DIY Camera Flash Sock Project

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The second DIY project I’ve done recently is a flash sock. Now, it’s a little silly that I did a DIY for something that costs as little as $10 (some are listed for $30+ which I think is also silly), but I had the materials on hand and I didn’t want to wait for the sock to come in the mail.

flash sock supplies

What I used:

  • For the exterior, diffuser part I used white felt and white plastic from a picnic spread. I’m sure you could fuse plastic bags together and do the same thing. Although, you would want to make sure they were plain plastic bags.
  • For the interior reflective top I used the shiny metal bag from a Pop’s cereal bag
  • I used elastic cording to attach the sock to the flash and white thread to sew it all together.

Flash diffuser sock on pop-up flash

I ended up hand sewing the sock together, which wasn’t hard but a little more time consuming than if I had done it with a sewing machine. Despite the freakish appearance my camera takes when I use the sock, I really like how the photos turn out.  Check it out:

Flash sock photos

The flash sock helps to avoid over-exposure and softens all of the hard edges usually created with the flash. It’s also interesting to observe that my sock warms up the photos ever so slightly. Interesting, hu?!? While my flash sock works on my pop-up flash, the sock idea is really optimized for an external flash.

Do any of you readers have an external flash that you love, or know of one I could get on the cheap? I’ve been thinking of getting one, and would love some pointers from users/camera enthusiasts and not salesman.

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    1. Amanda says:

      Nikon SB-600 or SB-800. We have the SB-600 and it has been awesome for us! (Although if we were richer we would probably have the other…)

      • Melissa says:

        I’ve heard the SB-800 is the one to get, especially if you want the option to use the flash remotely. If I were richer I’d probably get the SB-800, too.

    2. Boz says:

      Funny thing. I did the same thing this weekend, only completely different.

      http://slimsmillar.blogspot.com/2009/07/super-flash-extravaganza-bm-10-flash.html

    3. Tira says:

      I bought a $50 flash on Amazon. It fits on the hotshoe of my camera, and works great. Granted, i am not a professional photographer (yet) I am still learning, so i figured this was a nice start. It is actually powerful and recycles way faster than the in-board flash. I recommend it :) Here is the link to the one i bought.
      http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001IMHZJS/ref=ox_ya_oh_product

    4. Jessica says:

      I actually use a white baby sock. Frustrated by how my flash would just totally blow-out photos of my baby…I grabbed one of his socks and shoved it on. Works like a charm. Looks silly.

      • Melissa says:

        That’s a great idea! Baby socks are so small they’d naturally fit perfectly over a pop-up flash. They both look silly, but the bottom panel on the diffuser sock is a reflector so it bounces the light upwards.

    5. Kate says:

      Okay, I’m probably just a little slow here, but I can’t figure out how you turned the stuff on the green table into a diffuser for your flash. ??? Where is the reflective metal bag? Looks like the whole thing is just felt.

      • Melissa says:

        I had already cut the materials at that point so the picture might be a little confusing. {sorry!} Below I’ve explained the materials pictured and hopefully it will give you a better idea of what’s going on.

        From the top, left to right:
        • Half circle of felt for the top piece, Half circle of reflective goldfish bag material (to be glued to the bottom piece), Half circle of felt for the bottom piece.
        • Needle & thread (the sewing machine was broken, but it would’ve been a lot faster to do it on the machine), Black elastic cord, Pins
        • Felt strip about 1.5 inches tall and as wide as the length of the half circle part of the top and bottom pieces.

    6. Vy says:

      I’ve got a small speedlight, SB-400 on my Nikon and I love it.
      It’s not too big and it does the job well. $115 on Amazon.
      http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-SB-400-Speedlight-Digital-Cameras/dp/B000KKPN5C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1249471976&sr=8-1

    7. Scrapness says:

      that camera looks pretty pathetic with that sock on top, but the outcome of it is really stupendous!!!

    8. What a great idea. I having been thinking about buying a diffuser but why not make one right!

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