Way back in the dark ages (2008-2010 or so) I got on a kick reading about using off camera flash. Strobist was popular and I did a lot of reading, but didn't have the funds to get a flash that I could use. At one point I rented a canon 580ex speedlite for an event I was photographing. I tried a few things, but this was back in the day and the only advice I got was "put a plastic diffuser on the lens" and I even made my own homemade magbounce (an attachment that fits on top of the lens and directs the light forward)