Softlight for your Speedlight

Yesterday evening turned into arts and crafts night. I was starting to go stir crazy from being stuck at home with this cold so I had to do something. The following is the result:

I remember in college (long, long time ago) we had these great Mole-Richardson Softlights in one of the studios. And the light they produced was quite nice. So, I thought, lets see if I can make one for my 550EX.

Here are a couple images of the finished softlight.

What you need:

• Ruler
• White fome board
• White bristol board
• Aluminum tape
• Scissors
• Pencil
• X-acto blade/knife
• Glue stick

The first thing i did was cut out the sides from the foam board.


I measured the height of the front edge.


I then transferred that measurement to the bristol board (already cut to the width I wanted, including 1.5" extra for gluing tabs) and folded the board at that measurement.


I marked on the bristol board where the next fold would be and then folded the board.


I then marked where the 3rd fold would be and folded the board.


I marked the board 1/2" from the edge on both sides with a pencil.


I then cut out gluing tabs up to the lines I just drew at all the folds and cut smaller notches for the curved back.


I then applied aluminum tape up to the 3rd fold. Leaving the curved back white.


I applied aluminum tape to the foam board sides to the bottom portion (from where the from panel starts to where the curve begins).


I then fold up all the gluing tabs along the 1/2" pencil marks, using a ruler as a guide.


Then I mark the back where the flash will fit (between the first and second fold) and draw diagonal lines from corner to corner of the flash outline. Then cut along those diagonal lines creating an "X" where the flash fits through.

I then glued the bristol board to one of the foam board sides applying glue to the tabs with a glue stick. Then repeated the gluing process with the other side making sure the aluminum tape faces inside of the softlight.


Here is what the inside of the softlight looks like when complete.

Disclaimer: This project, the photography and the blog post were all done while running a fever and on cold medication. If there is anything that is unclear (like I was during this whole process) please ask any questions in the comments. I will be posting sample images using the softlight as soon as possible.