My new bounce card...

[cdifoto]

I devised this based on abetterbouncecard.com that jamison55 referred me to. I don't know what paper he used and I didn't buy his template but I did look at the small photos of himself in the mirror and came up with this:

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a304/cdifoto/bouncecard/2005-12-13-068.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a304/cdifoto/bouncecard/2005-12-13-069.jpg

It's simply a piece of 110lb white card stock cut to form with a sheet of household aluminum foil with the shiny side facing the paper...and the foil is on the back of the paper...meaning that the subject would see the white bounce card and not the foil. The paper acts as a softener for the light that bounces off the foil.

Here are some sample shots:

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a304/cdifoto/bouncecard/2005-12-13-027.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a304/cdifoto/bouncecard/2005-12-13-047.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a304/cdifoto/bouncecard/2005-12-13-053.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a304/cdifoto/bouncecard/2005-12-13-059.jpg

We all know what direct flash does so I'm not going to bother posting "before" shots. And on another note...the images are straight from the camera with all my parameters set to 0...thus the lack of contrast.

Here are 2 more samples. This one is a backlit situation. First image is no flash at all (f/5, 1/10th, ISO400). Second is flash w/homemade rig (f/5, 1/125th, ISO400)

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a304/cdifoto/bouncecard/2005-12-13-070.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a304/cdifoto/bouncecard/2005-12-13-071.jpg

I may be wrong but I also believe the foil helps throw the light forward since it's reflective. Instead of light escaping out the back, it's not only stopped, it's bounced back towards the subject...making it even more efficient than the Lightsphere.

[Fred]

Thanks for sharing.

[jamison55]

My favorite thing about the better bounce card is that it is made of paper, so if I find that it's throwing too much light forward I can simply rip it down to a smaller size on the spot!

For those of you who want the real thing (along with the nifty rubber bands that attach it), and want to support a fellow photographer in the process, Peter's website is www.abetterbouncecard.com.

[cdifoto]

My favorite thing about the better bounce card is that it is made of paper, so if I find that it's throwing too much light forward I can simply rip it down to a smaller size on the spot!

For those of you who want the real thing (along with the nifty rubber bands that attach it), and want to support a fellow photographer in the process, Peter's website is www.abetterbouncecard.com.

Yeah cutting it down on the spot without hearing the dollars rip in half would be a good feeling. lol.

I've since reinforced the contraption with another piece of the heavy card stock on the back. It protects the foil as well as stiffening it up to reduce floppage. I'm going to work on a velcro system that doesn't require tossing the velcro away with the card. Probably a simple strap or something that can be wrapped around. I tried rubber bands and got frustrated.

[Chucko]

If you're going for multiple layers anyway, why not replace the front card stock with vellum or similar translucent material? I.e. vellum -> foil -> structural card stock. Just a hare-brained idea...

[nick_the_guy]

Since these are all indoor photos, how much is the bounce card actually contributing? You get a good amount of diffused light from the ceiling.

[cdifoto]

If you're going for multiple layers anyway, why not replace the front card stock with vellum or similar translucent material? I.e. vellum -> foil -> structural card stock. Just a hare-brained idea...


Couple reasons.

One...I have no idea what vellum is. lol.
Two...I had plenty of the heavy paper.
Three...I thought (perhaps incorrectly, perhaps not) that a translucent material in front wouldn't soften the bounced-back light up enough.

[cdifoto]

Since these are all indoor photos, how much is the bounce card actually contributing? You get a good amount of diffused light from the ceiling.

More than you'd think. Just bouncing off the ceiling creates shadowing in facial features since most of the light is going up and coming straight back down. Having some thrown forwards provides the fill light...not only for shadows but also to give that *sparkle* in the eyes like catchlights.