SIMIBILL

I am an amateur photographer and not very familiar with the best ways to use on-camera flash. I have a canon r5 and a canon 430xrt speed light.
I shoot events for my Elks Lodge. The lighting is uneven and the ceilings are 15 ft high.
I have been bouncing the flash off the ceiling and getting acceptable results.
My question is would using a 9 x 11 inch on-flash diffuser give me better results?

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

Probably not.

I went to a wedding a couple decades ago. The ceilings were 30' high so I thought bounce wouldn't work well and I made a diffuser for the speedlight.



Just see how professional it looks!!!!!!!!

It softened the shadows a bit but did not eliminate them. Have used 15' ceiling bounce and it seems to work well.

If it works for you, don't fix it. (But feel free to experiment to see for yourself -- the paper is card stock so it is stiff enough to hold up by itself. Cost is minimal).

I'm not familiar with Canon but modern cameras do high ISO pretty well so even 30 foot ceilings might be OK. High ISO will help the flash by reducing the load and minimizing any heating with frequent shots. Go to the venue and take some test shots to try it out (or just go to an event early).

MJPerini

It is a classic problem, and can be handled in many different ways
The problem with high ceiling bounce, is that since light travels in straight lines even if you have a nice white ceiling, is that the light hitting the subject is coming from high over head, creating 'raccoon eyes' and shadows under the nose & chin. very unflattering, although it does provide some "Ambient" light.
You might be better off bouncing off a back wall, or if that is not possible bounce off the ceiling but use some of the built in bounce card in your flash.... that provides SOME direct light to give you catch lights in the eyes (important) while still having the ambient component. This avoids the Flash on camera 'deer in the headlights look.'
Using a large white card in a big room is not much different than just aiming your flash at the subject because most of the light is coming off the card, which is still small in relation to the size of tour subject -a group of people.
If it is a single person and you can be closer, the large card works a bit better.
There are 3 components 1 Enough light to get a good exposure, The quality of light, and the direction of light.
The more you can balance with ambient (existing , and contributed by bounce) and the direct component (to create catchlights and fill shadows, the more pleasing the results.
You can also use iso to your advantage --- in dark venues higher iso's and wider apertures allow more ambient light to register, and you can turn the power of the flash down to not over power the ambient light too much.
This is something you can practice before the event. There are many tutorials on line but probably none better or more practical for 1 camera 1 flash than those produced by Neil van Niekirk. Not fancy, just guaranteed results for shooting events.

SIMIBILL

Thank you both. I am thinking of getting a diffuser that is like a shadow box and comes in various sizes on Amazon and other local camera store made by Neewer, and Altura, and Godex It attaches to the speedlite with elastic and/or velcro.
I am thinking 9 x 11 should be large enough for my purpose.
Any thoughts.

User ID

If the bounce is always sufficient in quantity, just add a fill card to the upturned flash head. Youll hafta experiment about size but start with a 3x5 index card and a rubber band.

sueyeisert Loc: New Jersey

Neil Van Neikerk has excellent books on flash and a website Tagents,

TerryVS

Back in my newspaper days the vivitar 283 with a white index card rubberbanded to it was my go to. I would hate to have something 9x11 and try and move with it. I'd really suggest as others have to try the cheap method first.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

And add a white note card rubber banded to the back of that flash.

Jimmy T Loc: Virginia

I own/use the 430EX II and 600EX RT and the "2 Pack Flash Diffuser Reflector - 2-Sided White/Silver Bend Bounce Flash Reflector Kit" works great!
I have a collection of Flash Diffusers and this works best indoors/outdoors.
I Love the fill light outside to place a "Catch Light" on the eyes.
It is smallish, very durable, and it stores flat, all for $12.99 on Amazon.
Best Wishes,
JimmyT Sends

User ID

Thaz what we all did all the time and I have checked with some physics types who assure me that light has not changed its behavior over the recent decades (or eons).

User ID

$12.95 vs a scrap of white card stock ...

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

I use a Lite Scoop by Lite Genius. Works great. Set the flash on TTL, camera on Manual, shutter at 1/200, aperture at 4.5, and ISO at 400. The flash controls the light on the subject, the high shutter speed dampens any affect from ambient light, the aperture can be changed to affect DoF, and the ISO can be increased to reach out a bit further if needed.

FredCM Loc: Central Illinois

+1 on neilvn.com/tangents. Covers indoor photography and outdoor model shoots. All sorts of lessons on portraits and using various flash combinations. Only 1 speedlight can be just fine. I've read where draping a white kleenex over the flash makes a great diffuser.

rcarol

The only way to soften shadows is to use a broader source of light. That is why bouncing the flash from the ceiling softens the shadows. The source of light becomes broad as it is reflected from the ceiling. Using a 9" X 11" diffuser will not significantly broaden the source of light. I think that the diffuser will not be as effective as you hope it will be.

SIMIBILL

Thank you all for the wealth of information.