The next best thing to do is, if you can, bounce the flash off a light coloured surface such as the ceiling or a wall. If you decide on the ceiling, your best bet is to aim the flash behind you.This seems strange but what you are trying to do is to spread and reflect the flash off a large surface in order to soften the light and to attempt to fill in the shadows under the eyes.
If the flash is set to TTL (through the lens) mode, you should get an ideal exposure, however you may need to add a little exposure compensation if the result is too dark.If you bounce the flash off the wall then try and get your friends to face towards the wall a little in order to bounce the light into their faces.
A problem you may encounter is with bright coloured surfaces, as the colour may bounce on to your subject creating a colour cast in your images.
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© Andrew Boschier Photography 2014
Great photos, Andy and so well lit.
ReplyDeleteI was at a friend's party the other week and used my flash with a Stofen diffuser and bounced it off the (quite high) ceiling. In ETTL II mode, it worked well.
Something I've learned in recent months is that nobody looks good when they're eating!
Best wishes,
Angus