Diffuse your flash with a coffee filter

There are a lot of clever ways to play with the light from your flash, but if you want a dirt cheap and effective way to diffuse the light coming from a popup or external flash, why not try putting something in front of it… like a coffee filter? Also effective is a paper towel, or even a piece of white copier paper. All of these will soften the quality of the light and make it look less harsh on your subject. They will also drastically reduce the range of the flash too, so don’t get too far away.