Why are all of my pictures so dark?

ShimaShima Registered Users Posts: 2,547 Major grins
edited February 24, 2012 in Technique
I don't have an example to post, mainly because I'm too anal once it gets onto the computer and goes into photoshop and I fix it right away...

...but I'd say easily 90-95% of all the shots I take (with onboard flash, rebel xti, + kit lens) are always extremely too dark. I can usually fix them to acceptable levels by playing with curves and highlights and levels... but I want to be able to take photos that come out good from the start!

I've been shooting generally in ISO 400 for situations with good indoor light (lower light I up the ISO of course)... generally I am shooting in Program... although I do every now and then shove it into automatic to see if it's just something I'm doing, but I get the same darkness levels there...

What changes should I change? Is it just because the onboard flash is wimpy? Does my lens suck at taking in light? Please help me! thanks
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Comments

  • gusgus Registered Users Posts: 16,209 Major grins
    edited January 6, 2007
    Honestly you should look at posting a shot that is typical & also the exif. There is a wealth of good shooters here that could help you out if they can see what your doing.
  • DavidTODavidTO Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 19,160 Major grins
    edited January 6, 2007
    I agree with Gus. At this point all we can really say is it sounds like you're doing something wrong. What that something is, we can only guess at. The numbers don't lie.
    Moderator Emeritus
    Dgrin FAQ | Me | Workshops
  • JeffroJeffro Registered Users Posts: 1,941 Major grins
    edited January 6, 2007
    I'll take a wild guess and say if there is a prominent white or bright reflective object in said flash shot, the camera/flash is fooled and underexposed the rest of the shot. I noticed that problem when I bought my first Digital Rebel. It's better with the 20D. I use an XT w/430EX at work, and have seen this under exposure there too. I'd say they still have a little work to do there. But honestly, if you are aware of the problem you can compenstate for it as you shoot.

    But this is only a guess, if in fact it were actuall knowledge of the problem, that would have been a result of a sample photo being posted, this is only a guess.....we now return you to your regular dgrin...........:D
    Always lurking, sometimes participating. :D
  • ShimaShima Registered Users Posts: 2,547 Major grins
    edited January 6, 2007
    Yeah I know, sample photos are invaluable... I just have a lot of homework for grad school classes which just started back up for the semester... so taking new photos was low on the priority level tonight...

    I should have some free time tomorrow evening to take a new photo to show this off.

    I'm fairly certain I'm doing something wrong, though considering it does it even in automatic makes me think automatic ain't all that great either! Will post later... thanks




    Oh and one other thing: never once had this problem with my PowerShot Pro1. Better exposure compensation?
  • DavidTODavidTO Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 19,160 Major grins
    edited January 6, 2007
    Shima wrote:
    Oh and one other thing: never once had this problem with my PowerShot Pro1. Better exposure compensation?


    Consumer cameras are designed to take nice, bright, happy pictures, the consequences be damned. DSLRs are designed to take technically appropriate pictures that will yield much better results in the long run.
    Moderator Emeritus
    Dgrin FAQ | Me | Workshops
  • Shay StephensShay Stephens Registered Users Posts: 3,165 Major grins
    edited January 7, 2007
    Program, Autoatic, Aperture Priority, and Shutter Priority all share the same feature. Automatic exposure. Now a word of caution. Most people have been brought up with the notion that automatic means perfect. It doesn't. Automatic just means easy.

    When it comes to auto exposure, one huge key factor to take into consideration is the EV compensation. This tells the metering system to add or subtract from the exposure. +2ev will tell the camera to expose the scene two stops brighter than it thinks it should. And conversely, -2EV will tell it to underexpose the scene two stops more than it thinks it should.

    So if you don't know where your EV compensation settings are at, start there. Set it to 0ev if not already and see what happens. Adjust the EV compensation as needed from here on out and you should get better results.

    Once you get used to EV compensation, dip your toe into the manual exposure field. It's not as hard as it sounds. And if you are doing manual EVcompensation adjustments anyway, you are 90% there anyway.
    Creator of Dgrin's "Last Photographer Standing" contest
    "Failure is feedback. And feedback is the breakfast of champions." - fortune cookie
  • ShimaShima Registered Users Posts: 2,547 Major grins
    edited January 7, 2007
    I've played around with exposure compensation and ISO and with my flash shots they really don't make much of a difference, it truly does seem that it's just a matter of the flash set to default settings not being strong enough. The only times I was noticing an improvement was when I shoved the flash up to +2/3 to +1 1/3... those ranges produced more favorable levels... but the 0 is just about always too dark, really quite bothersome.

    Anyhoo, home by myself at the moment, so they are all shots of the apartment and my face... sorry nothing creative, but that's not really the point here heh. They're actually quite terrible on the creative level heh.

    So, my flash is weak?

    http://shima.smugmug.com/gallery/2326634
  • SamSam Registered Users Posts: 7,419 Major grins
    edited January 7, 2007
    I took a look at your examples, and while I'll give my thoughts on this, I am really interested in seeing what Shay has to say.

    The flash looks normal to me. Remember the onboard flash has limitations.

    I looked at 4 images taken in rapid succession. The first and last seemed better exposed that the two in the middle, yet all had the same camera settings? I just looked at my 330D manual and it indicates a 3 second recycle time, and your shots are not faster so it shouldn't be that, but you could try waiting longer between shots, and see if that makes a difference.

    This is probably not the ideal way, but here is something you could try. Set you aperture based on what you want, let the camera decide on the shutter speed, take a shot, then check your histogram. If it's underexposed, switch to manual mode, and change the shutter speed, (slower) and then see how that histogram looks. The AV priority should get you very close, and then use the manual mode to fine tune. Probably not the approved method but it works for me.

    Sam
  • ShimaShima Registered Users Posts: 2,547 Major grins
    edited January 7, 2007
    Sam wrote:
    I took a look at your examples, and while I'll give my thoughts on this, I am really interested in seeing what Shay has to say.

    The flash looks normal to me. Remember the onboard flash has limitations.

    I looked at 4 images taken in rapid succession. The first and last seemed better exposed that the two in the middle, yet all had the same camera settings? I just looked at my 330D manual and it indicates a 3 second recycle time, and your shots are not faster so it shouldn't be that, but you could try waiting longer between shots, and see if that makes a difference.

    This is probably not the ideal way, but here is something you could try. Set you aperture based on what you want, let the camera decide on the shutter speed, take a shot, then check your histogram. If it's underexposed, switch to manual mode, and change the shutter speed, (slower) and then see how that histogram looks. The AV priority should get you very close, and then use the manual mode to fine tune. Probably not the approved method but it works for me.

    Sam

    Which are the ones you feel are better exposed? Shots done in succession did have *some* change between them, I did not just continually press the shutter w/out changing something each time, so if you let me know which one's your look at I'll let you know what I did differently setting wise if for whatever reason the exif isn't telling you all the details.
  • SamSam Registered Users Posts: 7,419 Major grins
    edited January 7, 2007
    Shima wrote:
    Which are the ones you feel are better exposed? Shots done in succession did have *some* change between them, I did not just continually press the shutter w/out changing something each time, so if you let me know which one's your look at I'll let you know what I did differently setting wise if for whatever reason the exif isn't telling you all the details.

    Page two the last 4. Unless I forgot how to read, which is always a possibility, all the settings look the same. :D

    Sam
  • LuckyBobLuckyBob Registered Users Posts: 273 Major grins
    edited January 7, 2007
    Shima wrote:
    I've played around with exposure compensation and ISO and with my flash shots they really don't make much of a difference, it truly does seem that it's just a matter of the flash set to default settings not being strong enough. The only times I was noticing an improvement was when I shoved the flash up to +2/3 to +1 1/3... those ranges produced more favorable levels... but the 0 is just about always too dark, really quite bothersome.

    [...]

    So, my flash is weak?

    You just about nailed it on the head. Canon's ETTL systems are a bit odd conceptually, but work exactly as they're supposed to. Let's take an example situation where the flash isn't used; if you took your camera up to a brightly lit, snowy mountain and took a test shot of the snow itself, the camera would intentionally "underexpose" the image to force the resulting metering points to average out to middle grey.

    The same thing applies with their flash system; if you shoot a piece of paper with the flash on default settings, although it might be white paper, it'll come out grey as it's "technically" correct. As the photographer, you have to decide if it needs to be brighter or dimmer than middle grey and use either EC or FEC to adjust. When the flash is involved, it seems as though Canon decided to basically ignore EC and require that you use FEC. While this is slightly inconvenient, it does allow for more control in the long run.

    The gist of what I'm getting at is that yes, in most cases (especially with people or "white" objects), you'll have to bump up the FEC to tell the camera what the final image should look like. When I'm shooting people with my 550EX directly, I almost always bump it up between 1/3 and 1 stop to start with and check the histogram. When I'm bouncing, I tend to start with +1 FEC and go up from there. More information on ETTL (which will really help with a conceptual grasp of the flash's behavior): http://photonotes.org/articles/eos-flash/
    LuckyBobGallery"You are correct, sir!"
  • ShimaShima Registered Users Posts: 2,547 Major grins
    edited January 8, 2007
    Sam wrote:
    Page two the last 4. Unless I forgot how to read, which is always a possibility, all the settings look the same. :D

    Sam
    Ah, so the EXIF doesn't show how much i had to bump up the Flash then, thought it did.

    The first shot was +1 1/3 I believe, I think the last was +1.... and then the others are 0 and 2/3 or so if I recall correctly...

    ...thus going back to my "flash is weak" on default settings comment.

    Same thing w/ the hands shots right above the face shots--- started at 0, went to 2/3 then went to 1 1/3 for the flash...
  • ShimaShima Registered Users Posts: 2,547 Major grins
    edited January 8, 2007
    LuckyBob wrote:
    You just about nailed it on the head. Canon's ETTL systems are a bit odd conceptually, but work exactly as they're supposed to. Let's take an example situation where the flash isn't used; if you took your camera up to a brightly lit, snowy mountain and took a test shot of the snow itself, the camera would intentionally "underexpose" the image to force the resulting metering points to average out to middle grey.

    The same thing applies with their flash system; if you shoot a piece of paper with the flash on default settings, although it might be white paper, it'll come out grey as it's "technically" correct. As the photographer, you have to decide if it needs to be brighter or dimmer than middle grey and use either EC or FEC to adjust. When the flash is involved, it seems as though Canon decided to basically ignore EC and require that you use FEC. While this is slightly inconvenient, it does allow for more control in the long run.

    The gist of what I'm getting at is that yes, in most cases (especially with people or "white" objects), you'll have to bump up the FEC to tell the camera what the final image should look like. When I'm shooting people with my 550EX directly, I almost always bump it up between 1/3 and 1 stop to start with and check the histogram. When I'm bouncing, I tend to start with +1 FEC and go up from there. More information on ETTL (which will really help with a conceptual grasp of the flash's behavior): http://photonotes.org/articles/eos-flash/

    Thanks a lot, glad to know I'm not going crazy w/ this stuff! ::goes to dig around on that website::
  • SandySandy Registered Users Posts: 762 Major grins
    edited January 10, 2007
    LuckyBob.....Thank you for the explanation, I thought it was me, not the camera. Shima, The Auto Color Adjustment often works to bring up the correct exposure. Also the tutorial on bounce flash was most helpful.

    I was shooting a head shot in a hallway that was lit by the rays of a sunset through a large glass window. My camera was inadvertently set to +2. These were some of my best shots.

    http://www.abetterbouncecard.com/
  • ShimaShima Registered Users Posts: 2,547 Major grins
    edited January 10, 2007
    Sandy wrote:
    LuckyBob.....Thank you for the explanation, I thought it was me, not the camera. Shima, The Auto Color Adjustment often works to bring up the correct exposure. Also the tutorial on bounce flash was most helpful.

    I was shooting a head shot in a hallway that was lit by the rays of a sunset through a large glass window. My camera was inadvertently set to +2. These were some of my best shots.

    http://www.abetterbouncecard.com/

    I'm using on board flash presently as I can't afford an external flash yet.

    And auto adjust only fixes it properly about 1/4th the time in my experience. I usually go into Curves and / or Highlights/Shadows and fix the rest there... what I'd really like to do is start shooting in RAW, but that requires time to actually learn how to handle RAW, heh.
  • digismiledigismile Registered Users Posts: 955 Major grins
    edited January 10, 2007
    You could put a good flash like a 580EX on your camera and get the same results (bright foreground, dark background). Shay was right about automatic modes. The issue is, your camera will expose your photo "automatically" but differently for each mode.

    All your photos are in "Program" mode. This setting is the equivalent of riding a bike with training wheels. It's not going to let you fall down, but it restricts your speed and maneuverability. It's probably OK for outdoor shots, but you are doomed generally to have dark backgrounds in this mode when you use a flash. The camera will chose an average setting the will:
    a) a faster than average shutter speed, so as not to have camera shake
    b) enough flash to have a reasonable foreground exposure of what it thinks is the main part of the image (usually the closest object to the camera)

    If you don't believe me, take the exact same photo, without making any changes on your camea except for the Mode (Program, Av, Tv). My guess is that you are looking for something more like the Av mode.

    This mode will give a more pleasing foreground vs background exposure. The downside is that it can choose a very slow shutter speed (every choice comes with a price!). If I have to use an auto mode, this is usually the one I choose. In this mode, when you tell your camera to over expose or under expose, you will change the exposure to the background, the flash exposure to the foreground will remain the same.

    In the end, Manual mode gives you the most versatility and control. But it takes more practice and skill to choose the optimal settings.

    Regards,
    Brad
  • ShimaShima Registered Users Posts: 2,547 Major grins
    edited January 11, 2007
    digismile wrote:
    You could put a good flash like a 580EX on your camera and get the same results (bright foreground, dark background). Shay was right about automatic modes. The issue is, your camera will expose your photo "automatically" but differently for each mode.

    All your photos are in "Program" mode. This setting is the equivalent of riding a bike with training wheels. It's not going to let you fall down, but it restricts your speed and maneuverability. It's probably OK for outdoor shots, but you are doomed generally to have dark backgrounds in this mode when you use a flash. The camera will chose an average setting the will:
    a) a faster than average shutter speed, so as not to have camera shake
    b) enough flash to have a reasonable foreground exposure of what it thinks is the main part of the image (usually the closest object to the camera)

    If you don't believe me, take the exact same photo, without making any changes on your camea except for the Mode (Program, Av, Tv). My guess is that you are looking for something more like the Av mode.

    This mode will give a more pleasing foreground vs background exposure. The downside is that it can choose a very slow shutter speed (every choice comes with a price!). If I have to use an auto mode, this is usually the one I choose. In this mode, when you tell your camera to over expose or under expose, you will change the exposure to the background, the flash exposure to the foreground will remain the same.

    In the end, Manual mode gives you the most versatility and control. But it takes more practice and skill to choose the optimal settings.

    Regards,
    Brad

    I'm still working on easing myself out of more automatic modes... I don't really have much experience in the realm of full manual and so it does tend to intimidate me... I have been noticing that continually putting the flash compensation up on the camera though does tend to get the exposure I want, but what you're saying is that by changing the settings around in more manual modes I can get it to do that on a normal flash setting?

    Oh so much to learn x.x
  • wellmanwellman Registered Users Posts: 961 Major grins
    edited January 11, 2007
    Shima wrote:
    I'm still working on easing myself out of more automatic modes... I don't really have much experience in the realm of full manual and so it does tend to intimidate me... I have been noticing that continually putting the flash compensation up on the camera though does tend to get the exposure I want, but what you're saying is that by changing the settings around in more manual modes I can get it to do that on a normal flash setting?

    Oh so much to learn x.x

    Here's a little-known factoid... M as in Manual isn't what most people think it is when the flash is up. M mode allows you to select your shutter speed and aperture just as it would w/o the flash up, but with one important difference - the camera will read the scene with its almost imperceptible pre-flash and then pick the right amount of flash illumination to properly expose the foreground. So M mode gives you both control and ease-of-use when using the flash.

    Think of it this way... You get to set your shutter speed (probably 1/60 or 1/80 unless you're purposely trying to drag the background into blurriness - your foreground will be frozen by the extremely fast flash of light). You also get to set your aperture to give you the depth of field you desire. Take your shot, and the camera will pick the right amount of light.

    I do have an external flash (Canon 420EX on my 20D), and if I'm using the flash, I shoot exclusively in M mode. My "dummy mode" is M, 1/60, f/5.6, ISO 200 for indoor flash shots. Since I bounce, I usually have +1/3 EC on the flash.

    A couple of other thoughts...
    • If your subjects are too dark, make sure you're close enough. The onboard flash isn't nearly as strong as external units. When you're ready for one of those, the 430EX (or a used 420EX) is a fine choice. I see your sig talks about lenses... Save up for an external flash if that type of shooting is important. The extra control bouncing gives you (and the better lighting you get from it) is worth every penny.
    • Is your monitor calibrated? If your monitor happens to be too dark, you could be getting fooled (although that isn't likely, since most are too bright w/o calibration).
    • It's always possible (but again unlikely) that you have a defective flashbulb. Borrow a friend's camera and take the same photo at the same settings and see what happens.
    My $0.02... Good luck!
    -Greg
  • wellmanwellman Registered Users Posts: 961 Major grins
    edited January 11, 2007
    One more helpful thing... A detailed tutorial on how Canon's flash system (past and present) works...
  • Shay StephensShay Stephens Registered Users Posts: 3,165 Major grins
    edited January 11, 2007
    Oh, you are talking about flash! Well, two things. The onboard flash is not designed to take great photos that show the subject *and* the background properly lit at the same time. With onboard flash, it's one or the other.

    Secondly, many cameras provide flash exposure compensation (FEC) that works much the same way as regular exposure compensation. Since the onboard flash is typically auto exposure, it shoots for gray just like a camera does. So by overriding the flash, you can get better exposures.

    If your camera does not provide FEC, then all is not lost, you just need to use a manual hotshoe flash like the Sunpak 383. With that type of flash, you can bounce off the ceiling, control the flash power output, and generally have much more control over the outcome of flash photos.

    And remember, you when using flash, you control the ambient light exposure with the shutter speed, but the flash exposure with the aperture. The flash is so quick, that the light pulse is typically over before the shutter has a chance to do much of anything.

    So say I have the camera set to f/4, 1/125, ISO 800 and the subject looks good, but the background is alittle dim. Just drop the shutter speed to 1/60 and the subjects exposure won't really change, but the background will look a stop brighter.

    And conversely, if the subject is too bright by a stop, you can drop the flash power to get a better look, but if you make the aperture smaller (f/5.6), the subject will look better but the background will also be a stop dimmer, so you may have to go to 1/60th of a second to compensate (assuming the shutter was at 1/125th).

    The trick with shooting flash is to get your exposure for the ambient background set, then add your flash to balance it, so you wind up with a nice looking combo. It is more complicated, but mastering flash gives you super powers to shoot in any condition and produce photos that are impossible for mortal photographers to get. You will be the envy of your peers ;-)

    Just remember to use these new powers for good, and not for...E-vil
    Creator of Dgrin's "Last Photographer Standing" contest
    "Failure is feedback. And feedback is the breakfast of champions." - fortune cookie
  • erich6erich6 Registered Users Posts: 1,638 Major grins
    edited January 11, 2007
    wellman wrote:
    Here's a little-known factoid... M as in Manual isn't what most people think it is when the flash is up. M mode allows you to select your shutter speed and aperture just as it would w/o the flash up, but with one important difference - the camera will read the scene with its almost imperceptible pre-flash and then pick the right amount of flash illumination to properly expose the foreground. So M mode gives you both control and ease-of-use when using the flash.

    Think of it this way... You get to set your shutter speed (probably 1/60 or 1/80 unless you're purposely trying to drag the background into blurriness - your foreground will be frozen by the extremely fast flash of light). You also get to set your aperture to give you the depth of field you desire. Take your shot, and the camera will pick the right amount of light.


    -Greg

    YES YES!

    If using flash just use the manual setting of your camera. Pick the shutter speed you think will give you the right amount of natural exposure of the background and let the flash do the rest. I usually have my 20D set at FEC +2/3 when taking pictures of people.

    I think it does depend on what flash you use though. The flash that comes with the camera is not all that powerful. It also seems to have some interplay with what lens/focal length you are using. With my 50mm I get perfect exposures across the entire frame every time using this method. With my 17-40 f/4L I don't seem to have enough coverage from the flash to get good exposure throughout the frame.

    Erich
  • Scott_QuierScott_Quier Registered Users Posts: 6,524 Major grins
    edited January 12, 2007
    Oh, you are talking about flash! Well, two things. The onboard flash is not designed to take great photos that show the subject *and* the background properly lit at the same time. With onboard flash, it's one or the other.

    Secondly, many cameras provide flash exposure compensation (FEC) that works much the same way as regular exposure compensation. Since the onboard flash is typically auto exposure, it shoots for gray just like a camera does. So by overriding the flash, you can get better exposures.

    If your camera does not provide FEC, then all is not lost, you just need to use a manual hotshoe flash like the Sunpak 383. With that type of flash, you can bounce off the ceiling, control the flash power output, and generally have much more control over the outcome of flash photos.

    And remember, you when using flash, you control the ambient light exposure with the shutter speed, but the flash exposure with the aperture. The flash is so quick, that the light pulse is typically over before the shutter has a chance to do much of anything.

    So say I have the camera set to f/4, 1/125, ISO 800 and the subject looks good, but the background is alittle dim. Just drop the shutter speed to 1/60 and the subjects exposure won't really change, but the background will look a stop brighter.

    And conversely, if the subject is too bright by a stop, you can drop the flash power to get a better look, but if you make the aperture smaller (f/5.6), the subject will look better but the background will also be a stop dimmer, so you may have to go to 1/60th of a second to compensate (assuming the shutter was at 1/125th).

    The trick with shooting flash is to get your exposure for the ambient background set, then add your flash to balance it, so you wind up with a nice looking combo. It is more complicated, but mastering flash gives you super powers to shoot in any condition and produce photos that are impossible for mortal photographers to get. You will be the envy of your peers ;-)

    Just remember to use these new powers for good, and not for...E-vil
    Anyone ever notice how Shay can take something that, on the surface of it, looks very difficult and break it down to make it very understandable (note that I didn't say simple!), turning his descriptions into something from which others can learn and experiment? Just wonderful!bowdown.gif
  • ShimaShima Registered Users Posts: 2,547 Major grins
    edited January 14, 2007
    Anyone ever notice how Shay can take something that, on the surface of it, looks very difficult and break it down to make it very understandable (note that I didn't say simple!), turning his descriptions into something from which others can learn and experiment? Just wonderful!bowdown.gif

    Yes indeed he is awesome at that. I'm going to have to try and play around w/ this foreground vs. background exposure tweaking with flash....

    Shay is one of my photographer role models, so it means a lot to see him post in here about my lack of understanding w/ my Rebel's flash! ^_^

    I can't wait to get an external flash for this.... (and better lenses... and hoards of other stuff I can't afford yet, heh)

    But yeah with people and other objects, I've been noticing that the shots are immensely improved by upping FEC about 2/3 or so. Amazing what a little setting can change.

    My goal is to eventually have such awesome shots from the camera that I'll wonder if post processing is even worth it or not... I'm far from it at the moment... but ah it shall be a nice place to get one day.
  • Scott_QuierScott_Quier Registered Users Posts: 6,524 Major grins
    edited January 14, 2007
    Shima wrote:
    My goal is to eventually have such awesome shots from the camera that I'll wonder if post processing is even worth it or not... I'm far from it at the moment... but ah it shall be a nice place to get one day.
    By then, you'll be shooting RAW and you'll HAVE to do a litlte PP - but your shots will be so wonderful right out of the camera that you'll be doing the PP for affects and not so much for correction. Yeah - that's my goal as well and I'm slowly getting there.
  • ShimaShima Registered Users Posts: 2,547 Major grins
    edited January 14, 2007
    By then, you'll be shooting RAW and you'll HAVE to do a litlte PP - but your shots will be so wonderful right out of the camera that you'll be doing the PP for affects and not so much for correction. Yeah - that's my goal as well and I'm slowly getting there.

    Yeah I picked up the book "Photoshop CS2 RAW" in Barnes and Noble a week or two ago so that I could start shooting on RAW and learning how it works--- I've yet to play in RAW, it intimidates me currently.
  • pathfinderpathfinder Super Moderators Posts: 14,694 moderator
    edited January 14, 2007
    Oh, you are talking about flash! Well, two things. The onboard flash is not designed to take great photos that show the subject *and* the background properly lit at the same time. With onboard flash, it's one or the other.

    Secondly, many cameras provide flash exposure compensation (FEC) that works much the same way as regular exposure compensation. Since the onboard flash is typically auto exposure, it shoots for gray just like a camera does. So by overriding the flash, you can get better exposures.

    If your camera does not provide FEC, then all is not lost, you just need to use a manual hotshoe flash like the Sunpak 383. With that type of flash, you can bounce off the ceiling, control the flash power output, and generally have much more control over the outcome of flash photos.

    And remember, you when using flash, you control the ambient light exposure with the shutter speed, but the flash exposure with the aperture. The flash is so quick, that the light pulse is typically over before the shutter has a chance to do much of anything.

    So say I have the camera set to f/4, 1/125, ISO 800 and the subject looks good, but the background is alittle dim. Just drop the shutter speed to 1/60 and the subjects exposure won't really change, but the background will look a stop brighter.

    And conversely, if the subject is too bright by a stop, you can drop the flash power to get a better look, but if you make the aperture smaller (f/5.6), the subject will look better but the background will also be a stop dimmer, so you may have to go to 1/60th of a second to compensate (assuming the shutter was at 1/125th).

    The trick with shooting flash is to get your exposure for the ambient background set, then add your flash to balance it, so you wind up with a nice looking combo. It is more complicated, but mastering flash gives you super powers to shoot in any condition and produce photos that are impossible for mortal photographers to get. You will be the envy of your peers ;-)

    Just remember to use these new powers for good, and not for...E-vil

    Shay's post was so good that I want to emphasize part of it a second time in nice bright RED text:D
    Pathfinder - www.pathfinder.smugmug.com

    Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
  • AndymanAndyman Registered Users Posts: 267 Major grins
    edited January 14, 2007
    pathfinder wrote:
    Shay's post was so good that I want to emphasize part of it a second time in nice bright RED text:D

    I would've hightlighted that too. I'd never known that before, so that part in particular was alot of help to me.
    Nikon D50
    Tamron AF18-200mm F3.5-6.3 XR Di II LD
    Tamron SP AF17-50mm F/2.8 XR Di II LD Aspherical
    Nikon 60mm f/2.8D AF Micro-Nikkor
    Nikon SB-800 Speedlight
  • pathfinderpathfinder Super Moderators Posts: 14,694 moderator
    edited January 14, 2007
    Andyman wrote:
    I would've hightlighted that too. I'd never known that before, so that part in particular was alot of help to me.

    I use that trick when shooting macro shots a lot - you can drive a muddled background to black by using a short enough shutter speed and not affect the forground exposure that is lit with flash.iloveyou.gif

    You do need a flash that will synch in High Speed Synch mode in order to set the shutter speed higher than 1/200th or so (depending on the cameras high speed synch settings).
    Pathfinder - www.pathfinder.smugmug.com

    Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
  • ShimaShima Registered Users Posts: 2,547 Major grins
    edited January 14, 2007
    pathfinder wrote:
    I use that trick when shooting macro shots a lot - you can drive a muddled background to black by using a short enough shutter speed and not affect the forground exposure that is lit with flash.iloveyou.gif

    You do need a flash that will synch in High Speed Synch mode in order to set the shutter speed higher than 1/200th or so (depending on the cameras high speed synch settings).

    What is this high speed synch which you speak of?

    I'm so glad my seemingly simple question brings about wonderful tips that are helpful to others :)
  • evorywareevoryware Registered Users Posts: 1,330 Major grins
    edited January 14, 2007
    I use an XTI and 430 ex and I did notice that when I use a mode other than Program with my flash, they come out brighter. I've been learning raw and weening myself off of Program for a while now but I'm still not ready for full manual (well for a new manual transmission sports car, I am).
    Fortunately, since I started reading these forums I started shooting all raw and can adjust pics later. I would say, Shima, don't be afraid to shoot raw. All I did was take a few shots RAW & Jpeg, go into Zoombrowser, right click the pic file that was raw, select "Processing RAW Images..." and viola!!
    The fear of RAW is gone. I notice that some of my images are 9-10MB's, but I can still get a days worth (200 shots) on my 2GB card.
    Canon 40D : Canon 400D : Canon Elan 7NE : Canon 580EX : 2 x Canon 430EX : Canon 24-70 f2.8L : Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L USM : Canon 28-135mm f/3.5 IS : 18-55mm f/3.5 : 4GB Sandisk Extreme III : 2GB Sandisk Extreme III : 2 x 1GB Sandisk Ultra II : Sekonik L358

    dak.smugmug.com
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