How to make a home made macro flash diffuser

Home made macro flash diffuser modelled after AK / Cygnustech style diffusers modeled for a Olympus OMD EM1 MK iii with Olympus 90mm Macro is PRO and Godox V860 iii flash

This blog will take you through all the steps that I did to make my own macro diffuser and show you how you can as well. It aims at creating a cheap and effective diffuser similar to many premium style diffusers that you can buy online.

What will we need?

• White plastic sheet

• Black plastic sheet

• Roll of textured aluminum foil

• Plastic snap buttons kit

• Diffuser template

• Roll of sticky Velcro

• Step up rings

  
  

2 sheets of plastic (one black and one white). I ordered 2 of each in case I messed something up. Ordered from: https://kitronik.co.uk/?syclid=7285e9c2-611c-467b-9d4e-e726c9119184

A Template printed out on A3 paper ( Credit to James Chisnall on Facebook )

Chizzology diffuser.pdf · version 1.pdf

Download PDF • 28KB

A roll of textured aluminum foil with a sticky back for lining the inside of the diffuser to reflect light more randomly resulting in a better diffusion. You could also use a roll of aluminum insulation tape. Found here on Amazon

Plastic button fastening kit found here on Amazon

Let's start making it

Start by cutting out all the parts of the template that you printed out on A3 paper.

This part is for the black plastic and will form the hood.

This part is for the white plastic and will form the main diffusion element.

I have numbered the parts to make it easier to refer to. Part 1 is optional and forms the reflector that fits underneath the diffuser, I would say that it is worth making it anyway as you will have the materials to do so anyway. Part 2 is used to secure the diffuser to the lens so that it doesn't slide off, it works better with a step up ring attached to the front of the lens. Part 3 is used to add structure to the diffuser and goes on the inside, i found that it didn't really do much and ended up not using it.

Once you have cut all parts out, you can then stick the textured aluminum foil to the entire black sheet, making sure it is smoothed down neatly with no air bubbles. You can use a sponge while applying it to help smooth it out gently.

Then once you have done that you can use the paper templates and a whiteboard marker to trace round the respective templates onto the correct sheets of plastic. Please note that depending on camera, lens and flash combinations, you may have to adjust some of the pieces slightly to make it fit better such as reshaping the top of the hood that fits round the flashgun and the small white part that goes round the lens to keep it from sliding off.

White part of the diffuser cut out

The black part of the hood cut out with the aluminum foil stuck on. Extra parts have been cut out at the top to allow the focus light on my Godox V860 iii to shine through. I have already put the poppers on this.

Once you have cut out all elements of the diffuser it is time to start putting in the poppers, use the following templates and align it with the cut out parts to poke a hole through the plastic where the black dots are. then once you have done that use the guides to put in the correct popper types and pay attention to their orientation ( Inside or Outside)

The poppers have 2 parts to them. I shall refer to them in the same way that USB and other cables are called with a male and a female end ( as shown in the picture above Male "M" and Female "F" )

Popper Type and orientation Guide for the black hood. Inside means that the popper part should be on the reflective foiled side, and outside means that the popper should be facing the outside of the hood. The holes that aren't labelled are not needed and are only used if you are making the inside support bracket.

Popper type and orientation guide for the white diffuser part. It doesn't matter which side the inside and outside is, just make sure that all the ones labeled inside are facing the opposite direction to all the ones labeled outside.

Popper type and orientation guide for the other parts of the diffuser. The one left blank is the inside support bracket which I wont be making as i didn't find it added any benefits. As all the poppers are all on one side it does not matter which side you decide to put them on as long as they are all facing the same way.

The Finished pieces cut out and poppers in place. I have added some soft black felt / insulation stuff round the parts that will be touching the flashgun to make it have a better fit and avoid scratching my flashgun.

All that's left now is to add a velcro strap going round the back of the flash gun to make sure it is fastened tightly to your camera. You can use sticky velcro for this or by gluing a velcro strap to it. Just make sure that one side is permanently and that there is some hooked velcro on the other side to attach it to.

For storage I usually just keep it flat at home but when taking it with me to photograph things i roll it up and hold it together with a strip of velcro and then attach it to the outside of my camera bag.

Macro diffuser in the field.

Hope you found this helpful and enjoyed making your very own macro flash diffuser. Now get out there and go find some macro beasties : )