Coffee Filters: A Low Tech Solution for Photographers

Fri Feb 23, 2007 7:56PM EST

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Real Simple Magazine has a list of 101 New Uses for Everyday Things, starting with ten new uses for coffee filters. Who knew coffee filters were a great way to strain wine from a bottle with a broken cork or make yogurt dip. But of course, a more practical use of coffee filters, besides making coffee, is to diffuse your camera's flash on close-ups.  

I recently filmed a video at a club with a friend for my personal blog, and noticed that he too had a coffee filter strapped over the light. I thought that was strange, but he said it was supposed to soften the light on people so they wouldn't look so harsh under the bright lights in the night club setting. It's a low tech solution any photographer can appreciate, especially if they're on the road. But coffee filters can also come in handy when you need to white balance your camera, or rid your mobile phone of unwanted residue and oil from your hands.

 

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  • 3 Posted by odatrobert on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:43PM EDT Report Abuse

    This is some thing not new......Started using a small bit of kleenex and small piece of scotch tape over the flash maybe 40 years ago to defuse the light in a close-up situation. This will stop the red eye problems and soften the light. Also if the flash can be tilted up, tape a small piece of aluminum foil on the camera over (but not on the light) and you will get a night bright bounce lite. This will lower the direct light on the subject and often times eliminate shadows.

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