Bouncing speedlight when shooting in portrait

[cannockwolf]

I have got some great results with my SB400 bouncing of the ceiling, but I switched to portrait orientation and realised what's it going to bounce off? obviously it bounced off the wall and the results were obvious. Is the a bracket that can angle the flash up? am I missing something obvious or do I have to just go with facing it forward and getting that harsh look?

[KingEnigma]

One of the reasons people use flash brackets.

There are a few tho choose from. Search for Custom Brackts (CB junior), Stroboframe, Really right stuff. These are a few manufacturers.

[cannockwolf]

cool thanks, i thought there would be a gadget to solve it, but i was using the wrong terminology when doing a search, K to you

[tdodd]

I just ordered one of these a couple of days ago, so no idea if it's any good yet, but it's the type of design I think I would prefer - where the camera swivels within the bracket rather than having the flash flip-flop back and forth above the camera as you tilt the whole rig. Unlike some designs, the camera also swivels in the direction I prefer, placing my hand above the camera rather than beneath it, in portrait orientation.

As this is my first post I cannot post a URL but search on eBay for....

Flash Bracket Stroboframe Camera Flip

It's the one for £26.99 plus £11.99 P&P from go4dc.

[tdodd]

I got the idea for a bracket where you swivel just the camera, rather than the whole rig, from this video on YouTube....

YouTube - Just Rite Camera Brackets

But the JustRite brackets are big bucks, so I went the eBay route.

[cannockwolf]

thanks for the links but that's a bit big for my needs, this is just for family snaps really and a bit of fill lighting.

Edit: gulp, they're all big, perhaps there isn't anything for me in the size i was expecting

[tdodd]

I think you may find some of the eBay versions a bit more compact, and surprisingly cheap.

This one is probably about as compact as you are likely to find....

Flash Bracket Quickflip 100 For Nikon D300 D200 D80 D40 on eBay, also, Other Digital Camera Accs, Digital Camera Accessories, Photography (end time 02-Jun-08 15:36:46 BST)

It's hard to tell the size of this one but for the price it's not much of a risk to find out. I'm guessing it is actually the same as the one above but a little cheaper...

Flash Bracket arm for Canon 580EX II 430EX Nikon SB800 on eBay, also, Flash Units, Digital Camera Accessories, Photography (end time 01-Jun-08 21:00:00 BST)

I don't know whether your kit has wireless flash built in but if not you will also need an off camera flash cord in order to trigger the flash. Actually, with a cord or wireless function you could just hold the flash head in your left hand and point it wherever you choose. This would be easier with the camera on a tripod but not impossible with camera in one hand and flash in the other. Here's a video showing such an approach in action....

YouTube - JACOB the PHOTOGRAPHER model photoshoot bikini Kim

A completely different approach would be to get an omnibounce type of modifier that would cast the light in all directions, to bounce of ceiling, walls and floor and also pass some light straightforward as well. It should certainly help soften shadows but will be quite inefficient and give you very little control over where the light goes....

There's a nice picture of one fitted in this post....

Wiel....: Nikon Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review

eBay price here....

Sto-Fen Omnibounce OM-SB400 Fits Nikon SB400 SB 400 on eBay, also, Camera Parts Accessories, Film Camera Accessories, Photography (end time 06-Jun-08 17:06:55 BST)

The last idea would be to construct your own modifier with card and foil or something to pipe the light upwards when the flash is on the side in portrait mode. Here's an example of such creativity applied to a DIY macro flash innovation....

DIY Macro Flash ring using BUILT IN flash! - Canon Digital Photography Forums

If none of those ideas are viable then buy a flash head with tilt and swivel features.

[cyclohexane]

An SB-600 or SB-800 can be bounced off the ceiling even in portrait orientation using the two-way swivel, unlike the SB-400 which only swivels up-down.

The flash bracket will provide better results, but you'll need a SC-28 or SC-29 TTL off-camera cord if you want to use your SB-400 on the bracket.

[Slugo]

My suggestion, rather than spend more money on an expensive bracket, sell the SB-400 and buy a more directional and powerful flash. Like an SB-600 or SB-800! You'll be much happier in the long run. IMHO the SB-400 is just a cut above the built in flash...

[cannockwolf]

I have a D300, i can run this in commander mode, would this set off the sb-400 if it were off camera? all those brackets etc seem to ott for me tbh, so i may just wait and upgrade, maybe get a cord to hand hold for a bit.

also being as the D300 has the commander mode, is this all that's extra functions wise in a sb-800 or has it more to offer, if i wanted to upgrade in the future would i just need sb-600's to get the same functionality as an sb-800?

[Slugo]

Dave, I'm not sure about any modes on the D300, but if you opt for the SB-800 it will open up more doors than you can imagine! I'd say it was tailor made for your D300...

[cyclohexane]

I have a D300, i can run this in commander mode, would this set off the sb-400 if it were off camera?

Nope. Only the SB-600, SB-800, and the SB-R200 macro lights that attach to the front of the lens can be triggered by commander mode.

if i wanted to upgrade in the future would i just need sb-600's to get the same functionality as an sb-800?

It depends on what you're doing with flash. If all you need is TTL and Manual, plus some off-camera triggering by the pop-up flash, then the SB-600 is more than sufficient. I have one as a smaller carry-around/spare flash.

SB-800 does quite a bit more: in addition to TTL and manual, it has a thrystor-type sensor for controlling the flash output independent of the camera in aperture auto and aperture non-auto modes (either the camera or you set the aperture, but the flash meters itself using the thrystor sensor instead of the camera doing it through the lens), a repeating flash mode, a "choose-the-guide-number" for flash output mode, and offers significantly more options than using the pop-up flash for controlling groups of other speedlights off-camera.

Also, there's a PC sync port and the ability to use external battery packs. I use the PC sync port a lot myself, but that's for shooting flash with my Hasselblad.

[cannockwolf]

Originally Posted by cyclohexane

it has a thrystor-type sensor for controlling the flash output independent of the camera in aperture auto and aperture non-auto modes (either the camera or you set the aperture, but the flash meters itself using the thrystor sensor instead of the camera doing it through the lens)

is that for using low f/stops to get low dof?

[billkay]

One of the easiest, and cheapest ways to bounce the flash is to bounce it off a white business card attached appropriately to the flash with a rubber-band. Worked for me for the last 20+ years.

[cannockwolf]

I print business cards so i could custom cut one of those, does it just wrap around the flash? how would that bounce the light tho?

[tdodd]

Look here - ABetterBounceCard.com. Quite honestly I do not see how this would work for your SB-400 if still mounted to your D300. The trick works well on a flash with a tilt/swivel head but as yours does not swivel and has a rather unique sort of internal tilt action I think you would need to be very imaginative to get this to work. In portrait mode I don't see it working at all. In landsape mode it might need some creativity.

As the videos are very drawn out here are two quick pics of how it should look. I just grabbed some card to illustrate an example. The card is not white and not necessarily the right size either. But it shows the benefit of the full tilt and swivel head in action.



I've just ordered a few sheets of white fun foam to make my own proper bounce cards. I bought five sheets for £1.75 delivered from Dizzy Cards and Crafts but they now appear to be out of stock. Here is an online search for supplies....

allintitle: white foam - Google Product Search

[billkay]

I just attach it to the narrow side of the flash, (for a vert. photo), and bend it slightly toward the subject.