Flash Myths

Flash Myths #1: That little white cap on your flash will make the light softer.

Truth about flash myths:  When your flash is pointed at your subject, the white cap will NOT make the flash softer. By ‘softer,’ I’m talking about how HARSH the shadows are on your subject’s face.

The primary way you soften the harshness of the shadows is to use a LARGE light. When you use a large light, some of the light will ‘reach’ the shadow side of the subject’s face. This is what makes the shadows softer.

The white cap does SPREAD (diffuse) the light more. The ONLY way this will make your light softer is if your subject happens to be next to a white object that might bounce some of the diffused light back towards the shadow side of your subject’s face. This is unlikely so don’t count on it.

The white cap also makes your less powerful. This might give you the ILLUSION of softer shadows because your flash may now be competing with the ambient light in the room. The ambient light may be almost as powerful as your flash – resulting in a less obvious shadow.

So, if you’re really wanting to SOFTEN the shadows on your subject’s face, get a bigger light – not a little white cap.

Flash Myths #2: Your speed light will always be harsh.

Truth:  As mentioned in myth #1, a small light pointed at your subject will create HARSH shadows. For a long time, photographers have tried various methods for fixing this problem. There are many, many products on the market that promise to make your speed light less harsh.

The problem with these products is that they don’t, in my opinion, make the flash big enough to make a difference.

The good news is that you can drastically increase the size of your speed light WITHOUT ANY OTHER EQUIPMENT!  If you have any kind of wall-type structure in the vicinity that is a neutral color (white, grey, light beige, etc), simply turn your speed light to the side and BOUNCE THE LIGHT.  Now, your light source is the wall – NOT the speedlight.

Flash Myths #3: To make your flash softer, move it away from your subject.

Truth:  The truth is actually the opposite. To make your flash softer, move it CLOSER to your subject. As we discussed in myth #1, the LARGER the light source, the SOFTER the shadows. Remember, the reason is that the larger size allows the light to reach the far side of the subject’s nose, making the shadows softer.

By moving the light closer to the subject, it is growing relatively larger in relation to the subject. If you look at the illustration below, you can see how the same light can reach the far side of the subject’s nose by moving the light closer. The reason is that, compared to the size of the subject, it’s getting ‘bigger’ as it gets closer. Again, the LARGER the light source, the SOFTER the shadows.

The reason why some photographers believe this myth is that the light is LESS POWERFUL as you move it FARTHER from the subject. This might give you the ILLUSION of softer shadows because your flash may now be competing with the ambient light in the room. The ambient light may be almost as powerful as your flash – resulting in a less obvious shadow.

If you doubt that distance doesn’t affect the harshness of shadows, walk outside on a sunny day and look at your friend’s face as he/she faces the sun. The sun is a very LARGE light source, which should create SOFTER shadows. It doesn’t because it is SO FAR AWAY! In relation to your friend, it’s a very SMALL light source because of the distance.
Here is a link to my favorite photo store that sells everything at great prices including flash diffusers. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/On-Flash-Light-Controls/ci/655/N/3772242258