Photo Ideas # 5 of 10: Controlling Your Flash with Wax Paper
In the past few posts we have looked at ways use aluminum foil as a photo reflector or plastic wrap/cellophane as a soft focus filter for photography. Yesterday I was asked by someone in a blog comment if there were any other kitchen supplies I use from time to time in photography. There is one other and I’ll conclude this tour of my photographic kitchen supplies by describing it.
Nearly all cameras sold today including DSLR, point-and-shoot and even many camera phones have a built-in flash. An in-camera flash is helpful for quickly removing shadows or brightening a scene that is too dark to photograph properly. A flash is also useful for lighting subjects that have too much light behind them, such as a person standing against a bright sandy beach.
While a built-in flash can improve many types of photos, it can also produce disappointing results, especially with close-up subjects. Many built-in flash units produce the same amount of light for both far away and close-up subjects. While the light from a built-in flash may do a great job of lighting subjects 6-15 feet (2-4.5 m) away that same light is often too bright for closer subjects, creating photos that look overexposed or burned out.
Most professional and even some semi-professional DSLR cameras today offer a way to reduce the amount of light produced by the built-in flash (called flash compensation). For other cameras you can often create a similar effect by holding a translucent material in front of the flash. My favorite materials for doing this which are also found around homes are wax paper (also known as greaseproof paper in the UK), freezer paper or tracing paper. Holding one of these papers in front of the flash unit while taking a photo will diffuse the light and cut down the intensity of light reaching the subject. In the example above, the left photo was made using the standard built-in flash on a point-and-shoot camera. The photo on the right was made with that same camera but while holding a small folded piece of wax paper a short distance in front of the camera’s flash unit.
NOTE: Because wax-, freezer- and greaseproof papers are coated with a thin waxy substance, to keep your flash unit clean it’s best to keep those papers 1-2 inches (25-50 mm) away from the flash.
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Good to know, thank you!
It seems Rick I have a great DIY kit of photographic equipment all at hand in my Kitchen
another very interesting tip and that rose which has defused light looks so much better…. Thank you 
Always a pleasure to share, Lynda
I am eager to try this one. I very seldom use the built-in flash because I have had so many disappointing results. An external flash is the answer but I’m not at that level of sophistication, yet.
You have mentioned so many household items to help with photography that I’m wondering when the duct tape post is coming!!
Maybe the duct tape one will be useful for taping up the broken legs of a crummy tripod.
Thank you for such a helpful tip!
Blessings ~ Wendy
It’s my pleasure Lynda.
Oh my goodness Sue, if we expand beyond the kitchen I suspect I could name dozens more tools that you could use as photo tools. But I think that starting with these three is a great DIY starter kit. I wish you a great week ahead.
Good information!
Hi Lyle. As a very talented nature photographer yourself, I bet you could suggest even more household items than these which I’ve never considered that can help in making a photo when you don’t have the professional accessories available or as a work around when you can’t afford them. As for duct tape, oh my don’t get me started! Actually, while I rarely use duct tape for anything I could name dozens of ways to use a variation of duct made for artists that’s called “gaffer tape” which has hundreds of great uses in all types of photo situations. But, to help build suspense, I might need to keep that one on hold for a few months
It is my pleasure Wendy. Thanks for stopping by and taking time to write.
Many many thanks Judy. Thank you for your visit and I hope you’ll stop back from time to time.
Who would have thought that basic kitchen products could be useful in the photography world? Thanks so much Rick.
It’s my pleasure LuAnn, and these are probably things you carry all the time in that beautiful RV of yours!
I have tried white tissue paper, I will try the wax paper. Glad to know I am not alone in using things from my kitchen, including tin foil.
Great tips! Thanks, Kara
Thanks for the tip. I can’t wait to try it out. I rarely use my flash because of the results.
Hi Heather. It’s so great to hear from you and it’s always a joy to share these photo tips with folks. I know exactly what you mean by being frustrated with a standard flash so hopefully some of these ideas on using a reflector and/or softening the power of your flash will unleash even more of that artistic talent of yours
Hi Kara. Tissue paper is another great idea for taming a “too bright” camera flash. Very creative idea! It’s nice to know great minds think alike. I hope you’ll get a chance to stop back from time to time.
I’m so glad that there are people who already have experimented with things like that! – Actually I was wondering for quite a while what I can do with the flash light in situations like this. Enlightening, as always.