DIY Flash Diffuser (Sony NEX 5)

Here is a quick and easy DIY flash diffuser. The dimensions I'm sharing are specifically for the Sony NEX 5 but you can apply the same concept to almost any flash. I figure this is a good DIY craft for this time of year, since it's the holiday season and the days are shorter so it's likely that you'll be taking a lot of family/friend photographs in darker settings.

You'll need:
black craft foam
white craft foam
straight edge
craft knife or scissors
glue
cardboard/chipboard or surface for cutting on

This is what my flash looks like. It's tiny but powerful and it usually washes out my photos and makes them look kind of terrible.

This is how you want to cut out your foam. The black foam will be cut into a sort of top hat shape (the 'hat' doesn't necessarily have to be centered above the base; you can see that mine is a little off center). The white foam is cut into a simple rectangle.

Cut out your pieces using scissors or a craft knife. I prefer a craft knife just because you get a perfectly straight line that way.

Glue the white piece onto the black foam.

Then, wrap the black "legs" around the flash and glue the band together.

And that's it. Your diffuser is ready to use.

Just slide it onto your flash whenever necessary.

Below you can see the difference the diffuser makes. The photo on the left is without the diffuser and the photo on the right is with the diffuser. The photo on the left looks really washed out, the colors are terribly orange, and the shadow of my camera lens is quite harsh. The photo on the left, however, looks natural, the colors are true, and it just looks better. Tada!

Happy crafting and photographing!