How to avoid shadow from the hood on pictures?

[Friso]

Hi there,


I am back from holiday, I took my canon EOS 550D and EF-S 17-85 IS USM lens. I was in Tunis on holiday. Because the sun always shine there, I had all the time the hood on the lens. But when I took picture with the hood on with flash, I get strange shadows on my pictures. In my understanding the shadows are created by the hood on the lens


How can I avoid those shadows when I take pictures with flash, with the hood on the lens. My brother in law told me that the lens could be guilty. Can you guys help me with this? Tomorrow I will put heresome pictures.

[neuroanatomist]

You need to either remove the hood, or get a hotshoe-mounted flash (e.g. a Speedlite 430EX II). The additional height of the external flash means no shadow from the hood. A good external flash also allows you to bounce the light off a ceiling/wall for a softer, more flattering light.

[Sean Setters]

Hi there,


I am back from holiday, I took my canon EOS 550D and EF-S 17-85 IS USM lens. I was in Tunis on holiday. Because the sun always shine there, I had all the time the hood on the lens. But when I took picture with the hood on with flash, I get strange shadows on my pictures. In my understanding the shadows are created by the hood on the lens


How can I avoid those shadows when I take pictures with flash, with the hood on the lens. My brother in law told me that the lens could be guilty. Can you guys help me with this? Tomorrow I will put heresome pictures.
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Were you using the built-in flash of the 550D? If so, a shoe-mounted flash would likely help. Otherwise, an even better solution would be to get the flash off the camera all together.