Portraits - Only on camera flash

seanoevil

seanoevil

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Sean
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Hi All,

Wanting to try and take a couple of portraits of family members - nothing serious, just to see if I can get composition etc right really - but I have no off camera flash or lighting available - and the weather is atrocious here today so it would be indoors.

Any suggestions to help with artificial lighting solutions that can be utilised at home at all?
 
seanoevil said:
Couple sheets of A4 taped together suffice do you think?
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pillowcase, white t shirt etc, most things are more manageable than paper, larger too.

but get yourself a cheap 5 in 1 reflector, and don't be scared to raise the ISO to make use of windowlight either.

There's also lots nicer things to do then attempt 'studio style' portraits with inadequate kit. Use your surroundings rather than trying to hide them behind hastily hung 'backgrounds'. Obviously some houses are more suiotable than others, it depends how fussy and clutterd your decor is.
 
What kind of on-camera flash? You mean just the pop-up?
 
Thanks for the advice Phil V - much appreciated!
Yep HoppyUK - Sony A65 pop up flash.
 
To be honest I would leave the flash alone and not use it at all, try being creative with the natural light you have available, pop up flash in my opinion is terrible for portraits very harsh, if you did want to go down that route a diy diffuser would be a good idea, simply made from a milk bottle and a elastic band to hold it in place
 
I've had pretty good results using a couple of desk lamps for lighting. Easy to position our get someone to gold then where you want them.
They will cause problems with your white balance but you should be able to handle that, or convert to b&w.
 
I would like to get a couple of off-camera flashes and perhaps an umbrella reflector with a stand which my friend has (quite cheap)
 
bovey9 said:
window light is best around three foot back from the window. If you dont have a reflector a piece of white card is amazingly affective
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Thanks for the tip.
I always wonder about this point. As when I have placed family members near a window (even when light looks soft to my eye) there can still be a very bright transition from the light cheek to the shadow side.



Gaz
 
seanoevil said:
Thanks for the advice Phil V - much appreciated!
Yep HoppyUK - Sony A65 pop up flash.
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I have used the same equipment ( now up-graded) - I just taped some tissue paper around the flash, to soften the light - place the subject near a window is a very good tip too, with maybe a net curtain to help remove the harshness!


Les :thumbs:
 
Lez325 said:
I have used the same equipment ( now up-graded) - I just taped some tissue paper around the flash, to soften the light - place the subject near a window is a very good tip too, with maybe a net curtain to help remove the harshness!


Les :thumbs:
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The tissue paper over the flash makes about 1% difference to the light produced, turning it round and bouncing it off a piece of A4 card makes about a 400% difference, getting it off camera - infinite possibilities.

I really can't understand why anyone in a static location would mount a flash on a camera, the best softening in the world would still be built from a single massive compromise.

Don't get me wrong, 80% of all my flash shots are 'on camera' but that's where I'm moving and have to be agile. Once I'm 'in control' I can take control.
 
Phil V said:
The tissue paper over the flash makes about 1% difference to the light produced, turning it round and bouncing it off a piece of A4 card makes about a 400% difference, getting it off camera - infinite possibilities.

I really can't understand why anyone in a static location would mount a flash on a camera, the best softening in the world would still be built from a single massive compromise.

Don't get me wrong, 80% of all my flash shots are 'on camera' but that's where I'm moving and have to be agile. Once I'm 'in control' I can take control.
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That really depends upon how many layers you use surely and the OP is using the ON CAMERA flash (as far as Im aware), which is built into his Sony a65, hence my tissue paper comment

I do agree bouncing the flash is a good idea, if you have flash thats not an integral part of the camera and has the facility to move the head to face away from the subject, this is not the case with the Sony a65

Les :D
 
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Lez325 said:
That really depends upon how many layers you use surely and the OP is using the ON CAMERA flash (as far as Im aware), which is built into his Sony a65, hence my tissue paper comment

I do agree bouncing the flash is a good idea, if you have flash thats not an integral part of the camera and has the facility to move the head to face away from the subject, this is not the case with the Sony a65

Les :D
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To make the light softer, the light source must be made larger - many times larger to have a significant effect.

Simply putting some tissue over the flash will do very little in itself, unless this then redirects the flash to another large surface to bounce off (eg ceiling, wall) which then becomes the much larger light source. However, bouncing flash gobbles lots of light.

There are some accessories available for pop-ups, but the problem is a) most of them don't make the flash source usefully larger, and b) those that redirect the light towards a larger bounce surface quickly run out of power with the pop-up's very low output.

Edit: as pop-up modifiers go, this Speedlite Pro-Kit Mini Bounce is as good as it gets, for £13 http://www.speedlightprokit.co.uk/flexi bounce.html With a normal height white ceiling, it's cleverly designed to provide both soft ceiling bounce with a softened direct fill-in component. Probably need to push the ISO to get the exposure level up.
 
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Remember that you can actually adjust the intensity of the flash up and down.
 
seanoevil said:
Couple sheets of A4 taped together suffice do you think?
Click to expand...

Get an A1 foamcore board from Hobbycraft and spraymount some silver foil to one side. Presto - double your options.
 
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