I don't think there's a perfect solution in that event situation with moving subjects except grouping tight and shooting them with diffused direct flash. Bouncing flash on dark surfaces obviously only makes the problem worse because the light is not reflected to the subjects and the amount of available light on the subjects is actually decreased. I have been using a frosted diffuser clone of a Gary Fong Lightsphere for a year now and that helps because a portion of light is bounced through the top translucent lid and a portion comes out of the sides of the translucent round sphere as a ball of omni-directional light so it doesn't cause a direct facial blast.

While not the same as shooting people, I have this problem in real estate interiors often. Home owners here in FL about 50% of the time decorate with dark wallpapers and/or paints, and even light brown, wood, or smoked gray ceilings.

My worst ever was an unmarried professional golfer's multi-million-dollar "man cave" 5-bedroom house that had dark woods like walnut, mahogany, cherry, etc. dominating the walls of every room, dark wood floors, dark wood cabinetry and furniture, dark burgundy wall paper or dark painted walls, black marble counter tops, and milk chocolate ceilings in every single room. Many rooms were long and wide but only had 10-foot ceilings throughout most so if I bounced flash the area around me was overexposed but the other end of the room was still dark. Combine that with a lot of windows across one whole side of the house facing a water view and golf course and I couldn't crank up the ISO which would blow out the outdoors view.

There was absolutely no way to do that interior with a single flash near the camera taking single shots. I could have had a flash with a guide number of 400 (no such thing available) and still couldn't have reached the other other end of most of these rooms - certainly not bounced from a chocolate ceiling. But the cheapskate realtor was trying to get this place shot using a $125 virtual tour package while complaining all the time that it wasn't up to her $600-800 photo shoot expectations compared to architectural magazines she had at her office.

I found out later I was the second photographer from the same company who was doing the place over because the first one failed to get it right. And a local independent photographer had also failed before that.

A solution would have been to shoot it in HDR or with multiple radio controlled flashes but that wasn't an option the cheapskate realtor wanted to afford. It's also not an option that you have at events.

The only suggestion I would have for your situation would be ISO 800 to 1600, a diffuser that allows bounce plus forward deflection of some light at the same time, and a flash with a guide number of at least 160. Good luck.

1. Use powerful strobe such as 580 EXII or Quantum.
2. Use a store bought or home made large white card rubber banded to the strobe as a fill reflector.
3. pull your shutter...i.e. take your speed down to a 30th or sometimes even slower if you can hold it.
4. your ISO does not need to be astronomical 800 perhaps 1600...
5. go to a little wider lens that will place you closer to your subject thus not needing as much output from strobe.
6. shoot RAW so they can be manipulated more
7. use fast lens
8. thank the great kodak god you aren't using color neg film.......

I recently have had a stroke not one but three and now they are pretty sure that I have CNS Vasculitis, let us say not good. Well have you ever tried to take photos wobbling or with a cane and tripod. This picture is of my youngest dog and he can always make me laugh. I just need to vent I am trying to remember some of then things I learned early on and they are coming back slowly. Is there any one out there that has had a stroke and struggled returning to photography?
Thank you
SnapperLady

Hello Snapperlady. I have not had experience with recovering from a stroke, so I can't help you there. But I have had experience with frustration and the value of a good vent! Pray things improve for you soon.

I do have a few thoughts for you though. One is getting a remote to click your shutter, if your camera has that option. Another way to get around your shakiness is to take pictures using your timer feature. I have found, by the way, that the 2 seconds setting on my camera is not always long enough for the camera to stabilize.

There is a saying that comes to mind..."pray as you can, not as you can't." Along that same line, it occurs to me to suggest "photograph as you can, not as you can't." What I mean is that you might want to concentrate on on non moving subjects...still lifes are quite cooperative that way :) Or flowers in a garden, etc. Will Chewie sit for portraits?