How To Eliminate Background Shadow Behind Portrait Subjects

Recently shot event in well lit indoor environment and experienced some shadow effects behind subjects on backdrop (White) canvas style.

Shadow only appear when I shot vertically with flash pointed vertical. However when I shot horizontally from same distance with settings there is no shadow on backdrop behind subjects. Anyone know how to correct this problem as I'm not an expert with flash lighting. Here is my set up.

* 5D MKIII shooting in M mode: 60 / 4.0 @ ISO 1000-1250
* 580 EXII Flash in M mode: 1/32 flash output
* Gary Fong Lightsphere clear difuser with white top cover.

Again, shooting horizontally was fine, but shooting vertically with flash turned up vertically with defuser gave shadow off to right of subject.

Not sure if it's camera settings or flash settings...please share with me how to correct this issue.

Step one, get your flash off the camera. If your light is off to the side, your shadow will be to the opposite side, nothing you do to your light csn change this. Step 2, take the fong device, set it on your desk, fill it with mints or pencils so it can serve a useful function. If you cant go off camera start bouncing your flash so your light is indirect. It sounds as if you are trying to get studio results with on camera flash which only works in rare circumstances.

You need to think about where your light is coming from.

When your camera is level (horizontal), the flash is directly above the lens, pointed down slightly. Any shadows created will be behind and below the subject.

When your camera is in portrait orientation (turned 90 degrees), the flash is now directly left (or right) of the lens. Where are the shadows going to be now? It's not hard to figure out....

Try getting your subjects farther away from the background, if you have that option.

Yup either move them farther away, get the flash off the camera or get a camera bracket that allows the flash to rotate so it can stay above the lens in portrait orientation.

Well another option is since you have a large MP camera, just shoot them all in landscape and crop to portrait. Just leave enough room to do so. Unless you plan on printing them larger than say 11x14 or so it shouldn't matter.

As mentioned previously, move the subject further away from the background. If your flash pivots, try to bounce the flash off of the ceiling as long as it's white/near-white. Another way is to get a second flash off camera and place it on the same side you're seeing the shadows.

Unless you raise the light source even moving the subject farther from the wall won't help much. The side flash from a near axis will project shadowing onto a wall more than 10ft behind the subject.

gonzogolf wrote in post #17223844
Unless you raise the light source even moving the subject farther from the wall won't help much. The side flash from a near axis will project shadowing onto a wall more than 10ft behind the subject.

^^^
Illustrating the futility of moving subject away from background...

• Move the light source farther from the camera, so shadow falls outside the AOV captured by the frame, or
  
• Move the light UP OVER the lens axis, so the shadow falls down behind the subject -- which hides the shadow from the lens!

All great great suggestions! Wilt, your presentation photos are extremely accurate to what I've experienced and I will make adjustments based on these suggestions.

Thanks everyone!

Erm, when I suggested moving the subject farther away from the background I meant by several metres, like 10 m or so, which may or mayn't be possible depending on the location. In cramped spaces the way to go if not bouncing is to get the flash off the camera and hold it above and a bit to the side, that way the shadow will be projected onto the lower part of the shadow-catching surface, or even the floor, where the camera won't see it.

Buy another light

Photoman65 wrote in post #17223264
Recently shot event in well lit indoor environment and experienced some shadow effects behind subjects on backdrop (White) canvas style.

Shadow only appear when I shot vertically with flash pointed vertical. However when I shot horizontally from same distance with settings there is no shadow on backdrop behind subjects. Anyone know how to correct this problem as I'm not an expert with flash lighting. Here is my set up.

* 5D MKIII shooting in M mode: 60 / 4.0 @ ISO 1000-1250
* 580 EXII Flash in M mode: 1/32 flash output
* Gary Fong Lightsphere clear difuser with white top cover.

Again, shooting horizontally was fine, but shooting vertically with flash turned up vertically with defuser gave shadow off to right of subject.

Not sure if it's camera settings or flash settings...please share with me how to correct this issue.

Bounce flash. Examples.