Direct flash is bad for paintball guns

[Euphie]

Here is a photo taken with an Kodak CX-7310 with a direct, built in flash. As you can see the details get washed out by the harsh light, and without the flash the photo becomes noisy and details get muddy in the noise.

If you take a photo with a flash though, if you use that flash to reflect off of something it result can be so much better. The following photo was taken on an Olympus EM-1 MK II, with a Sigma 30mm f1.4 and a Nikon SB-26 providing the flash, with the bounce card out and the flash diffuser out. the bounce card is putting soft light directly at the gun and the diffuser is pointed at the ceiling so that the light reflects from above:

As you can see, just something as easy as pointing the flash at the roof and pulling the bounce card out can make a world of difference. Also I mean there is over a decade between those two photos and I got alot better at composition, but I don't think the angle or framing matters all that much.

[alpha_q_up]

Lighting is key in all photographs, I'd rather have old equipment and take pictures with amazing lighting than have the latest stuff and terrible lighting

[SignOfZeta]

I go way out of my way to almost never use flash.

[BrickHaus]

Ill use flash if I can't hide my arm shadows. But I usually do it with flooded natural light too. It definitely doesn't take as nice of photos though, but sometimes its the best I can do.

[Euphie]

Oh, I love natural light, but the combination of living in the pacific northwest where the sun never shines and working night shift makes it really rare for me to ever have natural light. That Nikon SB-26 though, that thing can be so bright probably best $30 I ever spent in photography. Sometimes I wish I lived somewhere that the sun was a bit more reliable though, but then I remember how hot it gets in the summer in those places lol

[Headshotted]

Direct flash reminds me of early myspace days, when teenagers didn't understand lighting and mirror selfies were the game.

[JeeperCreeper]

I've found direct flash is not good for most things. I would always rather take pictures of them outside, especially polished brass. You just can't get that depth out of artificial light

[punkncat]

My better pics have been a result of outdoor lighting or good indirect lighting, and in some cases/color using a spot.

[JeeperCreeper]

Black is the worst to try to photo indoors as well. It's hard to find the right amount of contrast sometimes

[BretG]

Cheap trick i use. Put a piece of white paper in front of the flash to soften the glare.