Canon EOS 450D with Speedlite 430EX II with the flash pointed 90 degrees up in the air (the 28mm lens requires that the camera is pretty close to my face and the ceiling is rather high).
Now there are no shadows on the wall behind me and there are no highlights. Light is distributed evenly across the image. The only drawback is shadows under the eyes and chin, but the colour in general is much more 'natural'.