430 ex mk2 question

[scottduffy]

I have recently bought one of these and tried out on Saturday and was delighted with the results. Most of the work was indoors and i was amazed to see the difference between bouncing the light off ceiling etc and aiming straight at the subject. The shadowing i mean. Now this might be a totally ridiculous question but outside should the flash be pointed directly at the subject as there is nothing really to bounce the light off apart from the ground. As i said maybe a totally stupid question but i was just wondering.

 

[DizMatt]

for fill flash you can shoot straight, or get a difuser...there are a few different types

or my old favourite was to take a 6x4 photo card, fold it in half and put it on the back of the flash head with an elastic band and position the head vertically.

but no, you can't bounce it off the clouds...unless they're very low

 

[slats]

you can make a diffuser from a plastic soap dispenser

see here http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=151813

 

[david1701]

you can get a mate to hold a reflector, or if you're in the shade of a house use the wall of the house

it aint often that i want on camera flash outside though, except odd times at night...

 

[DizMatt]

if you want a more golden relfected light look, then a yellow tinted difuser will do the trick too