is a nifty little device you can attach to most SLR cameras to bounce the light from your internal (or pop-up flash). You don't need one if you have a speedlite
(which I really, really want!), but a lightscoop is a very cheap device that can help out if you don't have a speedlite. I read about the idea for a homemade lightscoop on another blog, and right now I can't seem to find the blog to link it. Once I find it, I'll link it! Basically, you take some sort of card (like an index card, or in my case an old credit card) and cover it with foil. You'll end up with a device like mine. I placed it on the Dr. Seuss book for some size perspective.
To use the homemade lightscoop, I have to hold it at about a 45 degree angle to the flash. It takes a little getting used to, but now it is very easy for me to figure out the placement (I don't even have to think about it anymore). So why do I even want to avoid using the pop-up flash in the first place? I'll let the pictures do the explaining. First, a picture of my assistant, Reeses, with the pop-up flash, followed by a picture of Reeses with the same settings using the pop-up flash with my homemade lightscoop. Both of these shots are straight out of the camera.
Although the second photo could use a bit of brightening, it is far better than the blown-out first picture. If I had played with my settings a bit more I probably could have gotten it bright enough without any need for post-processing.
