Ed Veroskys 10-Minute Guide to On-Camera Flash Photography.

Copyright 2016 Edward

Verosky. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including information storage and retrieval systems, without
permission, in writing from the author/publisher.

Learn more about Photography at www.veroskycourses.com

Professional inquiries:
Ed Verosky
2578 Broadway #138
New York, NY 10028
edverosky@gmail.com

Introduction
Ed Veroskys 10-Minute Guide to On-Camera Flash Photography
is a mini-guide created in response to the demand for instruction
dealing only with automatic (TTL) on-camera flash for indoor portrait
photography. While my eBooks and courses on multi-light, studiotype setups are popular, many of my readers have requested a guide
that focused primarily on the most convenient use of flash; cameramounted techniques.
Here, you will find very little in the way of lighting theory and advanced
portrait lighting techniques. Im also keeping the focus on gear and
techniques that work, rather than spend any time demonstrating less
helpful methods. What you will get is a concise guide that gives you
all the tools you need to create professional-looking portraits with your
flash conveniently mounted directly to the hot shoe of your camera.
I hope you enjoy this guide.
Ed Verosky

1: WHAT YOU NEED TO

GET STARTED
Because youve purchased this guide, Im going to assume youre
about to invest in a shoe-mount, external flash unit (or you already own
one); something like a Speedlite/Speedlight, or a decent 3rd-party unit
that integrates well with your camera (see Figure 1).
Well start by talking about the type of camera and flash youll need to
make the most of your portrait photography. The great news: you can
expect to do some really nice, professional-looking portraits with simple
gear and the techniques covered here. And, you dont even need to
take that flash off your camera to do so!

Recommended Gear
DSLR. A modern digital SLR or mirrorless
camera with through-the-lens (TTL) flash
metering capabilities.
Flash Unit. Compatible with your DSLR
and its implementation of TTL. Tilt/rotating flash head.

YOUR CAMERA
You should already be familiar with
the basic operation of your camera.
This includes: knowing how to change
exposure modes, like switching from P mode over
to Aperture Priority or Manual mode, and knowing
how to adjust things like ISO, aperture, and shutter
speed settings. Were also going to cover a special
adjustment feature called, Flash Exposure Compensation (FEC).
Now if youre not familiar
with the basic features
of your camera (Figure
2), its best if you stop
here, and look at your
cameras manual to learn
these functions or at
least how to access them.
Then come back to this
guide.
A

Figure 1. DSLR and compatible TTL-enabled external flash.

Figure 2. (A) Shooting modes, (B) exposure settings, (C) Flash Exposure Compensation.

YOUR FLASH UNIT

The key to using a camera-mounted flash effectively is make sure youve
got a flash unit thats compatible with your cameras flavor of TTL and is
equipped with a head that can rotate and tilt (see Figure 3). This will allow
you to make use of the best camera-mounted flash technique: bounce
flash (covered in detail later).
If you dont have a flash unit with a movable flash head, here are two
work-arounds which technically require you to remove your flash from
your camera, but keep it within arms reach.

Figure 3. External flash with tilting/rotating flash heads are the most versatile.

 Sync Cord. You can use a dedicated

(TTL-compatible) flash sync cable.
Wireless. Your camera might have a builtin or optional wireless feature that can trigger and control your flash via TTL signals,
just as if it were attached directly to the
camera.
As shown in Figures 4 & 5, the downside with these two options is that
its not as easy to hold a flash in one hand and a camera in the other, as it
is to simply have your flash mounted directly to your camera. Thats why,
for the purposes of this guide, Id recommend a flash with a tilting/rotating
head, so you can vary the angle and direction of your flash without having
to hold the flash with your hand.

Figure 4. (Top) Optical wireless sync.

Figure 5. (Left) TTL-compatible sync cord.

2: TTL FLASH CONTROL

TTL Flash. Automatic flash output.
Flash Exposure Compensation. Override.
TTL FLASH
Implementations of through-the-lens (TTL) flash metering like Canons
E-TTL II and Nikons i-TTL, free you from having to manually change
a flashs power setting every time the distance from the flash to your
subject changes. Remember, even a small change in that distance can
drastically affect the exposure.
With TTL enabled as shown in Figure 6, your camera and flash work
together to automatically adjust the flash output as conditions in the
scene change. TTL can be used with lighting modifiers and with the
flash head in any orientation (for bounce flash). When the shutter button is depressed, the cameras TTL flash metering system uses a preflash (a small, almost imperceptible test flash) to calculate the best
flash output just prior to the actual exposure.
Keep in mind that TTL can be used with any of the standard camera
modes, including Manual mode. This means that flash output will adjust automatically as you adjust camera settings like aperture, shutter
speed, and ISO. Also, even though TTL will automatically determine

flash output, you can still tweak the power

of the flash using Flash Exposure Compensation.

FLASH EXPOSURE
COMPENSATION
Given how TTL handles flash output power, the Flash Exposure Compensation
(FEC) setting on your camera gives you
the important ability to override the automatically determined flash output. In other
words, you can use FEC to dial-in more (or
less) flash if you feel it will improve your picture. FEC is a good tool for indoor as well as
outdoor portraiture (see Figure 7). See your
camera and flash manual for instructions on
how to adjust FEC with your setup.

Figure 6. TTL mode indicated on

Canon Speedlite.

Figure 7. Sequence showing the use of Flash Exposure Compensation (FEC) in an outdoor demonstration. From left to right, at -1 (less flash), 0 (no compensation), and +1 (more
flash). Use FEC as needed to override the amount of flash power determined by TTL.

3: FLASH MODIFIERS
When your flash fires, it produces a very short but powerful burst of
light. The light is emitted from a small flash tube, and directed out
of the flash head through a lens on the front. This makes the light
source effectively no larger than a business card. The problem with
that is, a small light source can create harsh, unflattering light. We
usually want a larger, softer-looking light for our portraits.
My favorite way to achieve the look of softer light with on-camera
flash is to just point the flash at some large light-colored surface (like
a wall), and use this as the main illumination for the portrait. But
there are some other solutions that can help create a softer look to
your flash.
One popular type of modifier is a piece of plastic that fits over the
flash head as shown in Figure 8. It disperses light in different directions, widening the spread of the beam coming out of the flash head.
This doesnt actually emit softer light, but it does help spread the
light from the flash to the surrounding walls and ceiling. This gives
the light a chance to bounce back toward the subject from different
angles, reducing contrast. And THATs what gives us the look of
softer light.
If you dont have a wall or other large light-bouncing surface nearby,
you might try a bounce card (see Figure 9). This can improve your
portrait by creating a larger initial light source directed toward your
subject. The added benefit is that the flash head is also directing a
lot of light onto the ceiling. That light bounces back down and also
helps reduce contrast.

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Keep in mind that for most

on-camera flash modifiers to
work, youll need other surfaces
in the environment to bounce
your light off of. The light that
gets spread around needs to
bounce back onto the subject if
its going to have any effect.
Figure 8. (Left) STO-FEN Omni-Bounce
flash modifier.
Figure 9. (Below) Bounce card cut to
dimensions shown from a piece of white
crafting foam.

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4: TECHNIQUES
This guide is intended to show you how to create professional-looking
indoor portraits with on-camera flash in 10 minutes. And I want to make
good on that promise! Theres no better way to learn, than by doing.
So, lets get started!
Were going to start with a few basics. Keep in mind that not every
DSLR and flash system work the same way, so make any adjustments
to these instructions as needed.

Setup Your Gear

1) Secure your external flash unit to the hot shoe of your camera as
shown in Figure 10. Make sure its properly locked/tightened so it maintains a good connection and doesnt slip off.
2) Your camera and flash should be powered ON. Set your flash to
TTL mode. On some flash units, this will appear as ETTL or simply
TTL.
3) Set your camera to Manual mode and white balance to flash.
You can also use one of the automatic modes (e.g. Full Auto or Program) and let the camera handle most of the exposure decisions for
you, but Manual mode is not that hard to manage for what you gain in
control.

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Figure 10. (Left) Flash secured to hot shoe of camera. (Right) Camera powered on and set
to Manual (M) mode.

4) If youve set your camera to Manual mode, you might use the following camera settings as a starting point:

ISO. 100-400
Shutter Speed. 1/60
Aperture. f/2.8 - f/5.6
Again, these are example exposure settings, but they should work for
most indoor lighting scenarios. Determine what works best for your
combination of camera, lens, flash, and portrait style.
Tip: Control the amount of ambient (room light) showing up in your
photos by dialing the shutter speed up or down.

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On-Camera Flash Techniques

WALL BOUNCE
Were going to go straight for the gold and lead with my favorite oncamera flash portrait technique, the wall bounce. In my opinion, this is
the single most effective way to create the look beautiful window light, or
softbox style portraits with just a wall and an on-camera flash unit.
How: You and your subject face each other while standing
approximately three feet from a light-colored wall. Rotate the head of
the flash (and angle it up a little) so that it strikes the wall as shown in the
diagram (Figure 11) below. Vary your orientation to the wall and subject
as needed to achieve the look you want (Figure 12).

Figure 11. On-camera flash wall bounce technique.

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Figure 12. On-camera flash portrait using the wall bounce technique.

If other light-colored walls and a ceiling are available (which is usually the
case indoors) all the better, because of the pleasing natural bounce youll
get from all surfaces in varying degrees of illumination. As a matter of
fact, bouncing your flash is the key to all great on-camera flash portrait
lighting. Its just a matter of using the right technique for the job!
To get consistently good results from this technique, I suggest that you
find a sweet spot; where you and your subjects distance and orientation
to the wall results in the best portraits. Always start there, then adjust as
you like.
This technique is very versatile as it can give you everything from very
dramatic split-lighting to soft, even illumination. Your subjects orientation

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to the wall, and the additional bounce lighting youll get from the other
surfaces in the room will help determine the overall contrast and quality of
your lighting.

WALL & CEILING BOUNCE

You can also bounce flash against the wall and ceiling behind you to fill a
small room with beautiful light.
How: Point your flash behind you, up toward the area where the wall
meets the ceiling as shown in Figure 13. This creates a large area of
light that will illuminate one or more subjects, and the environment, in a
uniform way. Your subject will be facing the camera (as shown in the
diagram below). Make sure you bounce the flash high behind you, or an-

Figure 13. Wall and ceiling bounce technique.

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Figure 14. Result of using on-camera flash with the wall and ceiling bounce technique.

gled so you dont block the light from reaching the subject as it bounces
back toward her. This technique produces a pleasing result as shown in
Figure 14.
I find that this technique works well with a wide-angle lens, and when the
flash is positioned far enough from the wall to allow for a broad bounce.
This is just another example of using the surfaces in the environment to
create bounce lighting. You can position the flash at various angles to
light the room in different ways from the cameras perspective.
The thing you want to watch out for when doing a portrait with this technique; make sure you bounce the flash high behind you, or angled so
that you dont block the light from reaching the subject as it bounces back
toward her.

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MODIFIERS
Another way to get the wall and ceiling to work for you is to use a modifier
to help spread the light around the room. A flash diffuser, like the STOFEN Omni-Bounce that we talked about earlier is designed to scatter the
light from your flash unit around the room as it simultaneously directs
some of the light toward your subject. Light coming in from different angles helps to fill in shadows produced by the more direct light. This fill
light cuts down the contrast which produces a softer-looking light.

Figure 15. (Left) Normal orientation of the flash bounce diffuser. (Right) Result of using a
foam bounce card.

Some modifiers like the foam bounce card, are designed to make the light
coming from your flash position a little larger in relation to your subject,
which can also help. But the orientation of the flash head, when using a
bounce card like this, also sends light up toward the ceiling, creating additional bounced light. Figure 15 shows orientation of the Omni-Bounce
and the result of using a foam bounce card.

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DIRECT FLASH
Ill add this section only for completeness. It would make sense that you
already know how to use your flash
in the straight-ahead, unmodified orientation. But even as this technique
is something many photographers try
to avoid, its not always a bad idea. It
has a look to it that suggests a certain urgency. You can use this look to
Figure 16. Direct flash.
quickly create a no-frills portrait or use
if for effect for example for a photo-booth effect as shown in Figure 16. So, dont completely write this
one off, it can come in handy sometimes. Its just not the best use of
flash for most professional-looking portraits.

A Note About Outdoor On-Camera Flash

This guide is about indoor on-camera flash, but I thought Id mention
a few things about using your flash outdoors, since this is something
that youll probably do from time to time. Lets first address the differences between outdoor and indoor photography:
Especially in open spaces outdoors, you dont have walls and ceilings to use as bounce surfaces for your flash. When using your flash
during the day, ambient light can serve either as main or fill light depending on how much flash power youre using. Understanding the

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relationship between strong ambient/constant light (sunlight in this case)

and variable power flash bursts is beyond the scope of this guide. But
generally speaking, most DSLR and flash combinations are smart enough
in automatic modes to provide an appropriate fill light scenario outdoors.
Using your flash as a direct main from the on-camera position creates a
generally less appealing look for portraits, so fill light -- and often no flash
whatsoever -- are better options.
Using on-camera flash outdoors at night, again, where walls, ceilings
and other large bounce surfaces arent available is going to result in the
straight-on, unnatural-looking flash shots. But sometimes youve got no
other options.
If youd like to learn more about using on-camera flash outdoors, there
are resources available at veroskycourses.com.

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ED VEROSKYS
10-MINUTE GUIDE TO
ON-CAMERA
FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY
Look For More Photography Resources At

veroskycourses.com

Ed Veroskys 10-Minute Guide to On-Camera Flash Photography. Copyright 2016 Edward

Verosky. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including information storage and retrieval systems, without
permission, in writing from the author/publisher. Product and services names are the Trademark or
Registered Trademark of their respective companies.

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