this is "not" how to do it so can u help?

windoze

remember im a "bird" / "gorilla" kinda guy so this is still new to me.... Been told to get a 50 mm f1/4 ( check) 580EX ( check ) tripod ( check ). Ok i tell my model sit in the chair ( a very poorly lit room ) and just keep your eyes open so I can see what I get. i use the 20D with flash ( set to ettl - why coz "Andy" once said so ). I tried Manual ( somebody suggested that ) I chose an aperture of 5.6 and a shutter speed of around 200. I dialed in +2/3 flash compensation - which sent my exposure compensation all the way down to -2 and I took the picture....

i dont think its a bad picture but its not what i expected either. was hoping for a sharper image... to get me on the right track - I'd appreciate some advice as to where I went wrong and how to better "set-up" in the future. If my conditions and settings I used were totally off base let me know! ive very rarely used flash and even thougn ive read the "flash stuff" - the light has not gone on in my head...


troy

Shay Stephens

You say you wanted a sharper picture, but in what way? Where is the sharpness failing? Besides the sharpness is there anything else that doesn't look the way you envisioned it?

ginger_55

So, if I do what you did at the baptism tomorrow, I will get results like that?

Cool! I will copy it and try it, even though my flash is that Sigma 500 Super substitute for the better flash, Canon.

And, by the way, your daughter looks very nice. She is growing up as we watch!

(I think it is just cool you don't have a shadow behind her, were you expecting modeling? I think you need more flashes for that. I don't do that stuff......... so I can't help you. Or if you had a bracket with the flash up and to the side???)

ginger

windoze

Shay Stephens wrote:

You say you wanted a sharper picture, but in what way? Where is the sharpness failing? Besides the sharpness is there anything else that doesn't look the way you envisioned it?

Hi Shay,
to me the image looks "soft" allover, now its true i ran the image through noise removal.... to get rid of some "noise loooking stuff"...
the image IMHO looks "blah" and not lifelike...

i guess wht i was after was in general for these kinds of pictures around the house when you have to use flash any "general - all purpose settings" to which to start from?



But the settings i chose do they even make sens??




troy

DavidTO

Why +2/3 FEC?

Did you use a diffuser? Did you bounce the flash, or shoot it straight on?

Where was the noise? One thing you could have done is to run the noise filter on another layer, and then mask it out so that the elements that really need to be sharp (hair, eyes, nose, mouth, etc) remain sharp...

windoze

DavidTO wrote:

Why +2/3 FEC?




Did you use a diffuser? Did you bounce the flash, or shoot it straight on?

Where was the noise? One thing you could have done is to run the noise filter on another layer, and then mask it out so that the elements that really need to be sharp (hair, eyes, nose, mouth, etc) remain sharp...

i was reading somewhere that says when you use the 580EX you should dial in +2/3 and yes I was using a diffuser "bounced" in a room with vaulted ceiling- omnibounce ( the one "Andy" says is good for keeping paper clips in).


i just read this elsewhere....

EXCEPT - it has been observed that generally a 580EX with a 20D needs +2/3 flash exposure compensation to look right to most people, so you might want to dial that in whatever mode you use the camera in.