Thanks so much for the tips, Mav! My ceiling are very high in my living room so I can't bounce off of it anyway. I've tried turning the flash around backward but it doesn't seem to help...maybe my flash doesn't have enough power. Usually when I take pictures of the kids I take them outside or have them sit in front of the back door (it's a sliding door, facing west so in the afternoon lots of light comes through). I bought a reflector set a few months ago, I should try using it more, bouncing the flash off of it.