{"id":19582,"date":"2014-03-17T10:08:35","date_gmt":"2014-03-17T14:08:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/?p=19582"},"modified":"2018-08-27T21:37:52","modified_gmt":"2018-08-28T01:37:52","slug":"adjusting-black-foamie-thing-as-snoot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/adjusting-black-foamie-thing-as-snoot\/","title":{"rendered":"Bounce flash: Adjusting the black foamie thing as a snoot"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Bounce flash – Adjusting the black foamie thing to be a snoot<\/h1>\n

During the day, as I photograph a wedding, I am continually mixing up the lighting, adapting and adjusting<\/a>. It’s part of the process of giving my clients as much variety as possible, and also just being flexible in adapting to the demands of the various locations. It’s therefore a varied approach in using all kinds of light sources:\u00a0off-camera flash, on-camera flash, video light and available light<\/a>. It’s part of the fun, and part of the challenge of being a wedding photographer – thinking on your feet. Of course there’s extra pressure on you as photographer when you’re flown to\u00a0Melbourne, Australia to photograph a wedding<\/a>!<\/p>\n

The morning after Peiwen and Eric’s wedding, they had the Tea Ceremony with the parents, and Peiwen was in traditional dress. I just had to get more portraits of the two of them, and with Peiwen in this striking red dress.<\/p>\n

In the elevator lobby on their floor, there were these seats and mirrors and wood paneling that looked like it would make an elegant setting for some portraits of the couple. But the light there was uneven, and not very bright. I needed to add some light, but only had a video light with me, and on-camera flash. With that large mirror, someone holding up a video light would’ve involved a lot of Photoshop work. So the next option – bounce flash. But again, that large mirror there was a challenge.<\/p>\n

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Simply bouncing my on-camera flash<\/a> to my left (using the black foamie thing), meant a splash of light on the wall behind me. Yes, I was hiding myself behind the reflection of Peiwen. Strange how such a petite woman can hide a burly photographer. (Hint, it’s the perspective.) Anyway, that splash of light had to not be there. It revealed my lighting, and ideally it should just be seamless.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\"On-Camera<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>
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On-Camera Flash Photography – revised edition<\/h2>\n

This book is explains a cohesive and thorough approach to getting the best from your on-camera speedlight.<\/p>\n

Particular care was taken to present it all with a logical flow that will help any photographer attain a better understanding of flash photography.<\/p>\n

You can either purchase a copy via\u00a0Amazon USA<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Amazon UK<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0or can be ordered through Barnes & Nobles and other bookstores. The book\u00a0is also available on the Apple iBook Store, as well as Amazon Kindle.\nAlso check out the Amazon Kindle store.<\/p>\n

Learn more about\u00a0how\u00a0the cover image<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0was shot.\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>

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To get the image at the top of this article, I simply turned the BFT into a full snoot by cupping my hand around it – no light escaped then to hit the wall behind me. All the light was blasted down the passage, and the reflected light opened up the image.<\/p>\n

I popped out for one behind-the-scenes selfie to show my position.<\/p>\n

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Camera settings and photo gear\u00a0(or equivalents) used<\/h2>\n