Bounce

Pointing the flash head at a ceiling or wall to use the light reflected from it can soften subject shadows, enabling more natural-looking shots. This shooting method is referred to as bounce flash photography.

Setting the orientation of the flash head

  • You can turn the flash head while pressing the bounce lock-release button as shown. Turning or tilting the flash head changes the display to Bounce.
  • With the Speedlite set to A (Auto) flash coverage, turning the flash head sets flash coverage to 50 mm, and --- is displayed.
  • You can also set the flash coverage manually ().

Note

  • Bouncing light off ceilings or walls that are too far away may not provide sufficient exposure, because not enough light will reach the subject.
  • If your shots are too dark, reduce the aperture value (f/number) to open the aperture and try again. You can also increase the ISO speed when using a digital camera.
  • Choose a plain white or off-white ceiling or wall to bounce the light off, because these are more reflective. Reflections off non-white surfaces may not provide sufficient exposure – not enough light may reach the subject, and your shots may be affected by the color of surface used.
  • Using Quick flash in bounce flash photography is more likely to cause underexposure, from the reduced flash output.

Close-range flash photography Close-Range Flash Photography

When you position the flash head down by 7° while pressing the bounce lock-release button, you can shoot subjects at a short distance in a range of approx. 0.5 to 2 m / 1.6 to 6.6 ft.

Tilting the flash head down by 7° changes the display to Close-range flash photography.

Catchlight Shooting

Using the catchlight panel when shooting a portrait enables you to capture reflected light in a person's eyes and create a more vivid expression.

  1. Tilt the flash head up 90°.

  2. Pull up the wide panel.

    • Lift the tab in the middle of the wide panel.
    • The white catchlight panel comes out with it.

  3. Push back the wide panel.

    • Push back the wide panel by itself, leaving only the catchlight panel up.
    • Shooting is the same as in normal bounce flash photography.

Caution

  • Position the flash head toward the front and 90° up. When the flash head is rotated to the left or right, the catchlight is not very effective.
  • To effectively obtain the catchlight in a person's eyes, shoot within approx. 1.5 m / 4.9 ft. from the subject (at ISO 100 with f/2.8).
  • Do not pull up the wide panel with excessive force. Doing so may detach the wide panel from the Speedlite.

Bounce adapter attached Shooting with a Bounce Adapter

If you attach the provided bounce adapter to the Speedlite and bounce the flash light on the ceiling or wall, etc., you can spread the flash light across a larger area and suppress the shadows of the subject.

Also, if the flash head is turned 90° upward to bounce the flash light on the ceiling, etc., the diffused flash light emitted from the sides of the bounce adapter falls on the front of the subject (shooting distance guidance: within approx. 1.5 m / 4.9 ft., at ISO 100 with f/2.8), further suppressing the shadow of the subject. When shooting portraits, the catchlight effect can also be obtained.

  1. Attach the bounce adapter.

    (1) "Canon" logo

    • Attach the adapter securely to the flash head until it clicks in place, as shown.
    • Check that the display changes to Bounce adapter attached.
    • When removing the adapter, follow the procedure in reverse order. Raise the removal tab on the lower side of the adapter, then remove the adapter from the flash head.

  2. Take the picture.

    • Take the picture with the flash light bouncing off the ceiling, walls, or the like.

Caution

  • When the bounce adapter is attached, or when the bounce adapter and the wide panel are used together, underexposure may result since the guide no. decreases. Take necessary countermeasures such as increasing the ISO speed on the camera or applying flash exposure compensation ().
  • When Quick flash () is fired with the bounce adapter attached, taking the picture after the flash-ready lamp is lit in red is recommended since the flash output may not be sufficient.
  • The flash coverage is set automatically when the bounce adapter is attached. It cannot be changed manually.
  • If you attach the bounce adapter to the flash when using an EOS DIGITAL camera released up to 2004, set the white balance to Auto white balance. When shooting with Flash set, you may not be able to obtain the appropriate white balance.

Note

  • The flash light is further softened when the wide panel () is used together with the bounce adapter.
  • If the subject is dark (underexposed) when you check the shot image, perform the flash exposure compensation (). You can also increase the ISO speed when using a digital camera.