BetterPhoto Q&A
Category: Flash Photography

Photography Question 

Brandi N.
 

How to Eliminate Shadows


How do you eliminate shadows around or on the side of your subject?


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July 10, 2004

 

Steven Chaitoff
  Is your subject causing the shadows or are shadows covering up the subject? Use a flash to "fill" in the shadows so you have a less contrasty picture.


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July 10, 2004

 
- Gregory LaGrange

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  Bounce the flash off the ceiling.


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July 11, 2004

 

John A. Lind
  Brandi, I presume this is with flash? If so ...
It's the lighting direction of the flash in relation to the lens. If the flash is directly above the lens, the shadows will be down and behind the subject. Even then, if the subject is too close to something behind them, you may still see the head shadow behind the neck ... and if there's an arm outstretched, you may see a shadow of it under the arm.

Watch how close you put a subject to a background ... and if at all possible get the flash directly above the lens. This is one of several reasons wedding photographers use flash brackets ... to keep flash well above lens regardless of camera orientation.

Gregory's suggestion will work if you have a white (or nearly white) ceiling to bounce off of. Aim the flash head at the midpoint between the flash and the subject. For much of my indoor professional shooting, I'm not blessed with a low enough ceiling very often, and many times it's not white. A couple cautions in using bounce: If the surface you're bouncing light off of is something other than white - or very close to it - the bounced light will pick up that color and your photo will have a color cast to it. One of the trade-offs with bounce is that if you don't have a "secondary" low-powered flash tube under the main one that you can turn on, you won't get any catchlights in the eyes from the flash. This is one of the tell-tales that indicates to me immediately that indirect bounced flash was very likely used. If your flash has a secondary, turn it on when using bounce ... and if you can set the power level of it, I recommend about 10% of the main flash power (by the time the main head bounces the light, it's cut to about half making the direct secondary about 1/5th to 1/4th of the bounced light).

In a studio (or on-location) with studio lights neither on the camera or aimed from the camera direction, the subject is either kept far enough from the background to keep from casting a shadow on it, or an additional background light is used to put light on the background and that eliminates it.


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July 11, 2004

 

Brandi N.
  Thanks John and Greg. You have been a big help.


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July 11, 2004

 

Brandi N.
  Thanks John and Greg. You have been a big help.


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July 11, 2004

 

Kim Moyle
  A great fix for bounce flash is it use a bounce card. Some flashes come with one but its easy enough to make one. Just get a plain white index card or some other heavy card stock and attach it to the back to your flash using elastic bands. Have it extend past your flash by a few of inches. This will redirect some of the light directly at your subject...and Volia! Catch Lights!


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July 13, 2004

 
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