Lightscoop

My new toy arrived in the post yesterday!

Called a Lightscoop, it is a device that slides over the pop-up flash of your DSLR, and basically bounces the flash off of nearby walls and ceilings to create a nice diffused light, rather than the ugly front-on flash that we're all so used to seeing from point-and-shoots. It is ultimately a cheaper stand-in for a Speedlight, the large external flash produced by Nikon that achieves the same effect (except obviously better done). Until I can save up the moola to buy one of those, I think this baby is gonna do me just fine. :)

Examples of the effect it has on photos (sorry for using the angel again!!):

Using exposure settings that allow for the greatest light possible without using any flash. The kind of photo I would have taken pre-Lightscoop.

Using the camera's built-in flash. See how artificial that looks? (Built-in flash is the bane of my existence. In all seriousness.)

Welcome to the power of Lightscoop, my friends. Isn't it pretty? And this was done with the same settings as the previous photo - only with my little toy slipped over the flash.

As you can tell, I'm in love with it. Goodbye to dark birthday photos! (The lighting in our lounge, where we normally open presents, is awful.) I am eagerly looking forward to a new era of indoor photos with my Lightscoop. (Which, did I mention, only cost $38.25, including shipping from the good ol' US of A?)