It’s All About Light
The importance of how you control light can not be understated. Good lighting is the difference between an amateur picture and a professional photograph. While your camera gives you a lot of options for how you process the light available to you, you can only do so much without lighting your subject yourself.
On camera flashes are a marked improvement over no good light at all. The problem with an on camera flash is that the picture often takes on a very harsh contrast, and you only get light from about 8 inches right above your camera. This results in harsh and unflattering shadows on your subject, and a picture that looks like your Dad took it with his automatic timer.
A Smaller, More Cost Effective Option
Professionals have lots of solutions to this problem. You can use soft boxes, umbrellas and spotlights in all sorts of creative combinations and positions. This really makes for a good end work, if you’ve got the space, the time and the cash for that kind of setup. In a perfect world you might, but in the real world even if you have most of those things, there will come a time when you want to control light but you can’t set up a studio.
Portable solutions are plenty, but one of the highest quality solutions at an affordable rate and a manageable size is the Rogue Flashbender. Available in three sizes from large reflector to small bounce card, the Flashbenders by Rogue are a cut above the rest.
You Have Full Control
Flashbenders allow you to uniquely shape light. You have the ability to bounce your flash even outside to disperse harsh contrast that comes from your flash being direct. But it’s more than just that! You can simulate the effect you get from a bounce umbrella by bending the fabric and the ridged skeleton inside helps it to maintain it’s shape until you are ready to reposition.
The possibilities are only limited to your creativity. You can block part of the flash to draw emphasis to only part of your subject (or block out an unsavory background in some situations). You can make your flash into a spotlight by rolling the Flashbender into a cylinder. However you choose to position your Flashbender, it stays ridged… which is the major distinction I’ve felt between this and other products on the market.
The bounce card can also be used to block light, as it comes with an attachable velcro blackout card. All three are advertised to be washable, which is very important as your gear can really take a dirt bath when you take it out on location. If you want a white reflective surface it would be no good having a yellow or dirt colored bounce card.
The Final Verdict
Flashbenders come in three sizes, they’re priced very well, they’re portable and very well made. These won’t replace a studio setup, but they could supplement one for some creative and inexpensive ways to manipulate light. I’d recommend them!
