friend who is a wedding photographer who uses a flash bracket. I see that you do not from the looks of the pics in your photo blogs. With the ‘BFT’ I am assuming that you can easily do away with using a flash bracket since you are flagging the light to avoid red-eye. Or do you recommend using a flash bracket with the ‘BFT’ technique? Also, since you are flagging the light from your subject, does this not eliminate the catch-lights in the eyes? Many thanks in advance for your kind response!

Marty

Comment by marty o — April 6, 2011 @ 3:21 am
Marty … I don’t use a flash bracket much anymore, but a flash bracket does have its uses.

A flash bracket isn’t just for minimizing red-eye, but to avoid the side-ways shadow when you shoot vertically.

Re the catch-lights in the eyes, follow the links mentioned in the article with the video clip on using the black foamie thing. If you bounce your flash properly (and have bounceable surfaces, then you will get those catch-lights. Nearly predictably so.

Neil vN

Comment by Neil vN — April 10, 2011 @ 6:54 pm
Hi Neil,
Can’t tell you how much i love this site!! If you send me your address i’ll send some goodies your way next time i’m baking! (i’ve been known to do this–not blowing smoke!) I was experimenting with this and shot a few frames of my son eating at our table w/a bunch of windows behind him in our kitchen bump out. I found the light to be much softer/natural by bouncing it above/left/on wall behind him BUT his eyes appeared pretty dull. When bounced in same spot w/out the BFT eyes were crisp and had catch lights BUT there was direct flash falling on his face. Care to weigh in on what i should do differently? Also, when you speak of dialing down flash am I correct in thinking you mean specifically also dialing down TTL-BL fill flash?
thanks!!!
Jennifer :)

Comment by Jennifer — April 11, 2011 @ 4:06 pm
Jennifer .. you do have to bounce the light so that it lights up the person’s face. Bouncing too far to the side, and their eyes will appear dark. Not good. It takes practice, but it does become much easier.

Do check out the video clip where I explain how I position the flash and the black foamie thing, and how I direct the light.

Yes, dialing down the flash means to dial down the Flash Exposure Compensation (FEC).

Neil vN

Comment by Neil vN — April 11, 2011 @ 7:01 pm
Hi Neil,

I have read and endlessly re-read your superb book on on-camera flash, and will shortly be getting an opportunity to put all the new-found knowledge (and confidence) into action. My question is regarding my brand new SB900. When you are bouncing with the BFT have you experimented using the the 3 different illumination patterns (standard, centre-weighted, even)?. Do you think it would make any significant difference, or would you suggest I just stick to using the default standard pattern?

many thanks again for all your inspirational work.

Neil

Comment by Neil Marks — May 2, 2011 @ 2:53 am
Since you’ll be bouncing your flash, the illumination pattern doesn’t matter. So just keep to the default.

Neil vN

Comment by Neil vN — May 2, 2011 @ 3:01 am
Your posts on flash are SO HELPFUL. In college I was part of an awesome photojournalism program, but the downside was, we only spent like 2 class periods talking about flash. Obviously it’s another thing you just have to go out and learn and experiment with yourself, but extra tips would have been helpful. Your posts have been a great source of help for me, so thank you much!

Autumn

Comment by autumn — June 14, 2011 @ 4:08 pm
Neil, what if you don’t have anything to bounce off of, like say I am at the playground shooting my daughter, do I use directional light? and how do I make it look not so hard?
thanks,
Larry

Comment by Larry Clark — June 22, 2011 @ 8:37 pm
Larry, if there is nothing to bounce your flash off, then you have to adapt.

Neil vN

Comment by Neil vN — June 22, 2011 @ 8:42 pm
[...] The Black Foamie Thing- Neil van Niekerk [...]

Pingback by The Two Hosers Photo Show Episode Twenty Seven- External Flash pt 2 « allan attridge fotografie — July 12, 2011 @ 6:56 am
Really helpful site:) I’m going to buy your book, so that I can read it all again, comfortably:) But… thank you for sharing your tecnique:) I’m still trying to figure out what I should look for here that might serve as the “black foamie thing”:) I guess no shopkeeper would understand that in Italy:P

Comment by italiangirl — July 28, 2011 @ 4:51 pm
Niel,thanks you for all the great resources you are sharing.
I bought your On Camera Flash Book recently and it is great.

Can someone in US tell me where I can buy (not online) this black foamie thing?
Any of the chains like Wall mart or Target have this ? I don’t really know what to ask for !

Comment by Bipin — August 2, 2011 @ 8:12 pm
You can buy it as “art foam” from Michaels, the art supply store.

Neil vN

Comment by Neil vN — August 3, 2011 @ 1:04 am
Thanks for the reply Niel.
After I posted the question ,I saw somewhere in the comments that it is available in art stores.
I could pick one from AC Moore (found that it is also available im Michaels ,for anyone interested) and I put it to use and wow ,it brings a lot of difference and the best part is that it can be achieved under $1.
Thanks once again Niel for all the information and book.I need to get the Off Camera flash book soon :)

Comment by Bipin — August 3, 2011 @ 12:00 pm
your book has finally arrived:) and I’m reading it. Unfortunately:(, I still have no idea what I could buy here that might serve the same purpose as the black foamie thing:(

Comment by italiangirl — August 12, 2011 @ 3:19 pm
hi- Do u miss having catchlights in the eyes since you cannot use the white bounce card?

Comment by dro — August 27, 2011 @ 11:02 pm
Dro, bounce your flash into the direction you want your light to come from – just like you had set up an off-camera softbox. Then the catch-lights will be there in the eyes, nearly automatically.

Neil vN

Comment by Neil vN — August 27, 2011 @ 11:50 pm
Neil,
just wondering how much of the BFT extends out beyond the end of the flash head
when you shoot in decent size churches and large rooms. i shot a friends wedding yesterday at similar settings you would use, bouncing flash to my right and up off of the church walls during the processional. they were under exposed a bit as if the flash had little reach. could i have been cutting off power by having the BFT extending out too much? i read a reply by you on another post explaining this as a possible factor. the BFT was about 1.5″ – 2″ in front of my flash head. the church was fairly narrow.

Nikon D700
SB-900
24-70 f2.8

thanks!

Comment by Zach — August 28, 2011 @ 7:14 pm
The BFT does cut some of the flash’s power. So if you have problems with the flash just not having enough juice, by all means do try it without the BFT.

Neil vN

Comment by Neil vN — September 27, 2011 @ 6:08 am
Also, if shooting wide angle, that will make the flash spread a wider field thinking it needs to shoot wide, so manually zooming flash head in at full 200mm will help a little.

Remember, you are bouncing, so you already will get a wider return of flash and zooming in will concentrate the light tighter giving more power/range where it’s shooting to.

Trev

Comment by Trev — September 27, 2011 @ 9:25 am
[...] specifically caught my eye was the simplicity of it all, and Neil’s ingenuity to use ‘the black foamie thing’ for bounce flash. So the following day I went into town to hunt down some black foam. It [...]

Pingback by Portrait of a Whippet | Marc de Ridder Photography — December 15, 2011 @ 5:58 am