The best lighting for photography is outdoors on a slightly cloudy day. Photography enthusiasts like myself often get frustrated when we’re confined indoors. The lighting is never quite as nice. You could buy expensive studio lighting, but who has the time or money to carry that around all the time. For most purposes, it’s impractical. If you are lucky enough to have an expensive camera, you can turn up the ISO, skip the flash and you’ll still get great photos. If not, your next best bet is to use your built-in flash.
The problem with the pop-up is it will often wash out the subject and cast harsh shadows if he or she is too close. The answer is to diffuse the light. Now you can buy flash diffusers. A good clip-on will run you about thirty dollars. You might be able to find a cheaper one, but if frugality is the aim, you might as well go all the way and make your own diffuser.
If you are using a point and shoot camera, simply tape a piece of tissue over the flash. Play around with different thicknesses. You want to diffuse the light, not suffocate it. If you are using a fancier camera with a pop-up flash, like an SLR or DSLR, you can make a diffuser that will sit on top like a hat.
I made one recently out of parchment paper and it works very well. I cut out a square of parchment paper and folded it, origami style, to make a box with one open side. I used clear tape to reinforce the corners. I can simply place the cube on top of my flash or if I need to take a portrait style photo, I’ll tape it onto the camera to keep it from falling off.
The difference this little piece of paper has made in my indoor flash photos is significant. The skin tones are warmer, and there is a lot more detail and depth in the photo. I took a sample photo (self portrait) to show the difference between using plain old flash and the homemade diffuser. All other camera settings are the same.
Here is a picture of my homemade diffuser:
