flash and portraits

nillaismydog

outside in bright day would my on camera flash be better to use on portrait (for fill if I need it) or my speedlight? With the speedlight it just gets a bit heavy after awhile, but I think it might do a better job. does it matter? is there that big of a difference when just filling in shadows?

howard

I use my 420 in preference to the built in flash and usually with an Omnibounce in place to defuse the light. The flash is usually set in the range -1 to -1 2/3.

nillaismydog wrote:

outside in bright day would my on camera flash be better to use on portrait (for fill if I need it) or my speedlight? With the speedlight it just gets a bit heavy after awhile, but I think it might do a better job. does it matter? is there that big of a difference when just filling in shadows?

mercphoto

nillaismydog wrote:

outside in bright day would my on camera flash be better to use on portrait (for fill if I need it) or my speedlight? With the speedlight it just gets a bit heavy after awhile, but I think it might do a better job. does it matter? is there that big of a difference when just filling in shadows?

Good question, and I'm not sure I know answer, but its a nice diversion from the day job. I would say that any flash is better than no flash at all. I think what I would try is making use of the flash exposure lock whenever possible, and probably to dial in some negative FEC as well, as already mentioned. The benefit I can see to a Speedlite is a larger bulb area to make for softer light, especially if a diffuser or bounce shield is used.