Bounce with the Built in Flash
Most cameras have a built in flash, and most aspiring photographers learn quite quickly just how horrible the results from this flash can be. A little research on the web will of course teach our aspiring photographer that the absolute minimum to get some decent results is either off camera flash, or more often bounce flash.This gives
a
softer more
natural light
Bounce flash is when the light of the flash unit is bounced off the ceiling (or nearby wall) onto the person/object being photographed. This gives a softer light, coming from a more natural position. You’re subjects will now look like they are standing under normal lighting, and not caught in the headlights of an oncoming 18 wheeler.
Now if you buy any modern flash unit, it will almost certainly have bounce capability (and swivel if you want to bounce of walls, or the ceiling when using it in portrait mode). Yet perhaps you don’t have the cash for a separate flash unit, or you just don’t like the bulk it adds to your camera; yet you still want to use bounce flash. Well it’s pretty simple really; and cheap.
Tin foil.
Just take a piece of tin foil and hold it in front of the camera’s flash, at about a 45 degree angle to the ceiling. With a DSLR, the tin foil can be moulded to fit around the pop up flash, meaning you don’t even have to worry about holding it. Now of course the flash is going to have to travel a little bit more distance, and tin foil isn’t perfectly reflective, so you will have slightly less light; but that’s still better than giving your subject a deer in the headlights look.
Of course if you don’t mind spending a bit of cash, you might want to let someone else do all the work and just purchase The Scoop from Professor Kobré
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May 2nd, 2007 at 2:39 pm
Thanks for the mention of the Lightscoop. In fact, my first efforts at redirecting the pop-up flash were with tin foil! My frustrations with keeping the foil in place are what led me to develop an actual device. The frustrations that further followed for such a simple-looking solution are innumerable, but the final product(s) will work well. Among the challenges is the fact that the hot shoe on the Nikon, Rebel and EOS are all different. It was impossible to design a universal foot! Anyway, I’m awaiting our first manufactured samples this week and hope to have products in stock by mid- to late May. The website is nearing completion as well. It’s been a three-year process! Thanks again for taking note. — Ken Kobré
December 14th, 2007 at 12:11 pm
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