Results and Feedback for the "Bounce Flash" Weekly Photography Assignment

[keithsnell]

The guidelines for this assignment were to use bounce flash (bouncing the flash off the ceiling or a wall) to simulate a larger light source, thereby producing "softer" light with more gradual shadow transitions and better 3-d modeling than with direct flash.


First, I have to thank Jaime for introducing himself and his family with a picture.  It's nice to get to know you a little better, and I enjoyed seeing all the wonderful expressions and the personalities of your family.  I think it would be nice to meet in person someday...  I loved the expressiveness of this family portrait, and think you did an amazing job portraying your wonderful family.  Nice job with the bounce flash.  The image doesn't look "flashed," that is to say it looks "natural" without any uneven lighting or color cast caused by the flash.  Very well done!

Hello Everyone
Photographed by Jaime Dorotan (girod)

Michele captured a very special image with her Sign of the cross image.  As Michele mentioned in her image description, normally we would avoid blowing out the highlights in an image, but in this case I think the blown highlights in the girls hair and the "rim light" around some of the other features contributes to the overall feel of the image very nicely.  I think this effect gives the girl a very angelic look, which fits perfectly with the subject and the occasion.  And Michele managed to capture a great expression on the girls face (and wonderful context, with the other children making the sign of the cross).  This is a wonderful image of a very special moment in time, and Editor's Choice for Artistic Merit.

Editor's Choice for Artistic Merit
Sign of the cross
Photographed by Michele Bollhalder

Thank you to everyone that voted for my Formal Night on the Cruise image as People's Choice.  I was really happy with the way that bounce flash off the ceiling illuminated McKenzie's face, with nice soft shadows.  This was a quick shot as we were getting ready to leave for our "Captain's night" dinner, but I did consciously position myself so that her mom's red dress and uncle's suit provide a nice background/context for the image.  Shooting at a lower ISO let the background go dark, which provided a nice distraction-free background and fit well with the formal tone of this image.

Formal Night on the Cruise
People's Choice
Photographed by Keith

Marilyn's series of images of Ashlynn do a very nice job of illustrating how you can achieve nice soft (flattering) shadows by bouncing the light from the flash off the ceiling.  In my comments in the gallery I talked about how "mixed lighting" (where your subject is lit by ambient light that is a different color temperature than the flash) can result in white balance challenges.  This is because the area of the subject lit by the ambient light will have one color tint, and the area of the subject lit by the flash will have another color tint, leaving you with a situation where you can effectively correct one color tint (by selecting an appropriate white balance setting) but not both.  There are multiple ways to handle this.  One way is to adjust your settings to reduce the overall percentage of light that is provided by the ambient light.  (You can read my comments in the gallery for details on how to do this.)  The other way to handle this is to put a colored "gel" on your flash that is designed to convert the color temperature of the flash to the color temperature of your ambient light.  For example you could attach the gel that matches incandescent light so that your overall color temperature is consistent.  This alleviates having a "color cast" in the shadows of your subject, which can sometimes make it hard to pick a white balance setting that looks good.  The color cast in Marilyn's images is very subtle and not too distracting at all.  You will find however that if you can "nail" the white balance for your images, you can achieve more pleasing skin tones and more natural looking portraits.

Math Games
Photographed by Marilyn McKinney

iPad Time
Photographed by Marilyn McKinney

Are we done yet?
Photographed by Marilyn McKinney

Rebecca's Motley Crew is another good example.  Rebecca was attempting to bounce the flash off a very high ceiling, which provided some light on the background (so it didn't go completely dark) and helped to soften the shadows on the children.  She was also using the small built-in "bounce card" on the SB-800 flash, which provides some direct light on the subject.  Because the ceiling was so far away in this image, the bounce card provided the largest portion of the light on the subject, producing shadows that are a bit more "hard-edged" than I prefer, but it is still a great image.

Motley Crew
Photographed by Rebecca

Chris used his flash very effectively to provide supplemental light in his Bike image.  I loved the dramatic lighting in this image (with the flash helping to illuminate the dark side of the bike) and the dynamic composition.  Well done Chris.

Bike
Photographed by Chris Franklin

Thank you again to everyone that participated in this assignment.  I hope some of you found the discussion and examples useful.

Ketih

[girod]

Thanks Keith. It's on our list to meet you and your family one day.

[wildshutter]

It is almost not fair submitting a pic with  McKenzie in it, she is SO CUTE how can you not vote for her!!!!!! I don't think you can get a bad pic of her either!!!! You are going to have your hands full in a few years! Be ready Dad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[keithsnell]

Thanks Julie.  Actually McKenzie is so strong-willed that we joke that she will be protecting Evan from the bullies in school.  She already wants to learn Karate! 

[Michele]

She is a cutie-pie that daughter of yours!  Thank you, Keith, for the communion shot.  I like it too.  Just a moment caught!  Nothing, however, like catching a lightning bolt!