ST-E2 + 430 EX + Christmas cake = essays

Antonio Correia

I made this set-up (I do know the shot is bad but it is good enough for the purpose), to shoot Christmas cakes when they will exist.


I shot with the 70-200 because I have no macro lens and in the set-up shot the flash is missing because I had no assistant at the time.
I placed the flash just 1m from the top of the set-up and it was held with my own hand. The 20 D was shot with the timer.
______
The 1.st picture was shot with no white balance setting at all. It was automatic.

I tried to correct it in the ACR and here it is, too yellow/orange.


Then I set the white balance with the gray card. And according to it the result was this:



All the other pictures from here on were with the white balance set with the gray card.

In this one the flash was not at full power and the histogram was, so to say, in the "middle".



Than, I set the flash at full power at I got the histogram to the right and to
the light as Kenn says.



And this picture looks indeed the best shot. Do you agree ?

I am afraid the histogram pictures are not available...:dunno

I must say that all the pictures were "treated" in a similar way and I used the Highlight/Shadow as convenient in all of them.

Now, it is not very important if the pictures are in the precise point of focus.

Care to comment, correct, suggest, etc., please ?:bow

BTW - During the operation a piece of cake was eaten. :wink

pathfinder

Hi Antonio,

Was your camera in Manual Mode, and was your flash in ETTL, or in Manual.

For this type of setup, where you are shooting with your flash a fixed distance to the subject, your honeybun, think about shooting in Manual Mode on the flash as well as your camera. This will allow you to dial in your flash exposure, and then it never changes inside your little light tent:D You white balance could probably be set to Flash, or you can white balance off the side of your light tent.

The first couple shots look like they might have been under exposed slightly, but the last one looks fine. Did it taste good too?:D

Best of the New Year to you, Antonio!

Antonio Correia

pathfinder wrote:

Hi Antonio,

Was your camera in Manual Mode, and was your flash in ETTL, or in Manual.

For this type of setup, where you are shooting with your flash a fixed distance to the subject, your honeybun, think about shooting in Manual Mode on the flash as well as your camera. This will allow you to dial in your flash exposure, and then it never changes inside your little light tent:D You white balance could probably be set to Flash, or you can white balance off the side of your light tent.

The first couple shots look like they might have been under exposed slightly, but the last one looks fine. Did it taste good too?:D

Best of the New Year to you, Antonio!

Hello Jim.
Thank you for commenting.

The values for the last picture are: Manual; 1/13 s; f/5.6; ISO 100; 135 mm and the flash was in E-TTL. I can remember that the flash was at +2 power and the Stofen was on.
One of my difficulties was where to place the gray card.
I put it inside the tent but ... what angle towards the camera ?
I put it in a slope of about say ... 35 degrees and the sensor was all covered with it. I mean the photo was totally gray.
Then, I set the WB from there.

I have been thinking that may be, just may be, as to get the histogram to the right and to the light it is always - or most of the time - necessary to apparently overexpose a bit, why not always shoot at (-) 1/3 ?

Stupid thought ? I really don't know...
It is like to assume that the camera always read under-exposure by (+) 1/3.


The cake was good to eat Jim. Sorry you can't taste it !
But I do know you will have many tasteful cakes to eat in a couple of days...
However, be aware of the cholesterol (i kid on this and say Castrol) and sugar levels in blood.

Cheers:D

Scott_Quier

Antonio,

PF is absolutely correct. When working studio, the conditions don't change (or at least not much).

Shoot 100% manual - camera and flash. Dial it in to get the histogram where you want/need it to be. From that point one, light color and intensity will be a constant, making the photography much easier. ETT-L will cause things to change for no obvious reason. Under these conditions, you need only take one photo of the gray card for WB purposes (since you are not changing the lighting ).

As for the angle of the gray card - only if it has a reflective surface should angle to the camera be a significant concern. Inside the light tent you have set up, the color of light should be fairly constant.

Antonio Correia

Thank you Scott.
I'll do so.

Have - your Familly and yourself - a nice and Healthy 2008

Scott_Quier

Antonio Correia wrote:

Thank you Scott.
I'll do so.

Have - your Familly and yourself - a nice and Healthy 2008

Thanks for the well-wishes. May your and your family enjoy a prosperous and healthy year as well!