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part two of my learning lighting is on camera flash outside. all the follow photos were taken with the flash in manual mode.please let me know what you think and how i could improve my technique.




one of my problems is the reflection of the flash in my daughters glasses,the above photo was one of the better ones.whats the best way to avoid the reflections?



and




thanks zsolt

zeddy wrote:part two of my learning lighting is on camera flash outside.

This one is tough.

Perhaps consider using ON-camera flash as a fill flash rather than a key light in these situations if possible. For the first two pictures, this would mean reducing flash power maybe stop and a half or so.

If you use on camera flash as the main light, the picture tends to look a little 2D almost taking a photoshopped look as if the main subject is stuck on the background.

hth.

The worst place to fix a flashgun on a camera is on the hotshoe, dead center over the lens. Why? Because it robs an image of form, (roundness). It flattens the features and also diminishes texture...the 2 elements we usually most want in a portrait. Get the gun off the camera and get an assistant to hold it at an angle, off axis, for a more pleasing result. Keep the output of the gun about a stop less than the average daylight reading because if it is obvious flash fill has been used the image will not look natural. It's important that the viewer is not aware of the additional light source. It is also important that the image does not display 2 sets of shadows as is likely if the gun puts out too much light.
Your posted images show that you are getting pretty close to using good technique and constant experimentation and practice is the only way to become highly skilled using portable flash.

the technique i used to take the above photos was underexpose the background and use flash to light your subject.
i used this technique because thats what most web sites about learning on camera flash tell you to do.

i did take this photo the other day which was exposed correctly and flash was with E_TTL. there is still shadows behind the kids but not to bad
i think i'll need lots of practice with this one



thanks zsolt

zeddy wrote:the technique i used to take the above photos was underexpose the background and use flash to light your subject.
i used this technique because thats what most web sites about learning on camera flash tell you to do.

mostly right. you use your cameras meter to expose the background and then you use the alternate light source, the flash, to expose the foreground subject. the difficulty is that doing this without a soft light, (some form of softbox), mostly yeilds photographs that look flashed.
maybe try dragging the shutter a little and look for a genuine fill flash as opposed to full blown.

i would assume given your result you're at something like 1/250s, f8, iso100. really hard to get soft results from that kind of setting cos your flash is having to work overtime to expose the foreground. the key is to make the flash work as softly as possible and using as large a light as possible off camera if possible.

look up some tutorials on balancing flash with ambient, dragging the shutter, fill flash etc. or just go whole hog and visit http://strobist.blogspot.com.au/ and run thru the lighting tutorials. without doubt the best lighting resource on the internet or anywhere for that matter.

zeddy wrote:the technique i used to take the above photos was underexpose the background and use flash to light your subject.

Ok well to get specific the technique should be expose for the background how you want it (rather than always underexpose) and then use flash to expose the foreground (assuming that's the subject).

Without using some form of diffuser (I'm assuming your not even using the built in one?) and/or pulling the flash off-camera, it's hard to get really good results.
With the last shot i'm guessing you've gone with a smaller aperture (maybe f/8) and then added some fill to the subjects which has resulted in a pretty flat image.
One option for avoiding the shadows on this one might have been to lift the flash head to catch less of the body and mostly just light the heads of the subjects.

My answer to this would be to use a ring light diffuser and/or use the flash with a cord and some form of simple diffuser (thin white nylon can do it or a cheap umbrella reflector) or bounce the flash off some white foam board.

Mj wrote:

zeddy wrote:the technique i used to take the above photos was underexpose the background and use flash to light your subject.

Ok well to get specific the technique should be expose for the background how you want it (rather than always underexpose) and then use flash to expose the foreground (assuming that's the subject).

Exactly.

I would set the baseline exposure to give you a good, well exposed background, and then match the output of the flash head to just a little less than the output required to obtain a matching exposure.

I have been watching these two threads for a bit. Just wondering which camera are you using? You will do a world of good if you can get the flash off the camera. If you want to continue using E-TTL then you may want to get a TTL cable (Canon OC-E3 - or a cheaper clone, I use a Phottix Duo Cable, they also have direct clones for an OC-E3) or your camera may be able to get use the pop up flash to wirelessly control (EOS 7D/60D/600D/650D).

Canon OC-E3
http://www.canon.com.au/For-You/Accessories/Speedlites/SpeedLite%20Body%20Accessories/OCE3-Off-Camera-Cord

Phottix Store - search for OC-E3 and/or Duo Cable
http://www.phottix.com/idevaffiliate/idevaffiliate.php?id=104

It is also worth exploring different diffusers for your flash. The other thing I have noticed, esp in the last image is the colour temperature difference between your flash and the background, this is often the bane of all photographers as you will always find yourself in mixed lighting situations, try experimenting with different white balance options (ie flash/daylight/shade) and if all else fails you may have to resort to using a flash gels

Flash Gel info
http://digital-photography-school.com/how-to-color-balance-your-flash-with-gels

Hope this helps.

thanks guys for your input.
firstly i have all the equipment to go of camera flash . i am usoing canon 40D and flashs are 580 EX II and 430 EX flash gelsand i have some wireless yongnuo YN-622 triggers,flash holders,light stands,umbrellas and a set of studio flashes i brought from this forum.
the whole idea of these lessons is to learn all the different techniques. i started with on camera indoors moved to outdoors then i might go off camera flash then two,three or more lights etc,etc,etc.
so yes i know off camera flash would be much better but at the moment i want to get better and more consistant with on camera flash before moving to of camera flash.

It is great that you have all this gear. However there is not too much more you can with the direct flash on camera, keep playing with power (and distance) it will take a bit of practice to balance flash power with ambient, but unfortunately you will be pretty stuck with the flatness of the subjects.

As already mentioned above, try bouncing the flash off objects as not to have a direct flash (you will have to find sympathetic surfaces). Definitely work on balancing the mix of colour temperatures. Experiment with diffusers, the built in one on your flash, Stofen style caps (that didn't come with your flash) etc. Also play with angling the flash and using the tiny little flash card on your 580 to throw some forward light (it will be softer than direct flash). I hope none of these suggestions clash with your ideas of mastering on camera flash, if they do shelve them for another day.

the more ideas and comments the better.for years i have dreaded flash photography i have never had consistant photos using flash especialy at night. i all ways had faces that were white as and black backgrounds.so my main aim for on camera flash is to get visually pleasing pics with on camera flash. at the the end of this i want to be able to take a photo with on camera flash and get a desent photo with out playing with the setting for 10 mintues.

In which case, just dial your flash power down by 2/3 to 1 stop.

Very simple, and should help a great deal with the simple, on-camera flash scenario.

gstark wrote:In which case, just dial your flash power down by 2/3 to 1 stop.

Very simple, and should help a great deal with the simple, on-camera flash scenario.

zeddy wrote:the more ideas and comments the better.for years i have dreaded flash photography i have never had consistant photos using flash especialy at night. i all ways had faces that were white as and black backgrounds.so my main aim for on camera flash is to get visually pleasing pics with on camera flash. at the the end of this i want to be able to take a photo with on camera flash and get a desent photo with out playing with the setting for 10 mintues.

I have done a little bit of playing to get some decent night time shots and have found the cranking the iso up so you get an acceptable shutter speed will give you some detail in the background and dialing the flash back will light your subject to give a more balanced result. This shot was taken at f2.8, 60th sec, iso 1600, the lighting on the subject is flat even though I used a camera mounted speedlight angled up 45 deg and bouced off the inbuilt bounce card.

Hope some of this info helps.