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Newbie’s
external flash

Hopefully by now you’re starting to see how much better off camera flash makes your photos. But not everyone owns an external flash. If you’re not a professional and you’re not a serious enthusiast, then odds are you only have a camera.

Here’s how many hobbiests progress toward the transition to off camera lighting. They start out buying a SLR. This gets them more into photography. Then they buy a shoe mounted flash for better light. This lets them bounce light off walls and ceilings. Then they finally go for it and get the flash off the camera.

But there’s an option somewhere in the middle if you’re not ready to spend the money for more gear. You can reflect the light from your camera’s on board flash on to a wall, ceiling, or reflector. I’ll show you the simple process for doing this.

Materials Needed

The goods

• A 3×5 index card
• Some tape. Any will do; I used simple Scotch tape.
• Some aluminum foil
• Some spray adhesive like 3M Super 77. Tape will do just fine here though if you want.

The Process

1. Cut a piece of aluminum foil about the same size as your index card.
2. Using the spray adhesive, glue the foil to one side of the index card.


Just a little

3. Pop up the on board flash on your camera and place the index card between the body and the flash so that the foil side faces the flash bulb.
4. Place the tape over the top of the flash and on the index card to hold it in place.


Done!

5. That’s it. Now when you use the flash, it will bounce at a 90 degree angle straight up from the camera.

Built in flash
bounced off wall

There are a few limitations to this approach of course. First, you can only bounce the light straight up. Second, the relatively low power output of the on board flash will limit your lighting capability. But with a little creativity, you can fashion the index card in such a way that you can bounce it to the side instead of up. And to help with the power issue, you can use purchased or homemade reflectors to get the light where you want it.

Also remember this: most cameras don’t allow you to set the on board flash to manual. But you can use the flash exposure compensation settings to bump up or down the power output of the flash. Use this to your advantage to get the right light.

The photo at right is an example of a candid shot done using this technique. While I would certainly have had many more creative options with off camera flash (or even bouncing a SpeedLight), it beats the heck out of just firing the flash right at the grandpa and baby pair.

Did you like this tip or find it useful? Got a better one? Drop yours in the comments below and let everyone know!