Taking it off camera

[oreo5000]

Hi Guys,
I have some people shots to take at an indoor event which is under fairly low light. I have a D200 and an SB600, I dont want to end up with harsh shadows and washed out faces, would I be better off trying to bounce the flash with a diffuser or using the wireless feature and hand holding it off camera above my subjects?
Any advice would be appreciated!
Thanks

 

[john-oh]

Bounce, with or without a diffuser.

Off camera is Ok if you have a decent bracket, otherwise it's a pain holding it and trying to make camera adjustments.

In the past I've mounted another old flash on a stand with a trigger attached to give a bit more fill (also bounced).

Watch the ceiling colours though.

 

[john-oh]

Whoops

 

[oreo5000]

Bounce, with or without a diffuser.

Off camera is Ok if you have a decent bracket, otherwise it's a pain holding it and trying to make camera adjustments.

In the past I've mounted another old flash on a stand with a trigger attached to give a bit more fill (also bounced).

Watch the ceiling colours though.

Thanks for the advice, would you reccomend bouncing straight up or behind? What should I do if the room im shooting in is very large, ie high ceilings.

Unfortunately im limited to one flash as I dont have the advantage of being in one place, I will be moving around a lot.

 

[ShawWellPete]

I've found that the Gary Fong diffuser makes a huge difference when taking indoor flash shots. I understand that there are now cheap ebay equivalents which may be worth looking at.

 

[john-oh]

I've not used a Gary Fong Lightsphere, I am thinking of giving one a try.

See the tutorial here : http://www.bbjimports.com/demos.asp

For the cheap copy search for Lambency on ebay or

try this : http://tinyurl.com/ytvqdf

Usually bounce 45 degrees forward, for very high ceilings the Lightsphere could be used direct on or you could try bouncing off a wall.

 

[moomike]

I'd go for the bouncing undiffused from the ceiling or walls if it were me, I had good results using this method at a recent wedding shoot. The capability to shoot off camera is always there if the situation requires it/ceilings too high, etc.

 

[oreo5000]

Thanks for your help guys, I will go with the bounce if I canm ive also ordered a Gary Fong lightsphere so ill keep you posted on how it goes!

 

[oreo5000]

I've found that the Gary Fong diffuser makes a huge difference when taking indoor flash shots. I understand that there are now cheap ebay equivalents which may be worth looking at.

Hi Peter, can you really see a difference? Mine arrived today, I just did test shots with and without it, all portraits, all bounced and direct.. it didnt make a blind bit of difference.
The only benefit I can see is that you can shoot direct and its diffused... but you can do this with a £3 diffuser!

 

[Janice]

Trouble is when you bounce off the ceiling you tend to get shadows under their noses.

 

[fraggle101]

theres a way to make a defusser with white paper, its quite good, iv not got a link as im away from my pc but there is a video on a website..its as good if not better than a Fong.. i made one once and it works..

Basicaly its a peice of paper cut about 6inches wide tappering to about 4 inches and its to protude about 4-5 inches from the flash high.. you wrap it around the top of the flash and tape it..

Iv probably lost you by now .. lol...

 

[gizmo001i]

theres a way to make a defusser with white paper, its quite good, iv not got a link as im away from my pc but there is a video on a website..its as good if not better than a Fong.. i made one once and it works..

Basicaly its a peice of paper cut about 6inches wide tappering to about 4 inches and its to protude about 4-5 inches from the flash high.. you wrap it around the top of the flash and tape it..

Iv probably lost you by now .. lol...

It's called "A Better Bounce Card" Fraggle. You can find the tutorial video just by googling the name.

 

[oreo5000]

Trouble is when you bounce off the ceiling you tend to get shadows under their noses.

I only found that's the case if you bounce it straight up, if you bounce at an angle, or from behind, it seems to illiminate those shadows

 

[oreo5000]

theres a way to make a defusser with white paper, its quite good, iv not got a link as im away from my pc but there is a video on a website..its as good if not better than a Fong.. i made one once and it works..

Basicaly its a peice of paper cut about 6inches wide tappering to about 4 inches and its to protude about 4-5 inches from the flash high.. you wrap it around the top of the flash and tape it..

Iv probably lost you by now .. lol...

Thanks i'll give it a go!
I cant see any benefit of the Fong over my £2 diffuser right so far. Its going back!

 

[ppp]

I think the Fong or similar is better in a wider range of situations where a bounce card or straight difuser is not as good, if you look on his website he has any videos with examples in.

 

[Hacker]

My take on the Betterbounce Card:

Linky 1

Linky 2

Hope this helps.

 

[8utters]

I bounce off celings the whole time, it's such a good effect. Gives a great natural even light.

I also have a diffuser which I use when there's no good celing to bounce off.

The only problem with bouncing off a celing is that you often get shadows under and around the eyes. It also tends to bring out any bulges under people's eyelids.

You can just bounce it up and slightly behind the camera then the light will bounce in more of a front position rather than streight down.