bouncing off the walls .. « Neil vN

When I recently photographed one of my couples in Hoboken, we worked for a while in one of the colorful alleys. To lift the shadows a little bit, I used flash. However a softbox might have been overkill when just a touch of fill-flash is needed .. especially when there is a useful wall directly behind me.

I stood next to the car, with the car to my left and the wall directly behind me. This allowed me some flexibility in moving around.

My settings: 1/200th @ f4 @ 800 ISO and my flash was in TTL, and set around -2 EV.

Here you can compare the effect with flash, and without flash:

When I boost the exposure of the non-flash photo by 1/3rd of a stop the effect is fairly subtle when compared to image where there was that touch of flash added. But it does clean up the image a bit by opening up the shadows. I do prefer this, and it does help to make the image pop a bit more.

So next time you’re photographing outside, look around you for suitable areas to bounce flash off for a subtle fill light.

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12 Comments »

Hy Neil,

at the end, where from did you bounce the flash off ? From the car, or the wall behind you ?

Andreas

Comment by Andreas — July 20, 2009 @ 8:01 am
Looking at your environment, the two pictures look like you are forming a triangle between the car, you and the subjects. When you bounce off the back wall, are you aiming the flash dead on at the wall (90-degrees), or trying to split the difference in the angles to bounce the flash at the subjects if you assumed the flash shot a column of light? Is the diffusion off the back wall so significant that it doesn’t really matter (and/or that the triangle/space was so tight that it didn’t really matter in this case)?

Comment by Andrew — July 20, 2009 @ 8:36 am
Hi Neil,
Was this a direct fill-flash or a bounce the flash off the back wall? The back wall is really far away from the car, so I wouldn’t have thought the bounced light would reach the couple.

Comment by Stephen — July 20, 2009 @ 9:19 am
Neil
Good eye to fine this place, It amazes me some of the places you pic for a shoot. I would have past this up because it looks like a junky place in the whole pic , but your pic is very intresting.
cool shot thanks for the insite. how far from the wall were you?
John

Comment by john — July 20, 2009 @ 9:31 am
Hi Neil,

I’m confused too (Which is quite often!), so off the car was the bounce light?

Thanks.

Comment by Tim C. — July 20, 2009 @ 9:33 am
Hi there everyone ..

I bounced the flash off the grey-white wall behind me.
– “bouncing off the walls”
– “useful wall behind me”
I thought that would be explicit enough. :-p

Stephen, nope. No direct flash.
I bounced the flash off the wall for a touch of fill.

For some of the images the flash was turned 180′ behind me, for other images I was at more of an angle to the wall. And yes, I adjust the angle of my flash-head constantly.

John, I was moving around, but more or less in line with the car.

Neil vN

Comment by Neil — July 20, 2009 @ 11:25 am
I think I am getting this technique. Lets see if I can reconstruct the thought process.

1. Need to set the correct ambient exposure 1st, keeping in mind that we are using bounce flash so need an lens opening large enough to return the light from the wall.

2. Set shutter speed to max sync speed of 1/200. This will give us the widest lens opening thus making the effort of the flash easier. Also ensures sharp exposures.

3. Decide on the depth of field we want for the image in order to keep the brick wall in focus. In this case f4.

4. Dial up the required iso for the proper exposure to give us 1/200 @ f4. In this case it was iso 800.

5. Set the flash exposure compensation to -2.0 or the fill level required and take a shot. If this was not working, Chimp the flash to suit.

One question that I have is when shooting a subject in shade and against a very bright background, The initial exposure for the ambient the you refer to is the light on the subject in the shade and not the sunny background. Am I right? This is how you get those beautiful over exposed background highlights?

Thanks for all the time and effort you have spent blogging. I very much appreciate it. You have created some very beautiful, and inspirational photographs. I have learned tons from your site. I am waiting patiently for your book.

Regards
Gene

Comment by Gene — July 20, 2009 @ 12:14 pm
Gene .. you’re close, but with a few refinements added.

1. Need to set the correct ambient exposure 1st, keeping in mind that we are using bounce flash so need an lens opening large enough to return the light from the wall.

Correct. That would be a good starting point to get to your settings.

2. Set shutter speed to max sync speed of 1/200. This will give us the widest lens opening thus making the effort of the flash easier. Also ensures sharp exposures.

Very close.
Max flash sync speed for this camera is 1/250th.
I didn’t quite need maximum sync speed since I wasn’t working in overly bright conditions. But I still wanted my shutter speed high enough so I don’t risk (much) subject movement and camera shake.

3. Decide on the depth of field we want for the image in order to keep the brick wall in focus. In this case f4.

In this case I wanted enough depth of field to get both their faces sharp when in the same plane of focus, or when either they move or I move position, that the person who is the main subject, be crisply in focus.

I didn’t consider the sharpness of the wall at all. Ideally I would even have liked it to be much softer in the background, but the working space there dictated how sharp the background would appear.

4. Dial up the required ISO for the proper exposure to give us 1/200 @ f4. In this case it was ISO 800.

Correct. And 800 ISO on the Nikon D3 is clean. So I easily go there for portraits. (And yes, I can just about kiss my camera every time I use it.)

5. Set the flash exposure compensation to -2.0 or the fill level required and take a shot. If this was not working, Chimp the flash to suit.

That’s about it. :)
So there you have a simple method that will get you there every time in similar situations.

One question that I have is when shooting a subject in shade and against a very bright background, The initial exposure for the ambient the you refer to is the light on the subject in the shade and not the sunny background. Am I right? This is how you get those beautiful over exposed background highlights?

Exactly. : )

Neil vN

Comment by Neil — July 20, 2009 @ 3:09 pm
Hi Neil,
You create wonderful images in some ordinary places like in this example. Thanks for your very informative posts and for sharing your knowledge. I have learned so much from your site. I look forward to each of your new posts and continue to read your older ones too. I also can’t wait for your book.

Thanks

Dave

Comment by Dave Boege — July 20, 2009 @ 4:23 pm
Hi Neil,
I tried that technique (bounce off the wall) this past weekend, but I did not set my shutter speed to 1/250. Actually, I didn’t meter off the ambient background. I still metered off the subject. I need to practice this some more.

Does adjusting the FEC affect the camera’s exposure needle?

Comment by Stephen — July 20, 2009 @ 9:36 pm
Stephen, FEC won’t affect the camera’s ambient light metering.

Neil vN

Comment by Neil — July 21, 2009 @ 3:22 am
Hi Neil,

Just browsing the web and found your site. I think your pictures are excellent. I have added your site to my favorites and will visit often to learn more about flash photography.

Regards

Konrad

Comment by Konrad — July 26, 2009 @ 11:37 am