Don't do this....

[STM]

It just goes to show that you can have all the best equipment in the world and still be an idiot. Good grief.

"Bailiff, please remove the defendant from the courtroom and return him to his cell in the Stupidity POD........"

 

[SCraig]

(hand raised, head hung) I did it. I admit it, I did it once. But it turned out kind of funny.

I was at the zoo, had my flash in my jacket pocket and the only way it would fit was with the head pointed up. I was in a hurry to get a shot, put my flash on my camera, turned it on, focused, shot, shot again, shot again, what the HELL is wrong with this flash. Oh. That's what's wrong with it ;( At least there was a tree where I was shooting so I got some (green) bounce off of it.

Funny part: Couple of people with P&S looking at their flashes trying to figure out how to point them straight up since "With a camera like that" I obviously had to know something that they didn't.

 

[Netskimmer]

ok, if that irritates you, let me tell you what happened at a recent birthday party we had been to. One of the "designated" photographers had this flash bounce on and was happily taking pictures. One problem, the bounce was facing us instead of the ceiling or another wall. So, whenever he snapped a picture, we got this blinding flash discharge on our face and needless to say, it was irritating. He was not doing it all the time, but if we occassionally happened to look that way, we were temporarily blinded. we moved to another part of the room behind him but lost the good "view" of the birthday kid in the process.

Moral of the story, if you're gonna bounce the flash, make sure you point it away from people. LOL

Hey, bouncing the flash off people's foreheads produces a really cool effect.

 

[adichiru]

I understand the intention of the initial post but there are very plausible scenarios in which that guy did nothing wrong. I really believe that we are too eager and energetic in condemning this guy for an on-camera flash pointed apparently in the wrong direction.

I am saying this because I have some experience in event photography and you don't always have time to reconfigure your flash when you run outside (while keep on shooting) and you don't need it anymore - you just turn if off and that's it!
So, we don't know:
- if it was off or not; if is was on, maybe he did not bother to turn it off and keep on shooting fully aware that he needs no flash in the new circumstances (maybe flash abuse but necessarily stupid)
- if that difuser was not actually the support for a gel, like the SB900 has for example - the image is not clear enough to allow for a good distinction.


So, while I understand the apparent stupidity I would be more reserved in judging everything so superficially.

 

[bogeyguy]

I understand the intention of the initial post but there are very plausible scenarios in which that guy did nothing wrong. I really believe that we are too eager and energetic in condemning this guy for an on-camera flash pointed apparently in the wrong direction.

I am saying this because I have some experience in event photography and you don't always have time to reconfigure your flash when you run outside (while keep on shooting) and you don't need it anymore - you just turn if off and that's it!
So, we don't know:
- if it was off or not; if is was on, maybe he did not bother to turn it off and keep on shooting fully aware that he needs no flash in the new circumstances (maybe flash abuse but necessarily stupid)
- if that difuser was not actually the support for a gel, like the SB900 has for example - the image is not clear enough to allow for a good distinction.


So, while I understand the apparent stupidity I would be more reserved in judging everything so superficially.

I agree.

 

[ghostdog]

I understand the intention of the initial post but there are very plausible scenarios in which that guy did nothing wrong. I really believe that we are too eager and energetic in condemning this guy for an on-camera flash pointed apparently in the wrong direction.

I am saying this because I have some experience in event photography and you don't always have time to reconfigure your flash when you run outside (while keep on shooting) and you don't need it anymore - you just turn if off and that's it!
So, we don't know:
- if it was off or not; if is was on, maybe he did not bother to turn it off and keep on shooting fully aware that he needs no flash in the new circumstances (maybe flash abuse but necessarily stupid)
- if that difuser was not actually the support for a gel, like the SB900 has for example - the image is not clear enough to allow for a good distinction.


So, while I understand the apparent stupidity I would be more reserved in judging everything so superficially.

I agree with this as well. Common sense tells me that it was not intentional or it was simply turned off.

 

[TimGilbertson]

On a related note: one thing I do ALL the time at events, even though it probably makes me look like a complete goof, is point the flash at the ceiling - but backwards. If the roof is too low, or I want to throw light farther forward without harsh shadows, pointing backwards works very well. I've had people come up to me to ask what I'm doing, giving me weird looks. I'm sure it's crazy annoying too because people are potentially getting hit in the face with a flash if they're behind me.

T

 

[bhop]

Those diffusers are crap anyway .. IMO™

 

[tirediron]

Maybe he just came from indoors, and didn't have time to monkey with the flash..............

Or maybe he's got some flash fairies flying above him, out of frame, who are holding up a nice surface to bounce the flash off of. :er:

You're just being silly Mike... everyone knows there's no such thing as a 'flash fairy'... He hires the Good Year blimp and suspends a giant Lastolite panel under it!

 

[Tony S]

I've shot that way... and on purpose. My thought process behind doing that was I needed no fill, but wanted the reflection of the omni bounce to get catchlights in the eyes that were smaller than the huge sky behind me.

 

[Austin Greene]

I would be more reserved in judging everything so superficially.

You haven't been on TPF for too long, have you?

 

[bratkinson]

\
Hey, bouncing the flash off people's foreheads produces a really cool effect.

Just be careful when doing a forehead bounce you don't have anyone in the frame with a "full forehead" that goes from front to back and around the sides, too...like me! The extra large skin-reflector bounces too much light and washes out the picture!

 

[Netskimmer]

So that would be like an inverted Fong Diffuser?

 

[Big Mike]

I understand the intention of the initial post but there are very plausible scenarios in which that guy did nothing wrong. I really believe that we are too eager and energetic in condemning this guy for an on-camera flash pointed apparently in the wrong direction.

I am saying this because I have some experience in event photography and you don't always have time to reconfigure your flash when you run outside (while keep on shooting) and you don't need it anymore - you just turn if off and that's it!
So, we don't know:
- if it was off or not; if is was on, maybe he did not bother to turn it off and keep on shooting fully aware that he needs no flash in the new circumstances (maybe flash abuse but necessarily stupid)
- if that difuser was not actually the support for a gel, like the SB900 has for example - the image is not clear enough to allow for a good distinction.


So, while I understand the apparent stupidity I would be more reserved in judging everything so superficially.

I agree as well. I don't mean to pick on the guy in the photo, in particular. But as I said, I see this type of thing all to often...and I just used that image as an example for a PSA.

 

[jackharper]

Looks good, though.

we can always show off to other photographers