Deduce flash shadows
One of the biggest problems photographers encounter when using flash are harsh shadows in the background. In particular, flash shadows are the bane of anyone who shoots portrait photography.
In the tutorial below we show you how you can eliminate shadows from your pictures so you can start taking flawless portraits.
Watch your distance
To avoid horrible shadows on flash-lit portraits, ensure that your subject is positioned two feet or more in front of the background. Even bounced flash will struggle to make shadows disappear from a subject that’s placed directly in front of a background.
Bounce it all around
Pointing the head of a hotshoe flashgun vertically and bouncing the light off the ceiling is a simple way to avoid subject shadows. As the light hits the ceiling it diffuses and bounces around the room, illuminating the space between the subject and the background.
Bounce flash photography. It sounds like a complicated procedure, one of those mythical flash techniques we try desperately to avoid.
We’ve all been there. You’re at a party or gathering and want to take a picture that captures the atmosphere of the moment. When shooting in low light, your first instinct is probably to use a tripod with a long shutter speed, or increase the ISO to shoot handheld.
But if you’re taking pictures of people indoors at a party you can forget the first option; your subjects won’t keep still! A high ISO can often work because it preserves atmosphere. But you get grainy pictures and have to use the widest aperture and slowest shutter speeds possible.
Using a bounce flash technique is your most flexible option in this scenario, and it’s also remarkably easy to do. You can stay mobile, and you have a greater range of shutter speeds and apertures to choose from. You can also use a low ISO setting to retain image quality.
Set the power and zoom
As the light has reflected off the ceiling, you’ll lose a stop or two of power. Let the camera look after the exposure and keep the flash power at the standard TTL setting, with no compensation. Change the flash zoom to 50mm for the most effective spread of light.
