HOW TO AVOID SHADOWS

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stuey1975

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stuart
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Hi all I have a samsung gx10 and a jessops 360AFDP Flash gun and when I use indoors i get really sharp shadows on the wall behind and under the chins of people, whats the best setting / technique to avoid shadows.
I am new to this so go easy on me! :)

stu
 
Are you bouncing the flash....pointing it up at the ceiling or even behind you at the ceiling/wall
 
Simplest & cheapest way to reduce the harshness of the shadows straight away would be to invest in some form of diffuser for the flash, there are a few different types available, but I think the stofen type ones are probably the most popular.

Beyond that you get into more complex lighting setups that I don't have the knowledge of to tell you about :)
 
i have bounced off the ceiling but its still quite severe, i do have a five in one reflector if thats of any use!
 
How close is your subject and how much ambient light do you have? this was shot in a pub function room bouncing the flash off of a white ceiling and the shadows are soft enough for me.

4451402814_3e09803d2c_z.jpg
 
well my uncles getting married in an abbey next week and i wanna get some nice shots!
the shadows in your shot would be ideal!
 
It was either straight up or close to it, you need enough distance to the subject for the light to hit the ceiling and diffuse. That shot was @110mm,iso800,1/160 in manual
 
There are lots of things you can use to diffuse flash as I found out last night, I couldn't be bothered to dig out the softbox at 2 am so just folded a doubled piece of cream toilet paper (Andrex sheer butter) over the flash head, I was quite pleased with the light it gave.
 
To avoid harsh shadows make sure the subject cannot see any of the flash head. If they can then its still direct flash. bottom line is you need to make the source larger.
 
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