bounce flash

almaass · Mar 5, 2009

so i went and bought an sb600 because red eye and shadows were killing me. this is the first time i have bounced flashes and such. am i on the right track? this was taken in my living room in the evening. thanks

bdavis · Mar 5, 2009

Well....there's no red eye and no harsh shadows, so nice work. However, the picture is a little underexposed. You could mess with this in a piece of software, or play with the settings on the camera...which would be the better way. Add a little flash exposure compensation, I'd say +2/3 1 full stop should do it. Nice job for your first time.

adamwilliamking · Mar 5, 2009

what are you shooting at here?

Samanax · Mar 5, 2009

Bouncing Flash

A Better Bounce Card

Flash + Ambient Light

bigtwinky · Mar 5, 2009

Thanks for those links Samanax! I also just got a flash and learning how to use it properly.

Sandspur · Mar 5, 2009

You're doing fine.

Just remember that when you bounce the flash there are a couple of factors you need to be aware of:

1. The distance between the flash and the bounce surface AND the distance from that surface to the subject. (i.e. If you're near the floor, and the baby's on the floor, and you're bouncing off the ceiling ... that light has to travel 6 or 8 feet up and 6 or 8 feet back down before it reaches the subject.)

2. The relative reflectance (or whatever you would call it) of the ceiling itself will cause it to absorb at least some of that light. Not to mention that the color of the light will be affected by the color of the surface you're bouncing off of, as well as the color of the wall or other surfaces nearby.

In other words, that little beam of light has to travel a long way, and some of it is going to be absorbed and/or re-colored both by the distance and the surface it's bouncing off of. So be aware ...

For this and a couple of other reasons, that's why I prefer to use my SB600 with a diffuser (Stofen) and (usually) angled up at 45-60 degrees, or something like the Fong Lightsphere pointing straight up.

NucleaRR · Mar 5, 2009

Samanax said:
Bouncing Flash

A Better Bounce Card

Flash + Ambient Light

I definitely recommend taking the advice given in A Better Bounce Card. I made my own recently and it really does make a world of difference. What is great about the bounce card is it throws some of the flashes' light forward to help reduce shadows under the brows and lips. I made my bounce card for 42 cents, the foam paper is really cheap. Also a suggestion that I would make is go to a bicycle shop and ask for a blown out tire tube. You can cut this and use it as the band around the flash to hold the bounce card on.