So how exactly do I bounce?  It depends on a lot of factors:  the amount of ambient light in the room, the height of the ceiling, the room dimensions, etc.

What I'm doing here is showing you different on-camera flash techniques in a medium-sized room (20x17, 9' ceilings). There is no single correct answer, although I'll tell you my preferences below.

(1)  No flash.  Theresa is sitting in the middle of the room. While there are some spotlights on the walls and some table lamps, there is absolutely no direct ambient light hitting her face.  While I could get proper exposure on Theresa's face, in a room this dark it simply wouldn't look as good as if I added some flash. The next time you watch a movie, or even a well-produced television drama, look at the faces of all the actors. I guarantee you they are ALL lit in some way. Otherwise, like in the image below, the face will be somewhat muddy.

(2)  Direct flash.  How many times have you heard that "direct flash sucks"? I disagree. I use direct flash quite often, particularly when I don't want to destroy the ambiance of a shot by adding too much light.  In this case, however, I don't believe direct flash is the way to go.  It just gives too much contrast between subject and background here.

(3)  Straight up, bounced off the ceiling.  I rarely use this technique.  It does a great job of balancing out subject and background, but lights your subject's face similar to direct overhead sunlight.  It will leave shadows across their face because all the light is coming from above.

(4)  Straight up w/bounce card extended.  This is better. The extended bounce card pushes some light forward that helps fill in the shadows.

(5)  Stofen diffuser.  This is my least favorite option. I don't know - everything just seems too bright. It does too good a job of evening out the exposure of background and subject and thus removes the ambiance.

(6)  Bounced straight backwards.  I like doing this a lot.  It throws some nice light on your subject without ruining the ambiance. I shoot this way so often that at almost every wedding I'll hear, "hey pal, you've got your flash pointed the wrong way!"

(7)  Bounced sideways off a wall.  In a room this size this is my favorite option.  It most closely resembles using off-camera flash, sort of like having a big softbox on the side.  Notice the shadow/highlights on Theresa's face. You can't do this in a big reception hall unless your subject happens to be near a wall.

That's it. Pretty easy. When you walk into a room, quickly assess which bouncing technique you'll use and take a few test shots to dial in the best look.  And for homework, really pay attention to the lighting you see in the movies and television!