Behind The Scenes: I take my self portaits indoors where I really need to use my flash, but flash both on and off the camera without a modifier like a softbox produces very harsh and unflattering shadows. I don’t have a modifier to use to soften my flash, but I recently figured out how to effectively use my reflector to accomplish a similar effect.
As you can see, I position the reflector at a 45 degree angle to the camera and then turn the flash head (with the flash being on-camera) into the reflector. This way when the flash fires the light into the reflector, the light then bounces out and disperses diffusely over the subject, providing a much softer and more even light than pointing the flash head directly at the subject.
Offshoots Photography 