{"id":52095,"date":"2024-08-26T19:34:41","date_gmt":"2024-08-26T23:34:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/?p=52095"},"modified":"2026-01-28T00:49:06","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T04:49:06","slug":"on-camera-bounce-flash-for-beautiful-portrait-light","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/on-camera-bounce-flash-for-beautiful-portrait-light\/","title":{"rendered":"On-camera bounce flash for beautiful portrait light"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone \" src=\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/images\/models\/koko\/koko_2408_036.jpg\" width=\"999\" height=\"1249\" \/><\/p>\n<h1>On-camera bounce flash for beautiful portrait light<\/h1>\n<p>Here are several portraits of a model, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/kaihokulau\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Koko<\/a>, taken during a workshop in my studio last week. She was phenomenal with her posing. Just on all the time. I will post her IG account lower down. The lighting &#8212; notice how soft and even it is, but with a gradual contrast to the one side of her face. No hard flash shadow. Just big, soft, directional light in the studio.<\/p>\n<p>All achieved with on-camera bounce flash. Just the one light. No Fong Dong! No MagMod boob! No Rogue Flash bender! Seriously calm down with that unnecessary stuff. You don&#8217;t need any of that when there are light-colored bounce-able surfaces around you.<\/p>\n<p>I did use the infamous Black Foamie Thing to control how my light spills, and that there is NO direct flash on her. Just .. dare I say it again &#8230; soft, directional light. (Tutorial linked below.)<br \/>\nThis is where simplicity and beautiful light intersect &#8212; properly bounced flash. It could not be simpler.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/video-tutorial-on-camera-bounce-flash-photography\/\">Video tutorial: On-camera bounce flash photography<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The bounce flash technique here (as explained thoroughly in that tutorial) is based on the consistent idea that you want to control the direction that your light comes from. Ideally not from your camera &amp; lens axis. You want the light to come from an appropriate direction. With that in mind, you bounce your flash into the direction that you want your light to come from.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone \" src=\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/images\/models\/koko\/Koko_2408_061.jpg\" width=\"900\" height=\"1125\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone \" src=\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/images\/models\/koko\/koko_2408_014.jpg\" width=\"900\" height=\"1125\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone \" src=\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/images\/models\/koko\/koko_2408_049.jpg\" width=\"899\" height=\"1124\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone \" src=\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/images\/models\/koko\/koko_2408_067.jpg\" width=\"898\" height=\"1122\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Photo gear used in this photo session<\/h2>\n<p>.. but really, pretty much any camera and portrait-y lens, with a decently powered flash could have done it. This is all about the technique!<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/recommends\/sony-a1\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sony A1<\/a> \u00a0(<a href=\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/recommends\/sony-a1-bh\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>B&amp;H<\/em><\/a> \/ <a href=\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/recommends\/sony-a1\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>Amazon<\/em><\/a>)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/recommends\/sony-fe-24-70mm-f28-gm\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sony 24-70mm f\/2.8 GM ii<\/a> \u00a0(<a href=\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/recommends\/sony-fe-24-70mm-f28-gm-bh\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>B&amp;H<\/em><\/a> \/ <a href=\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/recommends\/sony-fe-24-70mm-f28-gm\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>Amazon<\/em><\/a>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Profoto A10 flash\u00a0 for \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/recommends\/profoto-a10-flash-nikon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nikon<\/a> \/ <a href=\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/recommends\/profoto-a10-flash-canon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Canon<\/a> \/ <a href=\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/recommends\/profoto-a10-flash-sony\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sony<\/a> \u00a0<em>(Amazon affiliate links)<\/em><\/li>\n<li>Profoto A10 flash\u00a0 for \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/recommends\/profoto-a10-flash-nikon-bh\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nikon<\/a> \/ <a href=\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/recommends\/profoto-a10-flash-canon-bh\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Canon<\/a> \/ <a href=\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/recommends\/profoto-a10-flash-sony-bh\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sony<\/a> \u00a0<em>(B&amp;H affiliate links)<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/NeilvanNiekerk\/videos\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/images\/banners\/youtube.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"900\" height=\"120\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<hr \/>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"one_third\"><a href=\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/recommends\/nvn-book-on-camera-flash-2nd-ed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/images\/books\/NvN\/5-oncameraflash-ed2-250.jpg\" alt=\"On-Camera Flash Photography\" width=\"250\" height=\"357\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"two_third last\">\n<h2>On-Camera Flash Photography \u2013 revised edition<\/h2>\n<p>This book is explains a cohesive and thorough approach to getting the best from your on-camera speedlight.<\/p>\n<p>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<p>You can either purchase a copy via\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/recommends\/nvn-book-on-camera-flash-2nd-ed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Amazon USA<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/recommends\/nvn-book-on-camera-flash-2nd-ed-uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Amazon UK<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0or can be ordered through Barnes &amp; Nobles and other bookstores. The book\u00a0is also available on the Apple iBook Store, as well as Amazon Kindle. Also check out the Amazon Kindle store.<\/p>\n<p>Learn more about\u00a0how\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/book-on-camera-flash-photography\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the cover image<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0was shot.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<h2>Related articles<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/kaihokulau\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Koko &#8211; instagram account<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/video-tutorial-on-camera-bounce-flash-photography\/\">Video tutorial: On-camera bounce flash photography<\/a><\/li>\n<li>The list of articles on <a href=\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/category\/bounce-flash-photography\/\">bounce flash photography<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/about\/black-foamie-thing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Black foamie thing : modifier for on-camera bounce flash<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/bounce-flash-photography-inverse-square-law\/\">Bounce flash photography &amp; The Inverse Square Law<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<footer class=\"entry-footer\">\n<div class=\"after-entry widget-area\">\n<section id=\"text-33\" class=\"widget widget_text\">\n<div class=\"widget-wrap\">\n<div class=\"textwidget\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/footer>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/neilvn\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/images\/banners\/instagram.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"900\" height=\"120\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<footer class=\"entry-footer\">\n<p class=\"entry-meta\">\n<\/footer>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On-camera bounce flash for beautiful portrait light Here are several portraits of a model, Koko, taken during a workshop in my studio last week. She was phenomenal with her posing. Just on all the time. I will post her IG account lower down. The lighting &#8212; notice how soft and even it is, but with&nbsp;<a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/on-camera-bounce-flash-for-beautiful-portrait-light\/\" rel=\"nofollow\">Read more inside&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":52115,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[111,15,14251,24,33],"tags":[48,881,616,202],"yst_prominent_words":[13487,13491,13484,1842,1850,13492,13485,1199,13486,13479,1884,1851,14152,13483],"class_list":{"0":"post-52095","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bounce-flash-photography","8":"category-flash-photography","9":"category-koko","10":"category-models","11":"category-portraits","12":"tag-bounce-flash","13":"tag-bounce-flash-photography","14":"tag-bounce-flash-portraits","15":"tag-flash-photography-techniqes","16":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52095"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52095"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52095\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52114,"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52095\/revisions\/52114"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52095"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52095"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52095"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=52095"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}