How to make your Sto-Fen diffuser fit your flash

[jmowreader]

I will soon need to take some flash photos under fluorescent light. Since I have Nikon F4S and 8008S bodies I bought an SB-24 flash. I got a FL-D filter, the Sto-Fen diffuser listed...no go, too small.

Easy to fix. You need a heat gun and a work glove. Simply heat the diffuser til it gets soft, pry it over the nose of the flash, and leave it on til it cools.

[Major Nikon]

1. Trying to match fluorescent light can be a little tricky

Sometimes you run into fluorescent lights that have color correcting filters already on the bulbs, so they can be white in color or even warm like tungsten. If the room has windows and it's daylight, then you get a mix of daylight and fluorescent that is difficult if not impossible to correct. If you have a grey card, it's a good idea to take some test shots with it so if you're shooting raw you can better color correct later.

If you are using a sto-fen with a FL-D filter you're really going to be knocking down the range of your flash, even with a SB-24. I'm not a big fan of sto-fen and other similar diffusers. Mostly what they do is knock down the light power of your flash without offering any real benefit in almost all situations. What really makes light softer is increasing the size of the light source relative to the subject. I prefer to use an umbrella, or bounce the flash off a ceiling or wall. This makes the light source larger without sacrificing much range.

[jmowreader]

2. F4S and 8008S bodies shoot film, not digital

I'm going to use Velvia 100 slide film. The place I'm going to shoot is belowdecks on a museum ship.

[Major Nikon]

3. It's still a good idea to use a grey card

Unless you have no intention of ever scanning them or making prints. When taking photos in museums, I prefer to use a tripod to the maximum extent possible instead of trying to use flash photography.