What is bounced-flash photography?
Bounced-flash photography could be defined as one in which the primary source of illumination is from a flash gun (on or off camera) that is bounced into a wall or cieling.
The idea is that when light bounces back from a wall or cieling, it (wall or cieling) acts as a big source of light. Such a light source draws minimal shadows and provides even illumination on the subject
Why do I need it?
I use it whenever I need to take photos of subjects with on-camera flash. These are mostly situations where I cannot set softboxes or umbrellas. Either the subject is moving or the location does not allow a studio-like setup or that I’m carrying only one flash with me.
Hot-shoe mounted adjustable flash
What’s important to note is that your on-camera flash is not going to work here. One, its not powerful enough and two, it cannot be pointed in any direction other than straight ahead. You need to have an external, hot-shoe mounted flash gun that has manual controls.
Go cheap, go Strobist
I have four used Nikon speedlights (SB-26, 28 and 80DX). Its difficult to do TTL photography while bouncing the flash off the ceiling, so you will end up shooting in manual mode. I use these flashes on my Canon camera without any issues.
Caution
A couple of things need to be kept in mind for bounced flash photography.
The walls and ceilings should be white in color. If they are colored otherwise, they will cast their color in the photo and there will be white-balance issues. This would not be a problem if you decide to desaturate the color (read Black and White)
Its best to shoot in RAW. With varying subject-camera distance and other factors, your exposure might not always be correct. Shooting in RAW mode gives you more freedom in post processing.
Camera Setup
Set the camera to M mode. Set shutter speed 1/200 sec and aperture f/5.6. Set the flash to M mode and at 1/4 power. Adjust the camera aperture, flash power and camera ISO (in that order) to get the exposure right.
Examples
