# A cheap flash reflector system/foam core bounce alternative



## Kodan_Txips (Feb 15, 2005)

This is a repost of something I put in the critique section, as I want folk to experiment for me, and with me.  (So to speak.  Just not ON me)

My name is Pete, and I am a cheapskate.

Don't invest in foamcore stuff - take a look at the big block of polystyrene foam that came with your TV, hifi, printer, whatever.

Often it is big enough to stand on its edge, and it can make a fantastic "dish reflector" for macro work and flash portraiture, especially as flash may reflect off the walls of the cavity as well as the back, thus diffusing the light even more.

Sometimes the largest face has a big hole in it. This can make a good surround-/ring-flash effect, especially if you mount the subject within the hole - you can get 4-directional soft backlight, all sorts of different effects.

Of course, I can't prove any of this waffle, it has been decades since I last did it, but maybe people could experiment and post results here?


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## Digital Matt (Feb 15, 2005)

I would hardly call foamcore an investment   I bought a 20"x30" piece for about $2.  If you have that stuff lying around, it's always worth a try.  I personally don't keep the foam from my appliances.


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## Kodan_Txips (Feb 15, 2005)

What?  Sacrilege!

I have the complete packaging for every gadget I have bought for the last few years.

I had never heard of this foam core bounce stuff before I joined this forum, it just sounds expensive.

I will check it out on google.


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## SLOShooter (Feb 15, 2005)

I think "Foam core" is that stuff that you buy at a office supply store that is foam in the middle and kind of papery on the outsides.  It's most used for projects and such as science fair and presentations.  It's most deffinatly not expensive, unless you live on ramen, in which case it's probibly gonna cost you a week or two worth of eating.


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## PreludeX (Feb 15, 2005)

Digital Matt said:
			
		

> I would hardly call foamcore an investment   I bought a 20"x30" piece for about $2.  If you have that stuff lying around, it's always worth a try.  I personally don't keep the foam from my appliances.



i get foamcor for free..... theres a place here in seattle that uses them for like movies and then when they are done, they throw them out.... so i have big 7' x 3' peices all the way down to lil small ones... some wrapped in tin foil some not... all works good for me..


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## malachite (Feb 15, 2005)

You can use just regular old poster board too. With the right stand and clips you can bend it all around for both reflector duty and seamless backgrounds for shooting smaller stuff. Paint it, cover it in tin foil, the possibilities are unlimited.


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