Bounce Card I made... did I put it in the right position for portraits?

I bought a big white fan at a dollar store than just attached elastic bands to it... I attached the fan to the SIDE of the flash, is this correct? I will be shooting an event tomorrow, hoping to just use it as fill flash OUTDOORS, help please

http://gyazo.com …234af31c2dfb469​a644b5.png

Most of your light is going to be wasted going straight up. I'd rather have something above the flash to capture and bounce it forward. Like this: http://store.lumiquest​.com/lumiquest-big-bounce/

Or just aim the flash at the subject and reduce power so it doesn't become too prominent.

mike_d wrote in post #16558998
Most of your light is going to be wasted going straight up. I'd rather have something above the flash to capture and bounce it forward. Like this: http://store.lumiquest​.com/lumiquest-big-bounce/

Or just aim the flash at the subject and reduce power so it doesn't become too prominent.

For portrait orientation it doesn't matter does it? Because since the camera is on the flash it's off to the side right?

But for landscape, the reason why I am bouncing is because of the animal highlight "catchlight" in the eye and the straight on shadow off on the face makes it look flat. Bouncing it gives the skin a bit more depth... am i wrong? And also avoids the animal highlight "catchlight" in the eye.

too BIG, it will be a problem for you rather than the usefull

tongki wrote in post #16559053
too BIG, it will be a problem for you rather than the usefull

How so?

Brea wrote in post #16559080
How so?

a small speedlite has a very limited light spread based on the design of the speedlite,
so, I assume, you don't need that much of reflector for a small speedlite

At the very least, you should bend the reflector forward (toward the subject) about 45° so that it reflects most of the light toward the subject. The fact that the reflector is significantly larger than the bare flash means that the reflected light should provide softer shadows on and behind the subject.

A significant improvement would be gained by using a flash bracket that holds the flash (and your reflector) directly above the lens regardless of the camera's position ("landscape" vs "portrait" position).

SkipD wrote in post #16559193
At the very least, you should bend the reflector forward (toward the subject) about 45° so that it reflects most of the light toward the subject. The fact that the reflector is significantly larger than the bare flash means that the reflected light should provide softer shadows on and behind the subject.

A significant improvement would be gained by using a flash bracket that holds the flash (and your reflector) directly above the lens regardless of the camera's position ("landscape" vs "portrait" position).

Thanks for the advice! I know about brackets but could not afford one for tomorrow.

The bigger the card the more like direct flash it will look.

Shooting wrote in post #16560059
The bigger the card the more like direct flash it will look.

Are you referring to the quality of light or orientation of the shadows? I would say that the shadows won't be as obnoxious as with a bare flash coming from the side (orientation, I'm assuming that's what you're talking about?) But the light quality will definitely be better than bare flash, especially for headshots.

Too big…too cumbersome…

This would be okay for indoors, although maybe with a smaller fan, lol, but for fill-in flash outdoors you'd be better just using direct flash. Turn it down maybe one or two stops for a more natural look.

Don't have any issue with the basic DIY approach. The size isn't necessarily a negative either as it's the same as another product touted for wedding photographers in another thread here. You'll just be very conspicuous. However, I'd be concerned that your setup is not exactly functional. Mounting for portrait orientation as you show does not appear to catch enough light from the narrow side of the flash tube. I think you are better off shooting landscape so you can mount the fan like a normal bounce card and tilt the head as necessary like others suggest. You can crop the image to portrait if you must, while your lighting will still be better. Secondly, the current way and limited angle will have different and possibly unwanted effects depending on your distance to the subject. I fear your use as fill light as shown will come out uneven or exacerbate face shadows.

Scatterbrained wrote in post #16560076
Are you referring to the quality of light or orientation of the shadows? I would say that the shadows won't be as obnoxious as with a bare flash coming from the side (orientation, I'm assuming that's what you're talking about?) But the light quality will definitely be better than bare flash, especially for headshots.

Well, when I use my Large betterbouncecard it looks too much like direct flash, no
softness to it so if a soft betterbouncecard does that, what would that big paper plate do?

Better than asking a bunch of people you don't know, you should to test shots at various settings and see what YOU like. It's digital you have instant feedback