A Stupid Self-Indulgence

If you're interested in the kind of photography that I am (portrait photography), and there's no reason you should be, you'd be aware that there is an international community of people who are kind of nuts about off-camera flash. The idea is that if you use a flash other than that little thing that's built into your camera, and can make it work without being attached to your camera, you'll get much better pictures. No red-eye, to start with. More interesting light, for another.

If you're already nodding off, move on to something else. This doesn't get any better.

Another thing you can do with this off-camera flash is modify it in some way. In this silly little video (shot with a Canon 5D Mark II (sigh)], the videographer is illustrating the kind of light you can get by bouncing the flash off something silver, then something white – in this case, off Bounceman's cape, then off Bounceman's shirt.



What he's saying in the third episode is "What you need [is] a little hairlight" (the guys who made this are Belgian). And the principle works when you're photographing people who aren't beautiful models, too, but who'd watch a video like that?

Hey, I warned you go move on to something else. You've got nobody to blame but yourself.