How to avoid this shadow?

[JustJazzie]

I brought out my speed light the other day and since my kids wouldn't cooperate, I decided to try for another self portrait. Im not very happy with it. I used my speed light, bounced off the ceiling. Im wondering if there is a good way to avoid the harsh shadow across my cheek. Thanks in advance for any tips you can share!

 

[HitenNainaney]

you could use a reflector to fill in the harsh shadow, however if you fill it in too much, it might just make the lighting look flat.

 

[tirediron]

Or, diffuse the light more to provide better wrap and or move it closer.

 

[JustJazzie]

Or, diffuse the light more to provide better wrap and or move it closer.

the flash was pretty far away....I'll move it closer next time. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[tirediron]

Or, diffuse the light more to provide better wrap and or move it closer.

the flash was pretty far away....I'll move it closer next time. Thanks for the suggestion!

2-3' is lots of distance.

 

[Scatterbrained]

I brought out my speed light the other day and since my kids wouldn't cooperate, I decided to try for another self portrait. Im not very happy with it. I used my speed light, bounced off the ceiling. Im wondering if there is a good way to avoid the harsh shadow across my cheek. Thanks in advance for any tips you can share! View attachment 75274

Are you referring to the shadow across your cheek from the glasses? It doesn't look too harsh to me. As far as moving the light closer, if you had a softbox or umbrella that would be a good idea, not so much with bounce flash though. It's all about the relative size of the light source; if you move the speedlight closer you'll actually end up with less ceiling above you illuminated while also creating a harsher angle that will result in raccoon eyes. What I like to do is bounce the light off of a wall next to the subject or a wall/ceiling joint behind me.

 

[Scatterbrained]

Or, diffuse the light more to provide better wrap and or move it closer.

the flash was pretty far away....I'll move it closer next time. Thanks for the suggestion!

2-3' is lots of distance.

Not with a bare speedlight bounced off the ceiling, then it's just a recipe for raccoon eyes.

 

[Derrel]

I think Jazzie is talking about the dimple shadow on her left cheek (camera right); looks like maybe if the light were coming from a slightly more-frontal angle that the one dimple would be as shadowless as the other one. Maybe a slightly different angle of your face in relation to the light source. Selfies are sooo tricky...

 

[tirediron]

the flash was pretty far away....I'll move it closer next time. Thanks for the suggestion!

2-3' is lots of distance.

Not with a bare speedlight bounced off the ceiling, then it's just a recipe for raccoon eyes.

(That's where the diffusion part comes in)

 

[KmH]

You can fill the shadows with a bounce card.

A bounce card redirects some of the bounce light straight forward at the subject to function as fill light.

If you bounce your speedlight off both the ceiling and a wall you can get light from 2 directions with a single flash.
Better yet is if you have 2 speedlights - 1 to bounce off the wall and 1 to bounce off the ceiling.

 

[JustJazzie]

I think Jazzie is talking about the dimple shadow on her left cheek (camera right); looks like maybe if the light were coming from a slightly more-frontal angle that the one dimple would be as shadowless as the other one. Maybe a slightly different angle of your face in relation to the light source. Selfies are sooo tricky...

Spot on as usual Derrel! That's the shadow I was talking about. I'll give this a shot next time. I don't really want to use a reflector because I want to avoid flat lighting. Gotta charge my speedlight batteries first!
I'll try all the other suggestions too!

 

[cynicaster]

I think Jazzie is talking about the dimple shadow on her left cheek (camera right); looks like maybe if the light were coming from a slightly more-frontal angle that the one dimple would be as shadowless as the other one. Maybe a slightly different angle of your face in relation to the light source. Selfies are sooo tricky...

Spot on as usual Derrel! That's the shadow I was talking about. I'll give this a shot next time. I don't really want to use a reflector because I want to avoid flat lighting. Gotta charge my speedlight batteries first!
I'll try all the other suggestions too!

I don’t think the shadow you’re talking about is very objectionable, myself.

But in general, yes, you really have to watch for such things when bouncing a flash off the ceiling. Essentially what you’re doing is moving your key light to the ceiling. If the point where the flash beam hits the ceiling is straight overhead—or close to it—then your eye sockets, nose, lips, etc. will cast downward shadows accordingly. The effect can be mitigated by moving the bounce point out in front of the subject a bit.

I wouldn’t worry about a reflector giving you flat lighting. It’s one of the handiest pieces of kit you can buy for shots like this, and it’s cheap. Heck, just make one out of white poster board and see for yourself.

 

[chainsawal]

I don’t think the shadow you’re talking about is very objectionable, myself.

I would agree... I didn't even notice it at first in regards to something that detracted from the photo... it looks ok to me. If anything, I would drop it in lightroom or photoshop and take it down half stop if needed in that one area... but I think that adds depth and character to the image.

I spent the first 15 secs looking under your eyes, nose, and lower cheek for shadows since you said you bounced it off the ceiling. For a ceiling bounce, you did a great job...I didn't see any of the usual suspect from that.

 

[JustJazzie]

I don’t think the shadow you’re talking about is very objectionable, myself. But in general, yes, you really have to watch for such things when bouncing a flash off the ceiling. Essentially what you’re doing is moving your key light to the ceiling. If the point where the flash beam hits the ceiling is straight overhead—or close to it—then your eye sockets, nose, lips, etc. will cast downward shadows accordingly. The effect can be mitigated by moving the bounce point out in front of the subject a bit. I wouldn’t worry about a reflector giving you flat lighting. It’s one of the handiest pieces of kit you can buy for shots like this, and it’s cheap. Heck, just make one out of white poster board and see for yourself.

I do have a reflector. I just didn't use it in this shot. I was trying to see what I could come up with using just one speed light. After all, I might not always had time/space to set up a reflector!

I would agree... I didn't even notice it at first in regards to something that detracted from the photo... it looks ok to me. If anything, I would drop it in lightroom or photoshop and take it down half stop if needed in that one area... but I think that adds depth and character to the image. I spent the first 15 secs looking under your eyes, nose, and lower cheek for shadows since you said you bounced it off the ceiling. For a ceiling bounce, you did a great job...I didn't see any of the usual suspect from that.

I'll try to knock it down a bit and see how I like it! Thanks for taking the time to suggest that.

 

[Bamps]

I believe I would use even a piece of paper, (white), and bounce light underneath and to the other side.