Lens shadows

Just got my Sigma 24-70 f2.8 and took a few pictures with just the camera flash. I also have a camera-mounted 550ex, but with the camera flash there's a shadow when shooting at 24mm. How do you get around that, or don't you? The shadow seems more prevalent in close shots- subject less than 10 ft away.

BTW- love the site. Lots for me to learn.

If your using your built-on flash rather than your 550ex, you'll probably find the shadow is created because the lens is so massive The built in flash will get in the way.

If your using your 550ex, then try learning and playing with bouncing the flash off of walls and ceilings. It creates a much more natural lighting effect without any harsh shadows.

Hi,

I have the same problem with my Canon 10-22MM EF-S. It shows up between 10MM and 17MM. I have no shadow problems with 580EX flash unit.

This is just another "lesson learned" to keep tucked away in the back of your mind when using that particular lens.

The 550 gets up high enough that no shadows are cast. I'm learning the nuances of bounce and direct usage. I took an intro class to flash photography, but the instructor didn't even scratch the surface of proper usage.

Below are a couple of links to flash photography that I tried a while back. This was my first attempt at using my flash (430ex bounced)

http://flickr.com/phot​os/dazecoop/291010898/
http://flickr.com/phot​os/dazecoop/291010405/

I still believe that practicing and messing about is the quickest way to learn.

In addition to bouncing the flash from ceilings or walls you could use a flash bracket and hot shoe cord to have a greater distance between the camera lens and the flash.

WayneM

hawk911 wrote in post #2271190
Just got my Sigma 24-70 f2.8 and took a few pictures with just the camera flash. I also have a camera-mounted 550ex, but with the camera flash there's a shadow when shooting at 24mm. How do you get around that, or don't you? The shadow seems more prevalent in close shots- subject less than 10 ft away.

BTW- love the site. Lots for me to learn.

With my 24-70 I can see the the shadow from the lens hood if I use the on camera flash. I really wish it was not there. Canon could have put the effort into something more useful to us that the useless on camera flash.