Last Updated on 06/14/2016 by Chris Gampat
It’s no secret that on-camera flash is harsh and can be very unflattering, this is true of built-in camera flash as well as add-on speedlights. This is why so many educators preach about off camera flash and how to do it, in most cases, getting the light source off your camera is thought to be paramount to improving its look. But what if you can’t take the light off your camera for whatever reason or another, what can you do to soften your on-camera light?
Lucky for you, today’s video is all about tips to help you soften the light and improve the look of your on-camera lighting. The video comes to us from Adorama TV via photographer David Bergman through his ‘Two Minute Tips’ segment. Starting with the biggest tip, the closer you are to your subject the softer the light will look. Now, this has its limits, it’s never going to be as soft as a softbox or the like, but you will see a significant improvement over standing farther away from your subject like you normally would. Think of it this way, stand about as close to your subject as you would want to place your light if using an off camera light.
Beyond that, as far as increasing the size of your light, the best you can do without modifiers is to try bouncing your light off a wall in the room. Now, this is most effective with a white wall, because if the wall if colored or dark you can risk getting some odd color casts on your subject. For the rest of the tips make sure and check out the video below!