Newbie questions... just bought a 430ex

[breakdown]

So I just got a 430ex earlier today and have been playing around with it a little. My girlfriend is coming over later on today and she is going to pose for me so I can really try this thing out. I'm going to take some shots in my place, against a navy blue bed sheet I have and then we are going to the fire exit staircase to see what I can do there.

I just have a few quick questions so I can make the best out of this oppertunity. Unfortunately, my girlfriend is really self-concious (I have no idea why) and doesn't let me take her picture very often so I don't want to ruin this chance.

Against the navy background, I want the background to be black if possible. To do this, I'll shoot in manual mode, set the shutter at 1/200, play around with the aperture, let the flash do the metering and have her stand as far away from the background as possible. Does that sound about right?

Should I consider bouncing the flash off my ceiling? The ceiling where I live is off white and only like 9' high. If I do this, should I also use a white index card attached to the flash?

In the stair well, the walls are grey cement. I was just planning on playing around with bouncing the flash off various difference places to see what I could come up with. Any other suggestions?

[olz]

Against the navy background, I want the background to be black if possible. To do this, I'll shoot in manual mode, set the shutter at 1/200, play around with the aperture, let the flash do the metering and have her stand as far away from the background as possible. Does that sound about right?
Yes. What you want is to override the ambient light. To do this choose the max sync speed of your camera and experiment with the aperture. If you want that black background I think you'll also have to put your flash in manual mode. Otherwise the ETTL will try to ligt the background also. Light the room dimly but not so dark that you'll screw up her eyes each time you press the shutter (then she will most likely not model for you again). :p A greather distance to the background will also help. You could try bounce, but then you'll have to make sure that the light won't hit the background.

[breakdown]

Thanks,

So I want to set the flash in manual mode so that it is powerful enough to light her up but not poweful enough to expose the background?

In ETTL mode, would the flash meter the background then overexpose her?

[Curtis N]

breakdown,

Using flash is easy. Using it effectively to create nice portraits is really hard.
If you haven't already read the Flash Photography 101 articles in the EOS Flash sticky, I would suggest that.

Then beg and plead with your dear girlfriend for some patience. Bribe her if necessary. A willing subject who will sit and smile while you fiddle and experiment is worth her weight in gold.

Don't expect your first shots to be great. Expect them to be a learning experience.