Catchlights in the eyes with bounce flash
Catchlights in the eyes with bounce flash
I'm often asked about how I get those catch-lights in the eyes of my subjects. My answer is - if you bounce your flash properly, the catchlights have to be there! When working indoors with surfaces that I can easily bounce my flash off, the question that I always ask myself is: If this had been a studio shoot, where would I place my softbox? In a studio-type setup, you'd rarely place a softbox directly over someone's head as a single light-source. There are two places to commonly place a softbox in the studio .. to left (and slightly Read more inside...Flagging bounce flash for directional light – vs – simple bounce flash
Flagging the speedlite for directional light
Bouncing your flash of various surfaces will give you a larger light source, and hence, softer light. But in bouncing it at a sideways angle compared to where your subject is, will give you directional light from my on-camera flash. Even better, if you have a scenario as in the photo at the top, where there is a row of people, you can get nearly an equal amount of light on them. Since you can bounce your flash off a surface equidistant to them, they will all be lit about the same amount. This means less dodging and burning in Read more inside...Bounce flash technique – mimicking soft window light
Bounce flash photography technique - mimicking window light
The classic shot - a beautiful bride lit by soft window light. That's a yes on the beautiful bride - but it's a solid no on the window light. What you see there is on-camera flash. (Which most likely won't be a surprise to regular readers of the Tangents blog.) This image is from a wedding this past weekend, and it makes a great example of how light, choice of lens, composition, angle and technique come together to make an image work. With a bit of post-processing added finally for that vintage Read more inside...using on-camera bounce flash outside
an example of using on-camera bounce flash outside
This photograph of our model, Precious, taken during a flash photography workshop, is an example from the practical session where we used areas outside to bounce our flash off. By adding that bit of light from our on-camera speedlights, we can sweeten the existing light. Working in the early evening in lower light levels, it becomes easier to get effective light from our speedlight even when bounced off the side of a building. camera settings: 1/60 @ f3.2 @ 800 ISO - on-camera TTL flash, bounced. Nikon D3; Nikon 24-70mm f2.8G Read more inside...bounce flash photography – short lighting
bounce flash example - short lighting
Having just finished the second of the two workshops here in Cork, Ireland, I feel unusually energized after the two busy days. Partly because the two workshops ran very smoothly, (courtesy of Liam Ramsell who coordinated these workshops), but also because I had two groups of genuinely nice people. On top of that, I am just enamored of the country and its people. I love it here! But back to the photography: The image above is of our one model, Noreen, and was taken during the practical session at a photography workshop in Cork, Ireland, Read more inside...Bounce flash – balancing foreground and background exposure
Bounce flash - balancing foreground and background exposure
Lighting for the impromptu portrait of this little cutie was simple - just an on-camera speedlight, bounced up and over my left shoulder. This gives soft directional light. A simple technique that works every time when using on-camera flash indoors where there are light ceiling and walls around. Settings: 1/250th @ f4 @ 1000 iso; TTL flash My exposure settings was determined by the out-of-focus garden area outside, seen through a large window. It was over-cast, and therefore not super-bright. This meant that the bounce Read more inside...Light modifiers for on-camera flash
Light modifiers for on-camera flash
Event photography, and specifically weddings, can be a rushed and fast-moving, with some of the worst lighting conditions. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have great light from just an on-camera speedlight. By bouncing your on-camera flash with specific intent, you can achieve just that - beautiful, soft directional light. Light modifiers for on-camera speedlights all generally do the same thing - they spread a lot of light around, and but also throw some light directly forward. In a way, this gives a bare-bulb effect to the light from the Read more inside...Ambient exposure with TTL flash
Ambient exposure with TTL flash
A question I was asked about exposure metering in relation to flash: Let's say I use Manual mode on my camera, and have adjust my aperture and shutter speed so that my meter indicator have returned to zero. At this point I know at least i have "correct exposure". I would either choose to over expose and under expose depend on circumstances. My question is, will my picture get over exposed if fire my strobe even thought my indicator already point to zero ? I have no idea how should I integrate flash setting into my routine I always use when in M Read more inside...bouncing flash inside large venues
bouncing flash inside large venues - adding TTL flash to ambient light
One of the ideas that has been mentioned here previously, is when using on-camera flash indoors, to approach it with a studio mind-set where possible. Instead of bouncing flash upwards towards the ceiling, or even simply behind you, the idea is to think "where would I have placed my softbox if this were a studio?" Then it is simply a matter of pointing the on-camera flash in that direction, and flagging any spill light from the flashgun. I most often use a piece of black foam to flag my on-camera speedlight. Read more inside...- « Previous Page
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