This is a series of photos I took of my brother Matt and his daughter Katie. I include it here because I like the photos, and it illustrates the nice lighting you get by using on-camera Bounce Flash. That's where the flash head is swiveled up to bounce the light off of the ceiling. The light becomes more even and comes from above, which is how we expect light to look. This avoids the "deer in the headlights" look that traditional flash gives you.

All photos: Nikon N90s camera with 85mm f/1.8 AFD Lens, Nikon SB-26 Speedlight in bounce position with bounce card extended.

Bounce flash should only be done if the ceiling is white or neutral colored (otherwise the flash light will take on the color cast of the ceiling). You aim a bounce flash a little like playing a bounce off the rail in billiards; aim the flash for the midpoint on the ceiling between you and your subject. Sometimes bounce flash alone can give dark eye sockets. The use of the bounce card causes a small portion of the flash to be directed forward, filling in a bit.

A side note about picture frames: There's a new size of frames to fit the panoramic photos common on APS and other cameras. The frame size is 6 x 12" with mattes to handle smaller sizes. 3 of the 4 x 6" prints can be butted together in a single frame. That's how I have the above photos displayed in my home. It looks like a custom frame job, but it's very inexpensive.

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