Nikon SB-800 instruction manual Bounce flash operation, Tilting the flash head

Bounce flash operation

With the SB-800 mounted on your camera’s hot shoe, you can tilt or rotate the flash head to bounce the light off the ceiling or walls. This is a good technique to use when shooting indoors, because you get more natural-looking pictures of people with softer shadows. Also, you can soften the shadows even more by using the Nikon Diffusion Dome.

Bounce flash		Normal flash
Shooting data:		Shooting data:
• Camera:	D2H	• Camera:	D2H
• Focal length:	60mm	• Focal length:	60mm
• Speedlight:	SB-800 set to D	• Speedlight:	SB-800 set to D
• Aperture:	f/8	• Aperture:	f/9
• Shooting distance: Approx. 4m (13.1 ft.)		• Shooting distance: Approx. 4m (13.1 ft.)

For more details on the above example, see the separate booklet, “A collection of example photos”.

Tilting the flash head

90For effective bounce flash off the

50ceiling, tilt the flash head up at least

50°. Also, make sure that the light from the flash head does not directly illuminate the subject.

• Optimum results are obtained when the flash head is positioned 1–2m (3.3–6.6 ft.) from the reflecting surface.

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