General Photography - Techniques & StylesDiscuss the fundamentals of photography, photographic technique, infrared and macro shooting, and related topics here!
A quick tutorial on bounce flash I whipped up with my always ready model, Chaya. Photos were taken in RAW and exported into jpeg without further alteration (except the last, which was converted to b/w). Snapped with the K20D, AF-540 flash and FA 31mm 1.8 Limited lens.
This is such an easy way to improve our indoor shooting with friends, family, pets and events. I try and keep my iso low (usually around 200-400) to keep the images nice and clean. Play around with manual flash and different flash power settings. Happy shooting!
pretty cool, and helpful, but for me the image is a bit wide on my tablet, which makes it kind of difficult to see all 4 frames or even 2 frames at once.
being a noob I never though of bouncing a flash sideways, but makes for a nice fill.
pretty cool, and helpful, but for me the image is a bit wide on my tablet, which makes it kind of difficult to see all 4 frames or even 2 frames at once.
being a noob I never though of bouncing a flash sideways, but makes for a nice fill.
-southy
Here's a smaller version, but the text becomes difficult to read
Oh that sweet dog - one of these days Chaya is gonna go on strike.
As long as there are tennis balls and anticipation of them being throw, her union stays pretty darn happy!
Originally Posted by Andi Lo
Oohhh, that's cool ^^; Now I feel like I have to have the 540 xD; This can probably be done with 360 bounced up too though, I assume.
I think the AF-360 just bounces straight up. You won't be able to get such directional light, but it sure is better than straight on flash! You also run into problem when you flip the camera to portrait orientation.
Originally Posted by stevebrot
Nicely done! Four pictures are better than 4000 words!
Steve
Thanks Steve! I kept explaining the concept to people and it sounds so hard on paper. It's a really simple recipe!
As long as there are tennis balls and anticipation of them being throw, her union stays pretty darn happy!
I think the AF-360 just bounces straight up. You won't be able to get such directional light, but it sure is better than straight on flash! You also run into problem when you flip the camera to portrait orientation.
Thanks Steve! I kept explaining the concept to people and it sounds so hard on paper. It's a really simple recipe!
Exactly, a tilt-and-swivel head can be pretty invaluable for flash shooting, IMO.
I have the Metz 48, which is similar in price to the 360, only slightly more powerful and with a tilt-and-swivel head, and I'm very happy with it.
Question - while shooting manual, with flash set to pttl (in my case, K200D w/ FA 50 1.4, AF360FGZ) I seem to underexpose a fair bit. Took a myriad of candids New Years Eve, and while the photos are sharp and evenly exposed, they are a bit dark. Histogram shows nothing on the right 25% of the graph.
Do I need to add flash exposure compensation to make up for the loss of light due to the additional distance (up and down versus straight on) and diffusion of light from the flash? Is there a general rule for how much to add?
Question - while shooting manual, with flash set to pttl (in my case, K200D w/ FA 50 1.4, AF360FGZ) I seem to underexpose a fair bit. Took a myriad of candids New Years Eve, and while the photos are sharp and evenly exposed, they are a bit dark. Histogram shows nothing on the right 25% of the graph.
Do I need to add flash exposure compensation to make up for the loss of light due to the additional distance (up and down versus straight on) and diffusion of light from the flash? Is there a general rule for how much to add?
When bouncing flash, I almost always add +0.5 to 1.0 exposure compensation. You can also try increasing shutter speed, iso or aperture just a bit, if +1.0 exposure compensation isn't enough.
I was going to reply with images attached to show my point, but I am unable to do so...........guess I'm doing something wrong.
Anyways...........thanks Hamid for the great info.
All I was going to add is, if possible, attach a piece of white cardboard (or similar) to the "topside" of you flash when using bounce.
You'll get not only the soft light of the bounce, but also a more "direct" fill light on your subjects.
Makes for a good effect IMHO.
Good suggestions Hamid. This works well. For those wanting to do more with an AF360. You could add a 5p,hotshoe adapter and an F adapter to the flash. Then you can hold the flash off camera in any direction. These also a cheaper P-TTL cord on Ebay (but I haven't tried it).
I was going to reply with images attached to show my point, but I am unable to do so...........guess I'm doing something wrong.
Anyways...........thanks Hamid for the great info.
All I was going to add is, if possible, attach a piece of white cardboard (or similar) to the "topside" of you flash when using bounce.
You'll get not only the soft light of the bounce, but also a more "direct" fill light on your subjects.
Makes for a good effect IMHO.
That's a good tip. A better bounce card is also a very inexpensive way to go.
However, a static card is not always so useful when you start angling the flash head to the left or right. Flip it around the other way and a taped card will act as a gobo and block light from going forward.
I use a Demb Big Flip-it for just this reason (didn't use it in these examples). It straps to the flash head with velcro and has a hinge so you can easily flip it up when you need it or flip it out of the way.
Good suggestions Hamid. This works well. For those wanting to do more with an AF360. You could add a 5p,hotshoe adapter and an F adapter to the flash. Then you can hold the flash off camera in any direction. These also a cheaper P-TTL cord on Ebay (but I haven't tried it).
