lighting a room

[briandee]

just thought i would share how i did a Christmas picture with my parents and 1 of my two kids. 2 flashes (vivitar 285 and 580ex) setup on both sides of the fireplace. put my parents and 1 of my two kids in between the Christmas tree and the fireplace. tried to expose for the fireplace best i could and then made the flash bounced of the ceiling, exposing for the f-stop i was using.

setup shot (one flash close to camera and one on the far wall by the painting of trees)




actual shot (i know its a bit out of focus, i fixed that in later shots)

[OsmosisStudios]

Your best bet may be to have the flash closer to you, pointed straight up. I usually have the flash at the same height as the eyes of my subject. The light pointed up will bounce off the ceiling and diffuse into the whole room.