Flash vs. ISO

Khaos

I have a 20D.
I use the Canon 28 -135mm for general use (family, holidays).

I hate non-studio flash pictures. I don't care for the lack of texture and richness. To me it's like videotape compared to film. Videotape is blah, and film is rich.

The issues I get with increasing the ISO indoors is that if the subjects are too close to the light source, they themselves tend to be too dark and the light will distort to an orange glow. I can fix the orange in photoshop, but I hate the darkness of the subject. Subjects at medium distance for the light source will turn out well lit and without distorted color.

I understand that I can pose them away, but I also hate posed shots. They're fine if say Aunt Bertha stops by and you only see her once every 5 years, but generally, they look, well, posed, and that is beyond boring. I like candid shots. A perfect example was this Christmas. My aunt generally looks like she's in pain when smiling for a posed shot. Without using a flash and alerting everyone in the room I'm taking pictures, I was able to get some of her laughing and smiling. The rest of the family was thrilled with these. We finally had pics of her with a true smile and not a posed one.

Here are my issues and questions:

1. The pop up flash on the 20D at times will cause a shadow at the bottom of the shot. I can crop, but if I actually got the shot right, cropping would ruin it.

2. Is there a trick in using increased ISO when a subject is close to the light source so that they do not appear dark and the brightness is only coming from the area of the light source. Again, remember, I want candid shots. I don't want to move the subjects or make them constantly aware I'm taking pics.

3. Is there a flash for this that doesn't cause that blah uniformity of uposed shots?

Thanks.

USAIR

Khaos
Well I am no expert but I will give it a try
Here's what I have found ...
Use a flash bracket never see red eye and your photos will improve.
Use a diffuser for the flash like OmniBounce or others
I sometimes use OmniBounce on the camera onboard flash....I have not tried this with the 20d yet.
Bounce the flash off the ceiling or wall it will even out the light.

Also check out these flashes for the 20d
http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/showcat.php?cat=30

Hope this helped
Fred

Michiel de Brieder

I second all Freds statements
Bounce, diffuse, take away from the camera (although being mounted high on the top of the camera also works)
works wonders!

Khaos

Thanks, it looks like I may go with getting the Sigma Electronic Flash EF 500 DG Super.

USAIR wrote:

Well I am no expert but I will give it a try
Here's what I have found ...
Use a flash bracket never see red eye and your photos will improve.
Use a diffuser for the flash like OmniBounce or others
I sometimes use OmniBounce on the camera onboard flash....I have not tried this with the 20d yet.
Bounce the flash off the ceiling or wall it will even out the light.

Also check out these flashes for the 20d
http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/showcat.php?cat=30

Hope this helped
Fred

Shay Stephens

It's not flash you don't like, it's on-camera flash. Flash that comes from the same direction as the lens is going to destroy detail. In the "biz" this is known as "flat lighting". And as the name suggests, it looks flat. Good for some glamor type shot, but not a universal look that works for all situations.

So what you really want to pursue is off camera flash. Which of these photos were flash and which were not flash?





Here are my issues and questions:

1. The pop up flash on the 20D at times will cause a shadow at the bottom of the shot. I can crop, but if I actually got the shot right, cropping would ruin it.
Don't use the camera flash unless it is an emergency.

2. Is there a trick in using increased ISO when a subject is close to the light source so that they do not appear dark and the brightness is only coming from the area of the light source. Again, remember, I want candid shots. I don't want to move the subjects or make them constantly aware I'm taking pics.
This comes with experience. If you have very dense shadows, or very high contrast lighting, you need to use a fill light, or use the ambient light of the room as fill and the flash as the main illumination. The idea being that you have to reduce the amount of contrast the scene has to levels the camera can record. Also getting away from auto exposure can help too. You need to have more control in these types of very demanding situations.

3. Is there a flash for this that doesn't cause that blah uniformity of uposed shots?
It's not the flash, it's the location. Try bouncing the light from the ceiling or a wall if nothing else. Best case is an off camera flash coming from a direction away from the lens.

wxwax

All are flash.

Khaos

I'm a rookie with this camera also.

I only used a point and shoot Kodak for the last 4 years.

I will play with getting used to using the Exposure Lock when subjects are close to a light source.

With the great ISO capabilities of this camera, I want to do the most I can without having to resort to using a flash. I will get the Sigma flash I mentioned for when I have to, so I can angle it for the bounce.

4labs

I have a question about off camera flash and outdoor shooting. Is there a general rule about placement and direction of the flash?

USAIR

I knew the experts would show up eventually
Shay great shots
And thanks for the help

Fred

cletus

Khaos wrote:

2. Is there a trick in using increased ISO when a subject is close to the light source so that they do not appear dark and the brightness is only coming from the area of the light source. Again, remember, I want candid shots. I don't want to move the subjects or make them constantly aware I'm taking pics.

This might not be the best answer, but I think it might be worth a try:

Does the 20D have a spot meter? If so, you might try playing around with it. By using the spot meter you could get the camera to expose for your subject and disregard the background.

bkriete

I have similiar problems with my Drebel and the kit lens for inside shots. I think my solution is going to be to get a faster 50mm prime, either the 1.8 or the 1.4. Even with the 1.6 crop, it should be fine for candids inside, and I hopefully won't need to use that distracting, poorly-placed on-camera flash.

DoctorIt

Shay Stephens wrote:

It's not the flash, it's the location. Try bouncing the light from the ceiling or a wall if nothing else. Best case is an off camera flash coming from a direction away from the lens.

Yup

I just got a 580EX and took some great shots at a party the other night. I actually turned down the power a bit, pointed it up and used the bounce card. Results were great - none of that washed out useless on-camera effect! Now I just need another flash so I can fire a slave... from a corner of the room!!!