Bounce Flash

Direct, on-camera flash is usually considered to be the most unflattering light that you can use when shooting a portrait. One of the easiest ways to combat that is to use a hot shoe flash, such as the Nikon SB800, but swivel the head so that it bounces off a wall (preferable a white wall) and then hits your subject. Just bouncing it straight up to the ceiling will most likely give you shadows under your subject's eyes. So I choose to aim my flash where the wall and ceiling meet to either side of the camera. The small light source then becomes a big light source and it has been softened quite a bit.

Take a look at these two photos I took yesterday using this technique:





Great, soft, directional light! Try this technique. Try bouncing the flash behind you, off to the side, or wherever to see what difference it makes.