A PM question on speedlights and fill flash...
jeffreaux2
Registered Users Posts: 4,762 Major grins
A "weddings" thread has spawned some discussion on fill flash this week and I thought this PM might be better off shared with the forum...so with Lisa's permission.....
...and my reply...
Re: Is it really this complicated?
The manual for the canon speedlights is terrible. I only look to it when trying to figure out how to get the flash to communicate with other accessories.
Using a speedlight is simple. Slide it into the shoe, turn it on.....and you are using it. Using it to creative advantage requires finess. Personally, I prefer the light in my images to look as natural as possible, and so I have spent some time finding my own way through to the techniques I use. I am not sure how to quantify, and say whether learning to use a flash is difficult or easy. My feeling is that there is "photography", and then there is "flash photography". It is adding a whole new (and powerful)element to your skillset. Blending the two types seamlessly into your work, and knowing when to choose one over the other comes with experience...and time....and of course taste.
For me it isn't hard. In fact it is a LOT easier than trying to get what I wanted out of a pop-up flash....:rofl . The technique I described in the thread is solid, and is the one I use. I also went into a tiny bit more detail in a thread in "techniques" yesterday. ...but it really says much of the same.
FEC(flash exposure compensation) is the key.....for fill. Controlling it is as simple as pressing the center button inside the wheel on the back of the flash and spinning the wheel. Where to set it? I look for shadows. I don't like seeing shadows that are "created" by the flash. A little fill goes a long way and too much flash, in my opinion, ALWAYS will look worse then not enough.
Dont get frustrated. Flash as a skillset will add exciting possibilities to your work. It's worth the effort.
...The technique, or approach I use for fill flash is:
Shoot with the camera in either AV or Manual. I prefer manual, but there is a time and place also for AV.
Set up your exposure without flash. I usually cheat my exposures as far to the right of the histogram as possible...being mindful of the highlights....as I tend to like as bright an image as possible from capture all the way to print.
Once the exposure is set, turn on the flash. Outdoors, in daylight...and using large aperture lenses high speed synch may be required. I keep it enabled (and wish it were "on" as default). Using FEC(flash exposure compensation) I dial back the amount of light that the flash contributes to the exposure. Using an umbrella I often find that "zero" FEC is a good starting point. For a bare flash I usuall start with -1 FEC.....but often find myself shooting all the way down to -3FEC.
How much flash is enough?
If the flash is introducing new shadows to the image it is too much. My intent is not to knock out all the natural shadows, but just lighten them a touch and brighten the eyes. Too much fill flash will look worse than not enough....every time.
Diffusers?
No. Bare flash and a good dose of negative FEC is fine. There is no advantage to using a snap on diffuser outdoors in daylight. A shoot through umbrella on the other hand does offer some advantages. For one it will GREATLY increase the size of a catchlight in the eyes. It also provides a large soft source of light if you decide to use the flash as a key light....but that is another matter.
Is it really this complicated?
Hello
Is using a speedlight really as difficult as it seems to me at this point? I can't imagine that is is! Maybe I should just get the video as the technical writing is not really getting through to me.
Maybe I am spoiled as I have got pretty far on cheap cameras, creativity, and basic common sense. Maybe this is just part of the "growing up" process-- that what is pleasurable and intuitive requires often boring, detail oriented technological know-how to get me to the next level.
I think this is where a lot of creative photographers stop and the techies keep going. I think it is the reason there are many people who can take perfectly exposed pictures that lack emotion and creativity and others that take creative shots that just don't hit the mark b/c they lack proper technique.
I want to press on through this part and get to the next level. It was probably careless of me to take this on to some extent, throwing myself in a pressure cooker of sorts to get ready for this wedding. I am commited to continue and find a way to learn as much as I can in this timeframe.
I probably should have written something more along these lines to the whole group, oh well.
--Lisa
...and my reply...
Re: Is it really this complicated?
The manual for the canon speedlights is terrible. I only look to it when trying to figure out how to get the flash to communicate with other accessories.
Using a speedlight is simple. Slide it into the shoe, turn it on.....and you are using it. Using it to creative advantage requires finess. Personally, I prefer the light in my images to look as natural as possible, and so I have spent some time finding my own way through to the techniques I use. I am not sure how to quantify, and say whether learning to use a flash is difficult or easy. My feeling is that there is "photography", and then there is "flash photography". It is adding a whole new (and powerful)element to your skillset. Blending the two types seamlessly into your work, and knowing when to choose one over the other comes with experience...and time....and of course taste.
For me it isn't hard. In fact it is a LOT easier than trying to get what I wanted out of a pop-up flash....:rofl . The technique I described in the thread is solid, and is the one I use. I also went into a tiny bit more detail in a thread in "techniques" yesterday. ...but it really says much of the same.
FEC(flash exposure compensation) is the key.....for fill. Controlling it is as simple as pressing the center button inside the wheel on the back of the flash and spinning the wheel. Where to set it? I look for shadows. I don't like seeing shadows that are "created" by the flash. A little fill goes a long way and too much flash, in my opinion, ALWAYS will look worse then not enough.
Dont get frustrated. Flash as a skillset will add exciting possibilities to your work. It's worth the effort.
...The technique, or approach I use for fill flash is:
Shoot with the camera in either AV or Manual. I prefer manual, but there is a time and place also for AV.
Set up your exposure without flash. I usually cheat my exposures as far to the right of the histogram as possible...being mindful of the highlights....as I tend to like as bright an image as possible from capture all the way to print.
Once the exposure is set, turn on the flash. Outdoors, in daylight...and using large aperture lenses high speed synch may be required. I keep it enabled (and wish it were "on" as default). Using FEC(flash exposure compensation) I dial back the amount of light that the flash contributes to the exposure. Using an umbrella I often find that "zero" FEC is a good starting point. For a bare flash I usuall start with -1 FEC.....but often find myself shooting all the way down to -3FEC.
How much flash is enough?
If the flash is introducing new shadows to the image it is too much. My intent is not to knock out all the natural shadows, but just lighten them a touch and brighten the eyes. Too much fill flash will look worse than not enough....every time.
Diffusers?
No. Bare flash and a good dose of negative FEC is fine. There is no advantage to using a snap on diffuser outdoors in daylight. A shoot through umbrella on the other hand does offer some advantages. For one it will GREATLY increase the size of a catchlight in the eyes. It also provides a large soft source of light if you decide to use the flash as a key light....but that is another matter.
Thanks,
Jeff
-Need help with Dgrin?; Wedding Photography Resources
-My Website - Blog - Tips for Senior Portraiture
Jeff
-Need help with Dgrin?; Wedding Photography Resources
-My Website - Blog - Tips for Senior Portraiture
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Comments
I can only speak from my own experience; I use Nikon (D300, D70, SB800 and SB600). I thought I knew all about flash and lighting, and then I bought Mike Hagen's "The Nikon Creative Lighting System" (rockynook - NikoniansPress), and also the DVD "A Hands-on Guide to Creative Lighting" (Nikon School); I'm always being reminded of just how much I don't know, and here was an example! The Nikon CLS system is very powerful, but the manuals are bloody terrible! Anyway both Mike Hagen's book, and the DVD turned out to be extremely useful; each is well thought out and easy to follow.
I think you mentioned Canon; I've never used their recent gear, but from what I understand, the basics of the systems are fairly similar, and so techniques and lessons from one could apply to the other.
What I've found which helps enormously is to play around with the gear until it becomes second nature. If you have an important gig, five minutes before the event is definitely not the time to have to check the manual to see how to put the camera into "Commander-mode"!!!
Do Canon provide training resources (on-line, DVD, books) in the same way as Nikon?
HTH -
- Wil
The basics of the systems are similar from what I can gather. Unfortunately the nomenclature often is not similar, and can lead to confusuion.
Canon has a "digital learning center"
This is the address, but it's currently now loading for me...
http://www.usa.canon.com/dlc/
Jeff
-Need help with Dgrin?; Wedding Photography Resources
-My Website - Blog - Tips for Senior Portraiture
A good book for learning the Speedlight System is Canon Speedlite System Digital Field Guide by J. Dennis Thomas. It's actually a good intro even into studio lighting for someone new to using any kind of lights. It's very well written and the photos in the book are very helpful.
That said, I just went to a class that Canon held on Speedlight use in Los Angeles. We set up as a wireless studio in various groupings and modifiers on flashes. The Canon Reps were all there. The system is so simple once you learn the controls.
There is also a great class offered a few times a year at The Julia Dean Workshops in Venice Beach, California. Julia teaches a class called The Crash Flash Course, which is where I learned to use my flash. Most excellent.
Flash Frozen Photography, Inc.
http://flashfrozenphotography.com
It's not written in a 'manual' or 'textbook' style. The book isn't filled with technical lighting information, charts, and diagrams. He teaches by writing about photographs he's taken and how/why decisions were made about the lighting.
I believe that most of his lighting is done with Nikon's Creative Lighting System (CLS) but the concepts still apply to ANY lighting system where you can fire one or more remote flashes. Again, it's not a book about the CLS and how to use it, it's about lighting with small flashes, mostly to achieve natural looking lighting in a variety of situations.
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