Gpa-15 Loc: Tinton Falls, NJ

Re: "On the 'effectiveness' of 'fill-flash'; ...especially for 'ladies-faces' indoors..."
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Hi Gang... Please help me explain the reference above. --- Points to address:
1. General cautions about distance:
a. re: Camera
b. re: Smartphone
2. Do the digitals 'auto-work' like my old Oly OM 2Ti, film-camera (which measured exposure 'Off-The-Film' [thereby assuring a perfect exposure]) --- If not, is there a way to 'effect' THAT with a digital-camera // or Smartphone{for BOTH Straight-shooting ...AND, Selphies)?
3. Is there a way to 'effect' a NON-HARSH 'soft' flash for ladies?

Jim Bob

Keep you distance, not "in your face" but not across the room either-lens dependent; use whatever camera you have-I'm not gonna tell you what to buy; cover the flash with a white cloth (unless you have a soft filter attachment) or try bouncing it.

Pablo8 Loc: Nottingham UK.

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Yes, the white tissue/ handkerchief over the flash will help. And the 'Tongue - in -cheek' idea from yesteryear, stretch a single layer of 30 denier stocking over the camera lens.

Gpa-15 Loc: Tinton Falls, NJ

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THANKS JB ...I like the Cloth-idea.

Rick36203 Loc: Northeast Alabama

Covering a flash with cloth reduces output, but it does not make it 'softer'. It may appear less harsh because the ambient/flash balance is better, but the same can usually be accomplished with flash compensation.

Light appears softer as the size of the source increases. Make the light source larger to make it softer.

Bounce the light if possible (off a wall, the ceiling, a reflector). Diffusing the light is OK, but it works best off-camera where you can get the diffusion material close to your model... making it the large, soft, light source.

Gpa-15 Loc: Tinton Falls, NJ

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MANY THANKS!!! Gary Fong has a good reflector!!

Gpa-15 Loc: Tinton Falls, NJ

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MANY THANKS!!! Gary Fong has a good reflector!!

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

Not sure if this helps or not. The pic below is SOOC with a Canon T3i and a 580 EXII flash with a Sto-Fen diffuser and set to bounce angle from a high ceiling.

Offered as an example for comment...

Bounce flash with Sto-Fen Omni bounce diffuser

(Download)

Gpa-15 Loc: Tinton Falls, NJ

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WOW... THAT is a terrific shot ...LOVE the Lady's Facial SOFTNESS!!!!
THANKS for the Equipment-List.

WessoJPEG Loc: Cincinnati, Ohio

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

rpavich Loc: West Virginia

Stop.

Using anything attached to the flash (like tupperware or those little reflector things) won't cut it.

You have to INCREASE THE RELATIVE SIZE of your flash output...the size of the flash to make it soft.

That means that even the sun (which of course is huge) is for our purposes a TINY light source because of it's distance.

Remember the old thing about "crushing someone's head" by holding your fingers up while they were far away? It appeared that you were holding their head between your fingers. Their APPARENT size was small relative to your fingers.

The same thing applies to flash. If you want nice flattering soft flash, you need to get the flash LARGE and close to your subject.

Softbox or umbrella, or bounce the flash into a large surface like a big reflector or light colored wall.

Also, getting your flash off camera changes the direction of the light relative to the camera. Light coming from the sides looks a LOT better than light coming from our own vantage point. (which is on-camera flash)

So to summarize.

1.) Get that flash off camera.

2.) Get a modifier to put the flash in to make it's size bigger relative to your subject (a head and shoulders of a human)

3.) Get the flash off to the side a bit.


Just those things will have a very large effect on your results.

Forget gary fong. He's a tupperware salesman.


This is a selfie of me one morning over my coffee.

I had a large softbox just barely out of camera field of view so in relation to my head size...it was 2x or 3x bigger.

Notice how the shadow transitions are smooth (forget the roughness of the subject)

(Download)

WessoJPEG Loc: Cincinnati, Ohio

Nice photo, Handsome guy. :thumbup: :thumbup:

Gpa-15 Loc: Tinton Falls, NJ

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WOW!!! - THANKS R.P. - THAT was a Wonderfully-elucidating treatise.
--- a Further question please; if your camera has a threaded-lens, is there a 'Len's-Baby' TYPE 'thingy' that will effect the same result as the '30-denier' nylon in front of the Lens (to produce a 'Doris Day' softness?

Bret Loc: Dayton Ohio

" Do the digitals 'auto-work' like my old Oly OM 2Ti, film-camera (which measured exposure 'Off-The-Film' [thereby assuring a perfect exposure])"
Have a look at ittl....or ttl flash operations.
This photo was shot using a camera mounted flash pointed straight up at the ceiling. This flash (SB910) also has a built in "bounce card"...which was also used along with ambient light.

(Download)

rpavich Loc: West Virginia

You are welcome.

I actually don't know. I would do it in Lightroom if I were doing it (or some other piece of software like Nik Color Efex)