Flash photos don't have to be ugly...
Posted by Ken Kobre at 4/18/2007 8:03 AM and is filed under Bounce flash,Flash photography,Pop-up flash 
The reason direct flash photos look awful is because of the direction of the light and the size of the light source. Any flash on a camera is positioned just about in line with the photographer's forehead. And whether coming from a built-in flash or from an external flash, the light source is SMALL.
Natural light sources are BIG... light from the sky, window light. Even artificial light sources tend to be fairly large: ceiling lights, even table lights diffused by lamp shades — lots larger, in any case, than the tiny face of a camera flash.
AND, no natural light source emits from your forehead — unless you're a surgeon, a dentist, or a miner wearing a special lamp on your head! We're accustomed to seeing people and places illuminated from above or from the side.
I'm obviously NOT of the school that says avoid using flash at all costs. As a photojournalist I need to produce pictures in any situation, regardless of how poorly lit it is. And it's just not always possible to hand hold the camera or even to put the camera on a tripod... and still get sharp pictures when people are moving.
I teach my students to CONTROL the flash to create natural-looking light. Redirecting light from the flash toward a ceiling or wall where it can bounce downward or outward enlarges the light source and at the same time bounces it from a more natural direction. This is straight-forward with an external flash, and soon enough photographers using Canon, Nikon and Pentax 35mm SLR cameras with pop-up flash will be able to bounce light using my new invention.
Here are a couple of pictures that show the difference between direct pop-up flash and the pop-up flash using my Lightscoop™. My dentist sometimes wears a light on his forehead, so I thought he and his assistant would make an appropriate demo.
Natural light sources are BIG... light from the sky, window light. Even artificial light sources tend to be fairly large: ceiling lights, even table lights diffused by lamp shades — lots larger, in any case, than the tiny face of a camera flash.
AND, no natural light source emits from your forehead — unless you're a surgeon, a dentist, or a miner wearing a special lamp on your head! We're accustomed to seeing people and places illuminated from above or from the side.
I'm obviously NOT of the school that says avoid using flash at all costs. As a photojournalist I need to produce pictures in any situation, regardless of how poorly lit it is. And it's just not always possible to hand hold the camera or even to put the camera on a tripod... and still get sharp pictures when people are moving.
I teach my students to CONTROL the flash to create natural-looking light. Redirecting light from the flash toward a ceiling or wall where it can bounce downward or outward enlarges the light source and at the same time bounces it from a more natural direction. This is straight-forward with an external flash, and soon enough photographers using Canon, Nikon and Pentax 35mm SLR cameras with pop-up flash will be able to bounce light using my new invention.
Here are a couple of pictures that show the difference between direct pop-up flash and the pop-up flash using my Lightscoop™. My dentist sometimes wears a light on his forehead, so I thought he and his assistant would make an appropriate demo.
Hi,
Nice article and well illustrated.
Please feel free to add this to www.photographyvoter.com
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Thank you, Paul, for the invitation. I'll follow up soon.
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