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I recently got asked by a friend of mine to shoot some portraits for a play that he is producing, as their photographer pulled out last minute. I haven't really done anything of the sort but seemed like fun. There were a few things I really struggled with that I would love some advice on:

1) dealing with really low light - the pub where these were taken had horrid lighting and I only have a 430 EXII flash so I really struggled with the lighting aspect - even using my 50mm 1.8 which is the best I had for this.

2) harsh shadows - I got a lot of really harsh shadows because of the flash - not sure if thee is a good way to compensate for this?

3) background and colour - Struggled with both - did half the shots in the ladies bathroom because it was the closest to a white wall i could find but the photos really turned out quite yellowish (I did attempt a custom white balance but didnt seem to work too well) the lighting was aweful.

So any suggestions of what to do in these situations (other than next time I'll pick the venue) would be great. I really enjoyed doing the portrait stuff though so plan to get a few more of these roles when i can....here are a few that i like - they obviously could do with a lot of post-processing - luckily they have a whizbang guy to do that stuff for them.

Thanks in advanc

Mohita

I prefer natural light whenever possible.
When I have to use flash I wouldn't dare
not using a diffuser on the flash. And I
would advise you to use as low a light in
your flash as possible - second curtain?

Try to use a long lens and keep the subject
away from the background so you get a
nice blurry backdrop.

Finally, a harsh shadow could be a good
thing to give your subject a touch of
mystery or even wickedness. But practice,
practice and practice.

But enough, I feel I have to leave you with
the advice of more experienced photographers...

zafra52 wrote:And I would advise you to use as low a light in your flash as possible - second curtain?

can i show my ignorance and ask what a second curtain is?

zafra52 wrote:Try to use a long lens and keep the subject away from the background so you get a nice blurry backdrop.

Thanks I hadn't even considered that, i will try that out next time. Appreciate the advice. and yes practice is most def the key....

mozzie wrote:can i show my ignorance and ask what a second curtain is?

You just did

DSLR cameras use what is called a focal plane shutter. These have to travel a long way in a very short time Typically they open and close in 1/250th of a second. However we modern photographers insist on shutter speeds up into the 1/8000s. To resolve this dilemma, camera designers use two shutters working in tandem. The first opens and travels across the sensor in 1/250th of a second. The second does likewise, but is fired very soon after the first. So the net effect is that a slit travels across the sensor in 1/250 Sec, but any one part of the sensor is exposed for a much shorter time. These two shutters are known in the trade as curtains as in the very first cameras they were made of fabric.

So "second curtain" with regard to flash means to synchronise the firing of the flash with movement of the second shutter, rather than the first. As the shutter is beginning to close when this starts to move, flash duration tends to be reduced. Nikon call it Rear Curtain by the way.

THis all explains why you can't fire the flash at Shutter speeds faster than the Synch speed. The result is that only part of the sensor is exposed as part will be covered by the second curtain during the very short pulse of light emitted by the flash. BTW to get speed slower that thee Synch speed, the camera simply delays moving the second curtain until the appropriate time has elapsed.

Hope this hasn't confused you too much.

What Greg said. Also, second/rear curtain flash does not change the exposure or quality of the light. With stationary subjects it makes no difference at all.

Bouncing flash off other (white) surfaces is a great way of reducing flash impact. Also, "fill flash" mode can be used to mix ambient and flash light.

Cheers
Steffen.

These all look really good. I am glad you enjoyed the work as this means we will get to see even more of this work from you!

I would probably go with a longer lens (your 60mm f/2.8 Macro maybe) and get that flash off camera if possible, if all else fails bounce flash.

You did a damn fine job with those portraits. Don't get too hung up on the technical aspects of it all. They don't count for much.

Mr Darcy wrote: Hope this hasn't confused you too much.

To be honest I have no idea what any of that means but i am looking forward to figuring it out. Really appreciate the advice.... thanks guys.... and yes hopefully i'll get to do more of these shoots and get better at it

Hi Mozzie,

Great work under pressure.

You should also look up 'dragging the shutter'. It can sometimes be helpful in dim situations when you need to show some context.

Regardless of what genre you want to improve, it's sometimes helpful to see lots of examples of it so I find it helpful to try and objectively critique images of the genre which I am trying to learn. It's slightly more scientific aspect to 'learning' photography which may or maynot be your cup of tea. [or coffee or mineral water]

Hey Mozzie... for the most part nothing greatly wrong with the samples you're showing here. The third is probably a little dark and the subject lacking in attitude but otherwise with the rest I would just do some clean up in pp and be happy. I would suggest, in future, experimenting with off camera angles and possibly look at some of the ring modifers for a different look as well. I use a synch cable to move the flash away from the camera and deliver the light source from different positions, and an orbis ring, when I want a soft flat style lighting with a traditional halo affect. Probably the most important skill here is the get the subject to show some character and make the whole composition significantly more interesting than a mug shot. You've done pretty well in that respect... at least with the guys !!!