It’s tough being a photographer. Sometimes you’re forced into the female dressing rooms to shoot everything that goes on behind the scenes. What kind of life is that? Absolute travesty. [/sarcasm]
Ever the consummate professional, I didn’t have any off-camera lighting equipment on me. So hotshoe flash was the call of the day. When you’re stuck with a hotshoe flash and a suitable room, bounced flash is a life-saver. I bounced flash off a nearby wall behind me as sometimes bouncing over your shoulder is a safer bet than bouncing off a ceiling. I find ceiling bounce too close to the subject results in shadows under chins and hotspots on foreheads which isn’t very flattering. So a wall-bounce lights the face more directly and evenly but diffuses enough to not create harsh shadows or massive hotspots. E-TTL pretty much handles the flash output so you don’t have too much to worry about other than dialling in any exposure compensation.
I’m still rueing not bring extra equipment with me to shoot some Strobist style portraits. Not everyday you have the opportunity. Damnit.
Ahh, never thought about bouncing light off surfaces (apart from the time I tried to bounce the torch light off all the mirrors to light my room up during a power cut..).
I often have trouble with lighting, heavily relying on natural light that isn’t always available. I find that your flash on your bog standard digital cameras can be treacherous.