Ste p by ste p Bouncing and beyond

Bounce and swivel aren’t the only ways to be more flash

01 Straight on

With the flashgun mounted in the camera’s hotshoe and the flash tube aimed straight ahead at the subject, images tend to look rather flat and two-dimensional. There aren’t really any subtle shadows to give modelling, while the shadows behind the flowers are very dark.

02 Bounce mode

Bouncing the flash off the ceiling has produced a much softer and more natural-looking lighting effect. The dark shadows on the wall have been banished, and there are some subtle shadows creeping in under the leaves to give a more three-dimensional look.

03 Off-camera

For this final shot, we used the flash off-camera, connecting to the hotshoe via a coiled cable. We positioned the flashgun slightly higher and to one side of the flowers, and we added a diffusion dome to give some softened but direct light, while also bouncing light off the ceiling.