Tip #46: Catch Lights

Catch lights, those nice reflections in the eyes of our subjects, make our images come alive. Catch lights and other lighting effects can be enhanced with the addition of a small reflector on the flash. Some flash units come with a built-in catch light reflector. If yours does not have one, then you can simply add a white 3x5 card to your flash unit, held in place with a rubber band.

To use this arrrangement, point your flash head straight up or tilted away from the subject a bit, add the white card at the back of the unit. The reflected light will softly illuminate your subject and will add sparkle to their eyes.


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Tip #28: On-Camera Flash -- Redux

In Tip #6, I wrote about on-camera flash. In that tip I recommended purchasing an external flash with the capability to bounce light onto your subject. That works fine for external flash units. What about the built-in, pop-up flash that most cameras have?

Well, there is a solution that works somewhat better than the harsh, direct light provided by most pop-up flashes. Lumiquest makes a diffuser for pop-up flashes. Here's a sample shot using this kind of diffuser:





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Tip #6: On-Camera Flash

Additional lighting may be necessary in a dimly lit room or as fill-flash for a back-lit scene. The camera's flash can provide that extra kick. The problem with on-camera flash is that the light is harsh and is pointed directly into the eyes of the folks you are shooting. The light reflected from the retinas of your subjects creates that awful effect, called red-eye. If your camera has a hot-shoe mount, then purchasing an external flash with a pivoting head will let you bounce the light off a ceiling and onto your subjects, avoiding the direct reflection from the eyes and thereby eliminating the red-eye effect.


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