1st try with a speedlite 430ex

[tiler65]

C&C please.

A question. Should I have upped the iso to gain faster speeds, or should the speedlite let me do that anyway. Was shooting in manual and ettl (on speedlite) and manual on camera to try them both out.

focal distance was about 1m i think.

 

[h.r.ford]

Looks like you had the flash pointed directly at him. It is much better to bounce of the ceiling or use a diffuser as you get this washed out skin tone and harsh shadows with the direct lighting.

 

[tiler65]

The ceiling was about 16ft and I tried bouncing and I could not get a bright shot. Should I have used the zoom function for this then?

 

[Steep]

No m8, I think h.r.ford has it right in that a diffuser would have been better. The flash has done a great job of filling in the shadows but direct flash can be very hard, a diffuser (like a stoffen) can soften it and help to cut the harsher shadows.