On camera a flash a not so good-----------but

I have read and I know it is better to use off camera flash for image quality pictures.

But---if you need to use on camera flash (not pop up flash) are there techniques and suggestions other than bounce or power level adjustments that could be incorporated to enhance the image quality?

Image quality is by your definition.

Thanks
Richard

If you are CLOSER to your subject, you need less flash power than if you are across the room

If you shoot closer, you have less RedEye than if you shoot across the room.

Both of those will give you better (IMHO) Flash pics

I don't see many options available by the very definition of on-camera flash and the fact that you have further limited the options because you want options other than bouncing the flash.

If on camera means directly on the camera hot shoe and you remove bounce flash as an option then the only thing left you can do is to put something in the light path to alter the quality of the light. There are various DIY and commercial offerings for things like soft boxes and diffusers that help in this regard. But nothing as good as truly moving the flash off camera.

The only other option I can think of is the use of a flash bracket. Technically this is off-camera but since it is still physically "connected" to, and moves with, the camera it may fit your working definition. A flash bracket with a light modifier is about the best you are going to be able to do without actually removing the flash entirely from the camera.
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Mike Dawson

When you increase ISO, you need less flash to illuminate the subject and you make better use of ambient light. This results in a more natural looking light. In Green Auto mode, my Nikon D90 nearly always shoots at ISO 800. Only when there's good daylight does the ISO start to drop. More than a few people on the Nikon forum have said that when the lighting is tricky and they’re not sure how to set the flash, they switch to Green Auto and the camera ends up doing a great job. High ISO and intelligent TTL (discussed below) are the reason.

When the flash is pointing forward, make sure it's in the latest TTL mode...E-TTL II for Canon and i-TTL-BL for Nikon. These modes use distance information from the lens to determine the required flash power, making flash exposure more accurate and less susceptible to being thrown off by dark or bright subjects.

Don’t use any of those tiny diffusers when pointing forward. In the advanced TTL modes, the flash will relay WB information to the camera (oh yeah...put the WB in auto mode when using intelligent flash units...the “Flash” WB is for when you use older flash units.) Anyways, as I was saying...the flash will relay WB info and those tiny diffusers that clip over the flash head (which don’t do anything) will slightly change the color of the light.

Though this isn’t as much an issue when pointing forward...always check your flash after you’ve taken a shot. If you ran out of flash power, the flash will tell you. However, check your manual for the method used. Some units will flash an underexposure warning for a few seconds and then clear it out...after which the display looks normal. This is more likely to happen when using small apertures or when shooting sport at a distance.

.

I put a cardboard snoot or a grid (homemade) to direct the light to a part of the picture that has no light. I physically turn the head towards the dark area. Turning the light level down a bit helps to make it less different that the rest of the scene. And most of the time I have a CTO gel on the flash because it is usually done indoors with incandescent lighting..

If I am taking a picture of a group of people standing in a diagonal line, I try to turn the flash away from the closest person and feather the light. When I am stuck without any snoot or grid I make efforts to try to block light from parts of the scene ( like the closest person). It doesn't always work but sometimes it makes a big difference.

Don't be trapped into thinking you need to always light the whole scene. Attempt to be selective..... or don't..... like I said it's a secret and I never see anybody doing this when I am out shooting. I don't mind being the only nerd trying this.

Guy Moscoso

Graystar said:

When you increase ISO, you need less flash to illuminate the subject and you make better use of ambient light.

Click to expand...

I thought the only way to take advantage of ambient light is to use a shutter speed slower than the sync speed?

-A

Akondo,

Break out the cam and try it. Simply adjust the ISO and watch the ambient change.

The shutter speed will do the same thing. And of course you can do a little of each.

Guy Moscoso

akondo said:

Graystar said:

When you increase ISO, you need less flash to illuminate the subject and you make better use of ambient light.

Click to expand...

I thought the only way to take advantage of ambient light is to use a shutter speed slower than the sync speed?

Click to expand...

I think you’re referring to proper exposure of ambient in the backgrounds. In that regard you are right...you need slower shutter speeds to properly expose the backgrounds or other areas of the image lit by ambient light. That’s not what I’m referring to.

Every flash exposure is, by necessity, a combination of a flash exposure and an ambient exposure. The great benefit of TTL mode is to be able to add just enough light to the ambient light so that the image isn’t overexposed. Sometimes the contribution of ambient to the exposure is insignificant, as in images that are completely illuminated by flash. Sometimes ambient light is the main light, as in fill flash. Either way, a properly exposed flash exposure is a balance between ambient and flash.

When you raise the ISO, you increase the contribution that ambient light makes to the exposure. This means that you need less flash power to reach proper exposure. Of course, shutter speed factors in the contribution made by ambient light. But I’m still talking about the 1/60s and faster range of shutter speeds.

.

This is off topic to the original question, but it is still of importance to anyone using a flash.

I believe the classical statement is:

The shutter speed controls the ambient light exposure and aperture controls the flash exposure.

That is fine, but it ignores two other important factors; the ISO value and the flash power.

I would modify the statement to:

The ISO and the shutter speed control the ambient light exposure and the flash power and aperture control the flash exposure.

In Manual Mode it still comes down to finding the correct ISO and shutter speed for the ambient lighting first, then the flash power for the aperture that will give the desired depth of field.

With E-TTL II or i-TTL-BL you lose control of shutter speed and aperture, which boils down to the loss of depth of field control.

As far as I'm concerned, Manual Mode is simply better if you do have the luxury of time to set things up properly. E-TTL II or i-TTL-BL are great when you don't have that luxury of time. We are fortunate that with modern cameras we are able to make that choice.

Sailor Blue said:

With E-TTL II or i-TTL-BL you lose control of shutter speed and aperture, which boils down to the loss of depth of field control.

Click to expand...

That statement makes no sense. These modes work perfectly fine in modes that provide control of aperture...you don't lose anything. Why would you think you lose control of DOF?

When talking about flash you have to distinguish between two primary purposes...flash as fill and flash as key.

On a Nikon, for Aperture and Program modes, the Flash Shutter Speed setting determines the division between fill and key. The default is 1/60s. So when exposure calls for 1/60s or faster, the shutter speed is set normally and the flash is a fill flash. When exposure calls for a shutter less than 1/60s, the shutter remains at 1/60s (thereby underexposing ambient exposure) and the flash is the key light. When acting as fill in both A and P modes (and S and M,) the photographer can change aperture and shutter as he normally would, and the flash will still fill properly. When acting as a key light, P mode gets stuck at the max aperture, but A mode still allows the aperture to be adjusted.

If you want to expose the background when the flash is acting as the key light, then enabling Slow sync releases the shutter, and the auto modes will set exposure as if no flash is being used. Or you can use manual mode. To expose the background.

But in any of the above cases, TTL-BL still provides correct flash exposure while allowing full control of aperture and shutter in nearly any shooting mode. So I don’t know where you get the idea that using TTL-BL results in the loss of DOF control.

.

Back on topic.

With an unmodified on-camera flash you get very hard/harsh lighting and you are limited in what you can do to improve the quality of lighting.

Without any add-ons, about all you can do is bounce the flash off a ceiling or a wall to soften the lighting.

There are a number of commercial add-ons available. Examples are the Sto-fen Omnibounce, the Gary Fong Whale Tail or lightsphere, or the LumiQuest bounce diffusers/reflectors and softboxes. You can also make a bounce diffuser - just Google "flash bounce diffuser" to find several references.

The purpose of all of these is to soften the harsh light of direct on-camera flash. They all work to some greater or lesser degree. All these products have two common characteristics. They reduce the amount of light that reaches the subject, and the more light they throw directly at the subject, the less they will soften the lighting.

The products like the ominbounce, the lightsphere, and the Whale Tail throw light in all directions, and if there are sufficient light colored walls and a ceiling they will produce the softest light. They also throw the least amount of light at the subject.

Products like the LumiQuest bounce diffusers/reflectors and softboxes throw more light directly at the subject, but that light is less soft. At reasonable distances, say up to 10', it is still soft enough to reduce specularity when compared to direct flash, but don't expect miracles.

The bottom line is that all these flash modifiers will reduce specularity to some extent when compared to direct on-camera flash, but none of them will give you the kind of results you will get by using an off camera flash with a modifier.

Graystar said:

Sailor Blue said:

With E-TTL II or i-TTL-BL you lose control of shutter speed and aperture, which boils down to the loss of depth of field control.

Click to expand...

That statement makes no sense. These modes work perfectly fine in modes that provide control of aperture...you don't lose anything. Why would you think you lose control of DOF?

Click to expand...

You are right Graystar. I accidentally deleted part of the sentence during editing. It should have read, " With E-TTL II or i-TTL-BL in full Auto mode you lose control of shutter speed and aperture, which boils down to the loss of depth of field control."

You are also right that, depending on the camera brand, you can still retain control of the aperture in some modes where E-TTL II or i-TTL-BL will control the flash to light to your subject similarly to the background light level.

For Canonistas there is a new book I wish I'd had years sooner: Speedliter's Handbook by Syl Arena. Every question and confusion you could have is explained clearly and completely. Profusely illustrated.

Sal

i can't add much more to what's been said as it pretty much covers it, but am curious why you are ruling out bounce. Is that because you want to know what to do when no bounce is available ?

If i CAN bounce, i do...if I can't, then I use a Demb Flip-it. I have tried a lumiquest and stofen, but the Flip-IT is the most flexlible device I have used.

As mentioned..I also control ambient light with the shutter speed to give a more natural look. (ie dragging the shutter). I quite often shoot as low as 1/10 in party / nightclub environments which will still freeze action as the flash effectively becomes your shutter.

Can post examples if that is the type of examples you are talking about

I highly recommend David Zisers "Captured by the Light" which teaches you how to make on camera flash look like off camera flash. (but it is mainly about bounce)
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Nikon D7000. Nikon 50mm 1.8, Tamron 28-75 2.8, Sigma 70-200 2.8 SB900 SB600

'I am a better critic than photographer'

Thanks for the clarification, I'm still trying to understand the details about flash photography beyond the basic principles.

-A

Sailor Blue said:

Graystar said:

Sailor Blue said:

With E-TTL II or i-TTL-BL you lose control of shutter speed and aperture, which boils down to the loss of depth of field control.

Click to expand...

That statement makes no sense. These modes work perfectly fine in modes that provide control of aperture...you don't lose anything. Why would you think you lose control of DOF?

Click to expand...

You are right Graystar. I accidentally deleted part of the sentence during editing. It should have read, " With E-TTL II or i-TTL-BL in full Auto mode you lose control of shutter speed and aperture, which boils down to the loss of depth of field control."

You are also right that, depending on the camera brand, you can still retain control of the aperture in some modes where E-TTL II or i-TTL-BL will control the flash to light to your subject similarly to the background light level.

Click to expand...