Best way to use flashgun when you can't bounce

Project Valentine

Project Valentine

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Jack Valentine Parkinson
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So as the title says, I'm looking for some advice on using my flashgun when the rooms so big you can't bounce from a ceiling.

A friend has borrowed me some Strobies that include a beauty dish, globe diffuser, soft box, snoot, barn door and honeycomb grid. Will these help or would simply firing up with bounce card do the trick?

Any advice would be great :)
 
Flashbender, bouncing off walls behind / to the side, bounce cards of all shapes and sizes have their uses

Just avoid (IMO) mini softboxes, fong dongs and the simple domes. They work great in specific situations, but what you need to get your head round is 'why' you bounced off the ceiling in the first place. There's no simple replacement, you have to think differently.
 
As above. In fact, you can NEARLY always bounce off the ceiling, if you have enough power.
If there really isn't a ceiling or wall to bounce off, then take the flash on camera and use an umbrella. That will be far more suitable and effective than the toys you're been loaned.
 
Project Valentine said:
So as the title says, I'm looking for some advice on using my flashgun when the rooms so big you can't bounce from a ceiling.

A friend has borrowed me some Strobies that include a beauty dish, globe diffuser, soft box, snoot, barn door and honeycomb grid. Will these help or would simply firing up with bounce card do the trick?

Any advice would be great :)
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What ceiling bounce does is create a very much larger light source (the ceiling becomes your light source) with correspondingly softer shadows, and coming from a more natural and flattering direction. Those Strobies toys cannot recreate that, you need something much larger, like a decent size softbox or umbrella.

In practise though, location shooting is very much about each individual situation, what you're trying to achieve, what's possible, and how few compromises you can get away with. Without a ceiling, I would consider wall-bounce and a Black Foamy Thing http://neilvn.com/tangents/about/black-foamie-thing/ which can be a wonderfully natural-looking technique. Or something like this Lastolite Brolly Grip Kit http://www.lastolite.com/brolly-grip-w-umbrella-lllu2126 held up in your left hand on a cord. Or same technique with the Strobies Beauty Dish, or if all else fails, just hold the naked gun up in your left hand.

The other very important and effective trick is slow-sync flash, basically dropping the shutter speed to brighten the background to balance with the flash.
 
I've got a Fong and as above - it's rubbish. The Rogue Flashbender however is awesome.
 
If you can't bounce, diffuse.

Or do what I did and make one of these:

10683d1210192654-home-made-bounce-flash-adaptor-vivitar-285-camera.jpg.att


10682d1210192654-home-made-bounce-flash-adaptor-vivitar-285-folded.jpg.att



Steve.
 
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Thanks all for the replies folks :)

It's for a wedding situation so won't have the ability to move large lighting gear around and the place has no natural light! Like you said, I'm sure if I fire the flash on full power it should hit the ceiling even if it is real high.. Think I'll pop down to the venue before to test things out, probably the safest option!

Thanks again!
 
I found myself shooting in a nightclub last night and was overjoyed to find that a) it was huge so the walls and ceiling were miles away from anywhere I was looking to photograph people and b) the ceiling, walls and pretty much everything else were painted black so it didn't matter if I got near them anyway. The large flashbender produced a pretty good quality of light and it was interesting playing with it off camera using some yongnuo TTL triggers. It is still a relatively small light source but vastly superior to a stofen or lightsphere and usable in that sort of environment where a brolly grip wouldn't be. If you are looking to get softer light with a flashbender in that environment I would certainly suggest shooting with a pretty wide angle lens so you can get your light source nice and close to make it effectively larger.
 
Project Valentine said:
So as the title says, I'm looking for some advice on using my flashgun when the rooms so big you can't bounce from a ceiling.

A friend has borrowed me some Strobies that include a beauty dish, globe diffuser, soft box, snoot, barn door and honeycomb grid. Will these help or would simply firing up with bounce card do the trick?

Any advice would be great :)
Click to expand...

I had a demonstration of the Rogue softbox at The Photography Show this year. I was amazed how good it is. The guy took a shot of me head on, I wear glasses, and there wasn't even a nasty reflection.

http://www.expoimaging.com/product-detail.php?cat_id=13&product_id=26&keywords=Rogue_Soft_Box_Kits

I'd be tempted to use this with a flash bracket.

if you have an assistant, a softbox held over your subjects works. I've never tried this, but know many work this way. It, apparently, takes a bit of practise to coordinate with your assistant.
 
Garry Edwards said:
As above. In fact, you can NEARLY always bounce off the ceiling, if you have enough power.
If there really isn't a ceiling or wall to bounce off, then take the flash on camera and use an umbrella. That will be far more suitable and effective than the toys you're been loaned.
Click to expand...

As long as the ceiling is a neutral colour.
 
JennyGW said:
As long as the ceiling is a neutral colour.
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Provided that you shoot in raw, the colour of the ceiling doesn't matter.
 
JennyGW said:
I'm not that keen on extra PP.
Click to expand...
Nor am I, but I don't really count clicking on a white balance point to automatically correct multiple images, extra PP
 
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