Lighting control 7 of 8

[yeocsa]

You can control lighting by controlling the background. I placed a white tissue paper behind the butt - creating a portable outdoor studio. It would be better if i have another SB600 or SB800 as a secondary light source.

As you noticed, it is nicer to have a clean background and that's what we try to have all the time.

regards,

Arthur

[the foto fanatic]

Thanx for this series on macro & lighting Arthur.
Very informative, and illustrated with excellent images.

[stubbsy]

Arthur

Can I suggest you bundle all these tips into a single file (say a Word doc) and get the file added to our tutorials section. That way this very useful info won't get lost in the old threads over time.

Cheers and thanks

[leek]

Good idea stubbsy... I'd like to see that too...

If you need help converting it to a PDF file, then let me know...

Good work Arthur...

[yeocsa]

Hi stubbsy

I am most happy to do that. Who do i send the document to? I can convert word into pdf (thanks Leek for the offer). I noticed that all tutorial so far have been upload by Gary, our admin.

regards,

Arthur

[the foto fanatic]

Hi stubbsy

I am most happy to do that. Who do i send the document to? I can convert word into pdf (thanks Leek for the offer). I noticed that all tutorial so far have been upload by Gary, our admin.

regards,

Arthur

Yup, send 'em to Gary. It will be up to him as to whether they are loaded up (seeing as it's his site!), but I for one would support it.

[yeocsa]

Hi cricketfan

Thanks for your support. I will need some time to put them together and send it to Gary.

cheers,

Arthur

[kipper]

Arthur, perhaps you could also maybe extend the series and cover Flash Output Level Compensation and Exposure Compensation and how you can use it to control exposure for main subject and background, background or main subject only. I haven't had the chance to play around with it in a controlled environment as yet. Just reading up on it at the moment. Was mucking around with Flash Output Level Compensation when I've been shooting birds to get the lighting right. I noticed quite a few of the guys who shoot birds tend to reduce the output by about 1 and 1/3 stops. I haven't really mastered it as yet, just experimenting but it'd be good if somebody document their findings

[yeocsa]

Hi Kipper,

first, those guys has got long primes (500 f4 or 600f4). The long telephoto allows better exposure of the bird - much like using spot metering. The general rule is to dial down -1/3EV (assuming your flash can reach the bird). Flash is use to remove the shadows (from leaves, branches or shadow cast by part of the bird's body). Too much flash will lessen the details on the features or create unwanted highlights (some features are highly reflective). The other use of the flash is to create some "catchlight" in the bird's eyes - make the birds look more lively and enhance their expression (similiar to people portraits).

To extend the flash range, I use the Flash extender. It helps but does not work 100% of the time. You can buy the freshnel lens from the news agency here and make your own. If i had knew that this was available, I would have made one myself.

regards,

Arthur