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Question from Cortney: “Is there a way you can edit a photo that used a harsh flash (causing the black shadow behind people)? I had to use mine for a wedding recently because it was raining, and we were inside plus it was getting dark. Any tips are greatly appreciated!”
Aaron: Lots of photoshop work…..should be able to just bounce your flash to eliminate the harsh light and accompanying shadow. Did you have it pointed directly at the couple?
Stacy: Gary Fong lightsphere will help to prevent that in the future too
Cortney: It was a photo of the groomsmen in a very high-ceiling banquet room and the sun had set by that time. I did have it pointed right at them with a diffuser on my flash. I think I should have switched my lens to my 50mm f/1.8 but I didn’t have time. So now I have to deal with editing it correctly… ahhhh!
Jodie: We use Lightspheres. We Love them!!
Brian: Depending on the photograph, it may be considerable amount of photoshop work if you want to remove the shadows. And even if you can it may not look correct. The best way to prevent this is to plan ahead. If you must use flash, think of what shadows will be created. Diffusing that light with a diffuser or a lightsphere or whatever will help, but it still will create shadows. The shadows will be less harsh; they will be softer if you diffused. If you can bounce; do it. The reason why you want to bounce is that the placement of the shadows will hopefully fall outside of your frame. But beware of what you are bouncing off of. If you are bouncing off a wall that isn’t white or a gradient of white; it will have a tinge of that color. If you are using the flash on the camera; and you go vertical. That shadow will now fall on the right of your subject. The only way to prevent this is to invest in a flash bracket.
Jodie: I like that you can flatten them. Makes it easy to fit in the camera bag
Denise: great prevention tips. but is there a way to fix it? once it’s done I mean
Cortney: P.S. it wasn’t my on-camera flash, I used my 580 with a diffuser if that helps.
Jodie: Brian I agree about the flash bracket too. That is going to be my next purchase. As I said I do use a lightsphere but it DOES cut down the power of your flash a bit. They are GREAT for solo portraits or just a few people.
Craig: Plus – if you’re using a 50mm and you’re trying to get a group shot of groomsmen in a dark area, you’re still going to need a flash because if you stop down to a 1.4 only one or two people may be in focus.
Dave: Courtney, I think the difficult answer here is that it is extremely hard to make these kinds of edits and make them look natural. You can soften the hard shadows up some, you can also Mask out the people in the photo and then use an adjustment layer and increase the brightness and reduce the contrast. While these things will provide a little improvement it is likely that your client will see them as a problem.
Jodie: Courtney was it just one of those little “block” diffusers? If so, they don’t so much at all. Especially if you are still pointing the flash head at your subject. Try a Lightsphere or get a bracket. I think you will love the results. Also if you decide on a Lightphere go to Gary Fong’s youtube channel. He has tons of great vids on there on how to use them!
Dave: Bouncing off the ceiling is a great way to reduce the heavy amount of shadow showing up behind someone, another trick is to grab a white piece of paper and hold it straight against the back of the flash. It directs some of the light to their faces but bounces the rest up. You can do this with the Lightspheres too as that is what they are designed for, just if you are ever stuck in a situation like that again a piece of paper is a quick and normally very accessible fix.
Cortney: Jodie- it was a block diffuser because my other one broke and I use them for receptions so that’s why I repurchased it. I am definitely looking into the lightsphere though!
Jodie: You will love it!!! Also think about a bracket as well. They are great for the larger group shots when you need a more powerful flash. The lightsphere will reduce your flash output a tad but like I said earlier, for solo portraits or small groups they work beautifully. I even use it outdoors in the sunlight to balance shadows on faces. It’s a great product!
Jodie: This is the kit we have. Then we bought just one more single collapsible diffuser for my hubby to have one as well.
Jodie: If you don’t want to spend this much you can get just the diffuser with a white dome top for 60. Check Amazon.com though. If I remember correctly we got ours from them. They were a few dollars cheaper than the Gary Fong site was.
Jacqueline: try photo shop.
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