Shadow from flash...

[MrKickalot]

I like to grab up the camera and take pictures of my kids when they don't know I'm there. The problem is that a few of the rooms in my house have terrible lighting. When I shoot with the built in flash on my Digital Rebel, I get shadows of the kids on the wall or floor. The shadows can really turn a good picture into a just ok one. Any suggestions on how to fix this??

I'm not sure if it would help but I have a Sigma EF-500 DG ST flash. It takes time to mount it and sometimes I don't have a lot of time if the kids are doing something I need to shoot quick!!

Thanks

[jwkramer]

I believe the solution you are searching for may be found here:

LumiQuest (http://www.lumiquest.com)

I use the Pocket Bounce, it works great!

-Jim

[robertwgross]

This is probably not the answer that you want to read, but a big softbox-type diffuser would help a lot.

Another idea is to use flash units with wireless control. Set one up on a shelf aimed toward the center of the room. Set another to the other side aimed toward the center. Switch them on, let them "wind up" and get ready. You sit with the camera ready, and you call the kids into the room.

The flash to one side ought to wipe out the shadows from the flash on the other side.

---Bob Gross---

[Mark Kemp]

Try bouncing the flash off of the ceiling, assuming that you have a flashgun that can be angled.

Beware if you have a coloured ceiling, it could add a cast to the pictures, but white is fine.

This also removes any chance of red eye by the way and with an e-ttl flash the exposure should still be OK

[toddb]

You shooting situation is about the only thing I shoot, my 22 month old that is on the move allot and never in ideal lighting.. I use a 550EX Speedlight with a omnibounce. I point the flash almost straight up to bounce off the ceiling. If you have white ceilings this works great. Since I've been doing this I don't have red eye at all and the entire shot is lighted evenly with no background shadows caused with a direct flash (I was always getting very lit subject and very dark backgrounds before, I hated it). If you shoot indoors like I do all the time, maybe this setup would be good for you. The 550EX is expensive, but is very powerful flash and I don't regret getting it a all (except those times I accedently flashed myself). The lighting is very natrual looking compared to direct flash as well.

These are old and where taken the pretty much the day I got it, and I've improved with the flash, but here are some samples: Flash samples (http://www.toddburke.net/d10/flash/flash.htm)

[minicooper]

try bringing the shutter speed right down to about a 40th of a sec (providing they arent moving fast) this will let more ambient light into the camera, thus reducing the power of the flash, and less of a shadow problem.

tom

[Derek Smith]

If you don't want flash shadows, then don't use the flash.

Seems a silly statement untill you think about the fact that you are not using an ordinary film camera.

Open the lens wide, set the ISO to the highest (1600) and then set custom WB to take care of the room lighting colour. Forget the flash, with a half decent lens offering f2.8, you will be able to take photos in an ordiarily lit room without any problems except for perhaps the fastest of toddlers or rapidly moving limbs.

If you practice the steps, you can set up your camera (including taking a custom WB shot) in a matter of a few seconds and be ready to capture those memorable shots. But don't forget!! when you have finished, ALWAYS reset your camera to your default settings.

Finally, if one of your shots is important and yet is too dark, if you always shoot RAW, then you have another 2 stops of exposure you can use when you pull the images into your digital darkroom (FVU, PS etc). Turning that on its head, you can choose to shoot two stops down and gain the extra speed from underexposing, then correct back to correct exposure in the PC.

These digital sensors are seriously fast - you just got to start thinking how to use all that speed and power. Its a new age of photography - just experiment - you won't break it.

Derek

[AliasMoze]

I agree that using available light when possible is the way to go. A typical lamp with a lampshade looks way better than an on-camera flash, and you don't have to worry about the light coming from the direction of the camera. Along with unsightly shadows from on-camera flash, the lighting is just plain flat. Plus, when you use a flash indoors, you usually end up with two different colors of light (which can sometimes be good but not always).

Also, shooting with a nice prime lens opened all the way, coupled with a big ISO (800 or 1600) looks fine. As has been stated, digital cameras perform really well at these ISOs. On the computer, at full size, you'll see some grain, but printed out the photos are remarkably clean.

I have a 550EX and the ST-E2 transmitter, and it works great. You can keep the transmitter on the camera and just hold the flash if you want, or, if you have the time, you can bounce it. I like to meter down the scene a little and use ETTL, so that the picture has some dimension. And shoot RAW.

If you're shooting flash, I'd follow the others' advice and get one of those diffusers. It will not give a softbox look, but it will spread the light out when you bounce it, which will result in a better look. Actually, those things are good for direct flash shots for the same reason, though, let's face it, direct flash usually looks pretty lousy.

Hope that helps. Good luck.

[DaveG]

MrKickalot wrote:
I like to grab up the camera and take pictures of my kids when they don't know I'm there. The problem is that a few of the rooms in my house have terrible lighting. When I shoot with the built in flash on my Digital Rebel, I get shadows of the kids on the wall or floor. The shadows can really turn a good picture into a just ok one. Any suggestions on how to fix this??

I'm not sure if it would help but I have a Sigma EF-500 DG ST flash. It takes time to mount it and sometimes I don't have a lot of time if the kids are doing something I need to shoot quick!!

Thanks

One of the things about shooting candids like this is that the shots may well be candid, but your prep can't be. If these were shots that I would be hired to do my first thought would be to use available light. This pre-supposes that there is light, and some houses just never get bright enough. Climb the ISO stairs only if you have to though. After ISO 400 I'd be thinking about flash.

For shadow less flash you will need to keep the flash directly above the lens in both the horizontal and vertical shooting positions. That's going to require a bracket.

A Stofen Omnibounce might help as well. With or without a Stofen, the flash above the lens will still throw a shadow. But the lens is lower than the flash and the shadow stays hidden behind the subject, as long as the subject is not too close to a wall. Then you get a dark shadow just behind their head (assuming that they are looking directly into the lens) and this will look like they have long hair.

For happy snaps of the kids doing something cute, just use the built in flash and damn the shadows.

[jcsorensen]

Post-processing in Photoshop or Elements should eliminate most shadows. It takes some practice, but it really works wonders when you need to use the built in flash, which will almost always cause shadows inside. I use the clone stamp a lot to fix these annoyances.

Real answer though, is to either use natural light, or use an external flash above and 45 degrees off the subject. As others have said, diffusers and bouncing will help.

Hey, its digital--play around until you find something that works for you.

[Mashuri]

toddb wrote:
...I don't regret getting it a all (except those times I accedently flashed myself).

You're not kidding. I accidentally hit the Pilot button while looking at my 550EX once. Whoa Nelly! I had tweety birds flying around my head for the next few minutes!

[robertwgross]

Mashuri wrote:
You're not kidding. I accidentally hit the Pilot button while looking at my 550EX once. Whoa Nelly! I had tweety birds flying around my head for the next few minutes!

You need to purchase the tube of SPF 50 Canon Sun Lotion for that burn.

---Bob Gross---

[clos]

I use my Canon 420EX which I just got and love it. In a small room I point it up and it works amazingly well, E-TTL sure makes it easy. You will eliminate the back shadow but then get some underneath shadow, much more natural looking but still noticeable.

I have attached a small piece of white foam board to the speedlite with velcro (I still use the flash pointed up)and this works even better by reducing the underneath shadow. This also seems to increase the light output by not wasting the light that goes behind the camera. Just be careful or the pesky back shadow may come back.

I got the idea from a couple posts here in this forum.

Thanks.

-Clos

[DaveG]

clos wrote:
I use my Canon 420EX which I just got and love it. In a small room I point it up and it works amazingly well, E-TTL sure makes it easy. You will eliminate the back shadow but then get some underneath shadow, much more natural looking but still noticeable.

I have attached a small piece of white foam board to the speedlite with velcro (I still use the flash pointed up)and this works even better by reducing the underneath shadow. This also seems to increase the light output by not wasting the light that goes behind the camera. Just be careful or the pesky back shadow may come back.

I got the idea from a couple posts here in this forum.

Thanks.

-Clos

That works fine for horizontal shots but you'll still need the remote cord and a bracket to use this technique when shooting verticals. You have to get the flash out of the hot shoe or it will still throw a shadow from the fill card. Without the fill card your subject's will have "racoon eyes".

Back in my Nikon days I would often handhold my Vivitar 283 directly over the lens when shooting vertically. I was using a synch cord and I could "park" the flash in the hotshoe when I went back to shooting horizontally. I wish the the camera part of the Canon remote cord had an accesssory shoe on top so I could park my 550 (or 420) the same way.