Photography Tips: Bouncing the Flash

Contrary to popular belief, flash photography is not the evil stepsister of natural light photography.  When used well, in fact, the flash can be completely undetectable. So my first piece of advice here is, Don't be afraid of flash!

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These days, DSLRs are so good in low light, that many people decide they will never use flash.  The truth is, though, there are times when a flash will help. When it's too dark inside or when shooting outdoors in bright, harsh sunlight where there is no open shade, for example.

Those pop-up flashes on DSLRs can be too harsh, because the light source is very small.  But a shoe-mount flash that slips right into my camera's hotshoe changed my photography forever.

In Nikon lingo, these flashes are called Speedlights, and in Canon, they are Speedlites.

This type of flash spreads more light, and you can use it to bounce the light, eliminating all of the nasty, direct flash problems that you get with the regular in camera flash. My flash swivels and tilts in different directions, so that I can bounce it to get the best light available.

How to use Bounce Flash

The flash simply slides into the hot shoe on the top of the camera. (Using it off-camera is another way to get great light, but I haven't used mine that way yet.)

To bounce the flash,  I usually point it at the ceiling behind me, at a side wall, or on the ceiling in front of me, and the flash spreads nice light onto my subject.  (It's best if the wall is white, as colored walls will give odd color casts. That's why ceilings work well. I've also bounced off a piece of white foam board, poster board, or someone's white shirt!  )

By adjusting the angle of the flash, I can control where the light will fall. It's really a simple process.  I use the auto (TTL) setting on the flash. If you buy the same brand of flash as your camera, the camera and flash will coordinate to determine how much light is needed.  See, it's that simple!

The photo, above,  of my daughter and Sunny was taken a few years ago, in our kitchen.  I had not taken a flash photography class yet.  I simply bounced the external flash up to the ceiling.  Had I used the pop-up flash on the camera, there would have been a much more harsh shadow behind them.  The shadows from direct flash are worse with vertical photos than horizontal ones.

Now here's an example of direct flash, without bouncing... See what I mean? Ugh, shadow.

If you're not ready to make an investment in a shoe-mount flash, there are a few ways to soften the pop-up flash, without spending a lot of money.

One solution that I've seen online (but haven't tried), is to place a business card at an angle in front of the pop up flash, so that the light bounces up.

 I've also used a product called the Puffer from Gary Fong.  It's just a piece of plastic that diffuses the light coming from the flash. You need to up your exposure compensation quite a bit when you use it, because it really cuts back on the light.

Another option that basically works the same way is to tape some tissue paper over the flash! Try to keep the actual tape from covering the flash if you try that.

Want to Learn More?



I've taken several photography classes at Craftsy online. They are wonderful and not expensive. I learned a lot from their Portraits with an On-Camera Speedlight class.  I continue to watch the videos over and over.  I also highly recommend ClickinMoms.
I have learned so much there--composition, lighting, equipment tips, Lightroom--it's all there. ClickinMoms has your choice of monthly, yearly, or lifetime membership fees.

I now shoot with DSLRs that are much better in low light than my first one.  I have a Nikon D7000 and a Nikon D5100.   The  Nikon D7100 and the Nikon 5600 are a couple of newer versions of these, and there are even newer ones.

And, finally,, a less expensive DSLR at the basic end (great for bloggers and anyone new to DSLRs) is the Nikon D3400 . You will still get wonderful image quality with the 3400, just fewer features (that you might not even need.)

I love my cameras!  There are still many times when I need my flash, so I'm glad to know how to use it well!  I'll always be learning new things about flash and new ways to use it.

Do you have tips for bouncing the flash?

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