Bounce Flash Photography Tips & Secrets

Bouncing flash light is one of the simplest methods you can use to take awesome photos. Pointing the flash head straight at your subject makes it appear flat, and the resulting images often end up having harsh hotspots. When you bounce the flash, you actually multiply the size of the light source and soften up the light. The next question, then, is where do you bounce the flash? In today’s video, photographer Andrew Boey explains how and where you can bounce your flash to get the best results.

Boey starts off by sharing some basic settings you can use for taking portraits using a flash. He also shows an example of everything that can go wrong when photographing with a flash pointing right at the subject.

Boey then shows different examples of images where he bounces the light from different directions: the ceiling, side walls, the wall behind the photographer and the corner of the room. In all cases, you can see the light texture and shadows on the subject’s face change with the new direction of the flash head.

One thing to keep in mind is that results can be different for everyone, based on where the subject is turning in relation to the reflecting wall and the distance between the flash, the reflecting surface and the subject.

Toward the end of the video, you can also refer to a side-by-side comparison of all the photos you see Boey take. It’s a helpful way to understand the effect that each flash position has on the image.

How do you like to bounce flash when taking portraits?

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