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Bounce flash and choice of background & backlighting

August 8, 2017 Neil vN 16 Comments

Bounce flash and choice of background + backlighting

This is where style and technique intersect - the choice of how to use flash (or any other kind of additional lighting) at wedding receptions. Many photographers prefer the crisp look of multiple off-camera flash setups at wedding receptions. While I do think some of the photos look incredible, I am not convinced that the success rate is all that high. Hot spots in the background, and weird cross-shadows will mar many of the photos. My preference has always been for the predictability and flexibility of using on-camera bounce  Read more inside...

Which direction to bounce on-camera flash?

January 20, 2017 Neil vN 12 Comments

Which direction to bounce on-camera flash?

When photographing any kind of portrait with on-camera bounce flash, my main consideration is that I want flattering light. For example, this photo of the bride dancing with her dad, I want flattering light to illuminate her face. It should be obvious that I decided to bounce the flash towards camera-right, so that the light comes in from that direction. I don't want to light up the side of her head. I want to light up her face. This means that as the couple rotate, I will continually adjust the direction that I bounce my flash into. This  Read more inside...

High-ISO bounce flash photography

November 11, 2014 Neil vN 37 Comments

High-ISO bounce flash photography

One of the misconceptions about bounce flash photography that many photographers cling to, is that you absolutely need a white wall or ceiling near you. While it does help, this shouldn't stop you from trying to be a little adventurous with on-camera bounce flash to see if it gets you the results you want. There have been several articles on the topic of bouncing off various other surfaces, or, not any particular surface nearby: Bounce flash photography at wedding receptions  (bride: Juana) Wedding reception lighting with one flash  (groom:  Read more inside...

How do you meter for TTL flash & ambient light?

April 11, 2013 Neil vN 26 Comments

How do you meter for TTL flash & ambient light?

In taking these kinds of candid images, I set the camera so that there is enough light recorded on the test shots without flash. No real metering technique, but I judge by the LCD to see that there will be enough detail in the background. It is kinda the dragging the shutter technique, but not as specific perhaps. I just want some ambient light to register. Then I simply use TTL flash to expose correctly for any subject which is turned away from the main source of ambient light - the window. Without flash, these kids' features  Read more inside...

Photographing the wedding processional with extreme bounce flash

April 4, 2013 Neil vN 28 Comments

Photographing the wedding processional with extreme bounce flash

As mentioned in the article on photographing the wedding processional, in my opinion, the wedding processional in the church is likely the most challenging part of the day in terms of our technique. People are moving towards you - admittedly at slow pace, unless the bridesmaids are nervous. Then they can easily just zip right up to the front! The light levels are low, and the light is most likely uneven. Adding flash to this is a reliable way to get clean open light on your subjects, but bounce flash can be a bit of a  Read more inside...

Bounce flash for bridal portraits

July 14, 2011 Neil vN 25 Comments

Bounce flash for portraits of a bride

Deep into the busy part of the wedding season, the articles posted recently will be more wedding-centric than usual. But, as I've mentioned before, many of the techniques translate to other fields of photography. This photograph of a bride, Christine, received some very favorable comments when I posted it on Facebook. So I thought it might make a good topic here, as well as being a good recap of some essential bounce flash techniques. The portrait is quite straightforward in execution - the lighting was quite simple, but effective. It was also  Read more inside...

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Recent Comments

  • Neil vN: There is a distinct possibility of banding when using the electronic shutter. Some cameras are more...
  • Neil vN: Hi there Rick, Thank you for the kind words. As far as I know, Amazon automatically bumps up the price on...
  • Rick: Neil, I was having problems with my somewhat new Nikon z6ii flash not working correctly (or so I thought) and I...
  • Simon vail: Thank you for the post. I’d like to ask if you experience banding when using electronic shutter under...
  • Valent Lau: An interesting idea. Personally, I’ve been told I need to niche or else they (business network)...

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