It’s an old trick, but it’s a goodie: If you find yourself in a pinch and need to bounce the flash off a compact camera, grab a piece of white card (my credit card has come in more times than I care to admit – good job they wouldn’t give me a Mastercard Gold, because that would have eskewed the white balance 
, and hold it at a 45° angle in front of the flash. That way, the flash will bounce via the ceiling, and you get far softer lighting than with a direct flash.
It is a bit hit-and-miss, and it means that the light sensor on your compact camera has to determine that the flash has to fire with higher intensity, but it’s better than nothing.
A better solution would be to build a flash-bouncer yourself…
Which is where Reflectors & Shades comes in handy. It shows a way you can build a flash bouncer out of aluminium. The instructions apply for a Nikon 990, but the general idea is the same for all cameras.
It costs next to nothing, and the results can be significant. Bonus!
Do you enjoy a smattering of random photography links? Well, squire, I welcome thee to join me on Twitter – Follow @Photocritic
© Kamps Consulting Ltd. This article is licenced for use on Pixiq only. Please do not reproduce wholly or in part without a license. More info.
About Haje Jan
This post was written by Haje Jan Kamps, who has written 554 articles for Photocritic
Haje has written half a dozen books about photography. He spends most of his time running Triggertrap, a company that creates creative tools for triggering your camera.
His most recent books are:
- Shooting Yourself - Self portraits with attitude.
Digital Download / in bookstores - The Rules of Photography - and when to break them.
Digital Download / in bookstores - Focus on Travel Photography - take great photos wherever you go.
In bookstores now!