Tangents

photography tutorials, reviews & workshops

tangents photography blog
learn : discuss : share
  • Tangents
  • Tutorials
    • Flash Photography
    • Wedding Photography
    • Studio Photography
    • Posing People
    • Understanding Your Camera
    • Exposure metering
    • BFT
    • Best Photo Books
  • Reviews
    • Sony
    • Nikon
    • Canon
    • Fuji
    • Profoto
    • lighting gear
  • Workshops
    • Info: Workshops
    • In-person
      tutoring sessions
    • Online
      tutoring sessions
    • Workshops in
      New Jersey (NJ)
    • Workshops in
      New York (NYC)
    • Photo walks in NYC
    • Studio Workshop
    • Video tutorials
    • Workshop results
  • Books
    • On-Camera Flash (revised ed.)
    • Direction & Quality of Light
    • Off-Camera Flash Photography
    • Lighting & Design
    • On-Camera Flash (1st ed.)
  • Projects
    • Two Perspectives
    • B&W Infrared
    • Vintage lenses
    • Time-lapse photography
  • Info
    • About
    • Contact
    • My Photo Gear
    • Books by NvN
    • Join us on Facebook
    • Acclaim
    • Success Stories

Short lighting with on-camera bounce flash

July 15, 2023 Neil vN 4 Comments

short lighting with on-camera bounce flash

Short lighting with on-camera bounce flash

In the recent article — The simplicity of on-camera bounce flash — the flash was used as fill light to “clean up” the light and give a sparkle to the eyes. In that scenario, as fill-flash the flash didn’t really add directional light or shape the light on our subject. Where on-camera bounce flash is our only / main light source, then we can get creative with the direction of light and shape an interesting, dynamic light pattern on our subject. We can even create short lighting for our portraits created with only on-camera bounce flash. To get the beautiful directional light you see in this photo — where you get Short Lighting, and that gradient from light to dark on the broad side of the face … for that you need to bounce your flash with specific intent.

As part of my presentation — a home studio setup with speedlights — held at the semi-annual Camera Show at Unique Photo, I decided to take a quick detour into on-camera bounce flash photography as well. I wanted to show how good on-camera bounce flash could look when done properly. You can get close to studio quality portraits with on-camera bounce flash.

A few (strong) hints:
— bounce your flash into the direction you want your light to come from;
— get rid of those plastic on-camera bounce diffusers. They work AGAINST you most of the time, stopping you from getting amazing results.

The model and I were standing at the front of the classroom, and I bounced my flash into the white board to camera left, close to our model. However, (and this is important),  to block any direct flash from hitting our model, I used a piece of black foam that I tie to the underside of my flash. Yes, it’s the infamous Black Foamie Thing. The BFT is a simple piece of black foam that I use as a flag to control how the light spills from my on-camera flash. For more info on that, follow the link to the Tangents blog — there are a number of articles on exactly that — how to get this result with minimum fuss with just an on-camera flash.

I bounced my flash to an area on the white board next to and above our model. The BFT acted as a flag and blocked any direct light from my from flash. This way only light bounced off that specific spot hit my subject. As simple as that to create beautiful dynamic portrait light with an on-camera flash.

If you need visuals to help understand how this works, here is a very thorough hour-long tutorial video on How To use On-Camera Bounce Flash.

Our model here is Martina, and she’s just a dream to work with. If you are a New York based photographer, I would recommend reaching out to her if you are looking for an exceptional model.  And yes, the inspiration was Leeloo. Multipass!

Camera settings: 1/200 @ f/4 @ 1000 ISO
(For demonstration, I wanted to pull down any available light so that it doesn’t register much. Only the flash.)

 

Photo gear used with this photo session

  • Sony A9ii  (B&H / Amazon)
  • Tamron 35-150mm f/2 – f/2.8 (for Sony)  (B&H / Amazon)
  • Profoto A10 flash  for  Nikon / Canon / Sony  (Amazon affiliate links)
    Profoto A10 flash  for  Nikon / Canon / Sony  (B&H affiliate links)

 

Related articles

  • Video tutorial: On-camera bounce flash photography
  • Tutorial: Bounce flash photography
  • My preferred bounce flash modifier : the BFT
  • Flash Photography tutorials

 

 



 

Filed Under: BH, bounce flash photography, flash photography, martina, models, portraits Tagged With: bounce flash photography example, bounce flash technique, on-camera bounce flash


 

Help support this website

If you find these articles of value, please help support this website by using these B&H and Amazon affiliate links to order your photo gear.

I also offer photography workshops and tutoring sessions, whether in person, or via online video tutoring sessions.

Please follow me on Instagram for more.

You can also join our thriving photo community in the Tangents group on Facebook, where we show our photos and discuss all things photography.

Thank you,

Neil vN

Books by Neil van Niekerk


 




4 Comments, Add Your Own

  1. 1Jason says

    July 20, 2023 at 2:06 am

    I wish there was a “Like” button because I appreciate this article, but I don’t have a comment to make.

    Reply
  2. 2Roy Barnes says

    July 26, 2023 at 3:23 am

    A totally stunning image on every level, by the Master.

    Reply
  3. 3Valent Lau says

    August 12, 2023 at 9:52 am

    Interesting. I usually use bounce only in events so I have not really tried this.

    Reply
  4. 4Stephen says

    September 1, 2023 at 7:07 pm

    Having taken Neil’s workshop and read his books since 2010, it’s amazing how effective directional bounce flash and the BFT are. You absolutely don’t need those on-flash diffusers. Spend that money on a softbox instead.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

categories

Articles & Tutorials

  • • About myself & this site
    • Books by Neil vN
    • Best photography books
    • Black foamie thing
    • Photographers’ success stories
  • • Flash Photography Techniques
    • Natural looking flash
    • Flash + Ambient light
    • Dragging the shutter
    • Bouncing your flash
    • On-camera flash outdoors
    • Exposure metering
    • Flash exposure compensation
    • Bounce flash examples
    • Which is the best flashgun?
    • Flash brackets
    • Off-camera flash photography
    • Flash photography basics
    • Using video lights
    • Flash photography tips
  • • Photography workshops NJ / NYC
    • Models @ photography workshops
tutorials:
flash photography
Photography
Workshops

All rights reserved. Copyright © Neil van Niekerk 2025 · Customization by The Traveling Designer

Copyright © 2025 · NvN on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in