Gary Fong’s Lightsphere - Review
February 24, 2008
By Steve Kajihiro
Some of you might have seen photographers, with this weird looking plastic lunch bowl on their camera’s flash. Some people might joke that you can eat out of it, but it’s really the Gary Fong’s Lightsphere. Gary Fong, a famous celebrity wedding photographer invented this very strange but useful flash diffuser. Unlike some other flash diffusers that directs light forward, the Lightshere actually lights up the whole room. The inside surface of the lightsphere is textured so light is dispersed even more for a softer look. The lightsphere is soft and flexible so it can fit in most camera bags.
I bought the Lightsphere over a year ago, after trying several different brands of flash diffusers. Once I got the lightsphere, I was very surprise and it’s now a necessity for me on events or receptions. I have used it in high school gyms to photograph basketball, events, and even portraits. This product really does light up the room, the light is diffused, which minimizes shadows behind your subjects. It gives studio lighting effects with portraits. And on some occassions, I have just used the lightsphere instead of studio strobes for headshots.
For basketball, I really looked funny using the lightsphere but I was the one laughing at the end with nicely lit photos. The lightsphere amazingly, lit up the gym which allowed me to use a slightly faster shutter speed.
Since, I purchased my Lightsphere, two of my fellow photographers friends at first made fun of me but they later realized that it was actually effective and useful. They ended up purchasing it too.
If you decide to purchase the Lightsphere, make sure you buy the correct size for you flash.
I highly recommend Gary Fong’s Lightsphere.
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