Portrait Photography + Flash Usage

Hi,

I'm a newbie to photography. I tried to shoot a portrait photo; I was 1 to 1.5 meters away from the subject. This is indoor and uses "soft white" light bulbs, so the place is not that bright, not that dim. I feel that I need to use the flash. However, shooting with the flash causes the light from flash reflecting on subject's face. I am using the built-in flash on my Canon 30D.

Any tips on how to effectively shoot with flash on this distance? Should I be using flash diffuser? What do you think?

Cheers,

At such a close distance you should use a diffuser but you also will need to get a hot shoe flash to use it on. The built in flash is to small and to close to the lens for good lighting. All diffusers reduce flash output, so trying to put a diffuser on the built-in flash won't give you much light. The second thing that you may want is a bracket to get your flash above your camera to throw the shadows down. The bracket will not eliminate the hot spots, however.
Here's some information from a previous post:

Here is a list of sites that make flash diffusers.

Also take a look at the Photoflex Q39 small softbox. A little unwieldly but good results too. I think Pfiltz use the Q39.

http://www.lumiquest.com/
http://www.ultimatelightbox.com
http://www.stofen.com/
http://store.garyfonginc.com
http://www.joedembphotography.com/flipit/
http://users.aol.com/shellfoto/flash.html

The Ultimate Light Box has become my favorite. It's does a great job. It works from direct to bounce and in-between.

The Lumiquest is my next favorite and is what many of the DIY diffusers are copied from.

The Lightsphere works well for up-close portraits.
The flipit is good for ease of use.
The Stofen is an original and works well with a low ceiling in bounce mode.

Mr Thomas said:

Hi,

I'm a newbie to photography. I tried to shoot a portrait photo; I
was 1 to 1.5 meters away from the subject.

Click to expand...

That's too close for normal looking facial perpective. That close you'll get a big nose and small ears regardles of the lens you use. A distance of 7-8ft is needed for normal looking flattering perspective.

Mr Thomas said:

This is indoor and uses
"soft white" light bulbs, so the place is not that bright, not that
dim. I feel that I need to use the flash. However, shooting with
the flash causes the light from flash reflecting on subject's face.
I am using the built-in flash on my Canon 30D.

Click to expand...

You can improve the appearance of flash shots by using an external flash like a 430ex or 580ex on a bracket to raise it directly above the lens of the camera. Direction of the light controls where the distracting shadows fall and raising the light makes most of them fall out of sight.

Diffusing the light will make the shadows softer and less distracting. The best results are obtained when both a bracket and diffuser are used together.

For a general introduction to flash types see:
http://super.nova.org/DPR/HotShoePrimer/

For a discussion of modification methods see
http://super.nova.org/DPR/Design/

For information about using a single flash creatively see
http://super.nova.org/DPR/580ex/ and http://super.nova.org/DPR/FillFlash/

For an introduction to lighting in general -- goals and techniques -- see:
http://super.nova.org/DPR/COIforTHOU/
and
http://super.nova.org/DPR/CluelessToCompetent/

CG

Why do diffuser sites usually have such awful example pictures?

Mr Thomas said:

However, shooting with
the flash causes the light from flash reflecting on subject's face.
I am using the built-in flash on my Canon 30D.

Click to expand...

Those hotspots (harsh light on the face) are caused by the "point source" of light. This means the light emits out of a single point, as in the case of the built-in flash.

To get even light on the face, where the tip of the nose and cheek look just as bright as the deep eye sockets, you'll need a "plane source". This means enlarging the source of light so that it becomes bigger than a point. There are a few methods to do this:

1. Bounce the flash to the ceiling - this makes the whole ceiling a "plane source". You'll need to buy an external flash with tilt and swivel feature to bounce.

2. Buy a softbox or umbrella for your flash - this is how it's done in portrait studios.

3. About the flash diffusers - There are many kinds on the market today, like the Stofen Omnibouncer, Gary Fong's Light Sphere, Demb Flip It, The Light Box, etc. They usually either throw light in all directions, thus bouncing light from ceilings and walls, or enlarge the light source. Even the biggest ones will not enlarge the light source nearly as much as a softbox or umbrella. This means when you're standing really close to the subject, like 3 to 5 ft, they appear like a plane source, but when you move out further, they appear like a point source. So this means they only work when you have a low ceiling or wall to bounce against, or when you can stand very close to the subject.

If you really must use the built-in flash, the Lumiquest Soft Screen will help a little, but only when you're very close to the subject. Here's the link

http://www.lumiquest.com/softscreen.htm