Never use direct flash. Never use your camera’s built-in flash other than a type of effect called a catchlight… see “catcherlights”. Use an extra flash and at the very least you can bounce it off a wall behind you, the ceiling, or even a side wall. Simple, very diffuse and natural. This single tip can change and make your photography look professional.
Watch Your Timing Due to the design of a DSLR, the timing of the shutter and flash is limited, which means that most cameras will only sync up to 1/250, and some will sync to 1/180. The only time you start to notice this problem is when you are outdoors and have to balance daylight with your flash. So make sure your shutter speed is set below your sync speed.
Use available lighting as well. When shooting indoors or outdoors, there is available light that is often nicer and warmer than the flash alone. (By the way, we call flash strobe, so I’ll use that term from now on) The trick to achieving this is to slow down the shutter speed. Remember that you are using a strobe light, which flashes at 1/10000 of a second; so you don’t really need to worry about camera shake. You can slow your shutter speed down to 1/30 sec…even 1/15, though you may start to get some blur if you go too low. At 1/30 you should get some heat easily. Use this rule of thumb: shutter speed adjusts for daylight; the aperture adjusts the flash. This tip alone will greatly improve your portrait photography.
Take this tip one step further, and if you’re shooting outdoors, use motion to illustrate the action and flash to keep your subject sharp. It works great for weddings.
Reflectors In portraits, what makes the eyes shine is called a reflector. It is essential to have them in your shots, they can make or break your portrait. To get them without strobes in daylight, sit your subject facing the window and position their head so the light from the window is visible into their eyes. To get them with a strobe, you need to take it off-camera and position it to the right or left, but remember you’re bouncing your flash, so use a reflector card on the strobe to create the catch light. Many modern strobes have one built into the unit that can extend about an inch from the head. This reflects a white light towards the subject. Alternatively, you can tape a 2×1 inch card to the back of the strobe to create the same effect.
More tips…
Use your built-in flash to catch the light Most modern cameras now have a built-in pop-up flash. You should never use this as the main light is too small, harsh and ugly. However, you can create good reflectors. You need to adjust the exposure compensation for the flash -2 stops to make the scene too bright.
You need diffused flash If you’re serious about portraits or pictures of people with strobes, you need to diffuse the light correctly. You can get an umbrella, a light box, or even make something out of a cereal box, with tracing paper at the end. Good tip here… A simple solution is to take a milk carton, clean it, and wrap it around the strobe head.
Take the flash off the camera for effective lighting in your photography. Ok, so you need to take the strobes out of the camera and trigger them remotely. You can buy cactus wireless triggers (about $40, bargain!) or use PC sync/cable cables. Wireless triggers give you a lot more room to move. You can also use them behind objects, which takes your lighting to a new level.
Look for Backlighting Backlighting situations create beautiful hair highlights…and add a real wow factor, if you get the front exposure right. If you are in a backlit situation, use your strobe to illuminate your subject for balance. You need to get the balance right, and with digital you can verify that right away. Remember to set your exposure for daylight, and then add the flash at the same aperture setting. Then use the rule: Shutter speed adjusts daylight – Aperture adjusts flash.
A good tip on backlighting…go for sparkles. It’s not taboo and adds a bit of character to the shot. Make sure your topic is clear and well stated.