When first bouncing flash, many people will bounce the light straight up off the ceiling. This works to create a softer light source, however it creates a look called ‘panda eyes’, resulting in circular shadows over the subjects eyes. There are a couple of solutions to fix this. In a smaller room, rather than pointing the light straight up, the best place to bounce light is off both the ceiling and wall behind the photographer.

For outdoor events or in huge function halls, the choices are limited for a photographer. Using a front-facing flash maybe the best option, or using a diffusing modifier can help.

While using automatic mode on your flash and camera will yield good results for a majority of the time, there is the potential to get better results by having manual control over some settings. The mode we choose will determine if the brightness of the flash will be controlled by you or the camera.

Using the flash compensation dial or buttons on the flash is the fastest way to adjust your exposure without adjusting any of your camera settings.

In event environments, exposure comes down to some personal taste and it isn’t uncommon for photographers to have different approaches to choosing their settings. Here are suggestions are a good place for beginners to start:

The term ‘off-camera flash’ can strike fear in the hearts of beginner photographers, however taking the flash off the camera’s hotshoe doesn’t need to involve a complicated setup or a lot of equipment.