Bounce flash
From The Glossary of Digital Photography
The process of aiming the flash at a nearby surface such as a ceiling or wall instead of the subject. This tends to make the light wrap around the subject and reduce the harshness of the shadows. When using bounce flash, more power is required than when using a direct flash, but the former produces a very soft light. Some flash units have flash heads that can rotate to make this easier. The flash sensor still points at the subject, but the flash points up or to the side to bounce it. Since the flash sensor still points at the subject, any automatic feature of the flash should still work. The flash-to-subject distance on a bounced flash must be measured from the flash to the bounce surface, and then from the bounce surface to the subject. See also flash
