red eye with flash

rhdesigns · April 18, 2009

Im kinda new to shooting with flash in the dark. Im using a d300, with the sb-900 flash and trying to shoot motorcycle races at night. I was wondering if there is anyway that i can get away from having red eyes in the shots?
thanks
ryan

pathfinder · April 18, 2009

Yes.

Move your flash off your camera about 15 feet to your right or left.

On a more serious note, the red eye occurs because your flash tube is very near to your shooting axis, and the rider's pupils are widely dilated to allow them to see in the dim light.

You can correct the red eye with software after the fact, but to avoid getting it when shooting with on camera flash after dark will probably not be possible. The distance between you and your subjects makes the angle between the flash and the shooting axis get closer and closer as you shoot from farther away from your subjects.

Really Right Stuff does make flash brackets to raise the flash 8 - 15 inches or so higher than your telephoto lens axis, and wildlife shooters do find them helpful, but they tend to be shooting slowly from a heavy tripod, and I doubt you would like the imbalance raising your flash 15 inches or so. It will create an unwieldy package for fast hand held tracking at a motorcycle event.

Some Point & Shoots use a preflash to constrict the pupil before the real exposure, but this will not work for a shooting a high speed motosports event.

rhdesigns · April 19, 2009

thanks for the help. I had a feeling that it may be tough to get rid of. If i ever get a chance to fabricate some kind of stand for the flash that i can easily place 15 feet away, i will try it.
thanks again

pathfinder · April 19, 2009

Actually 5 feet will probably do it, but unless you have a way to control the flash output wirelessly, I don't think you probably want to shoot manual flash for motorsports shooting. I could be wrong, but iTTL(Nikon) or ETTL)Canon ) makes is so much easier.

Pocket Wizard has released their new FlexTT5 radio ETTL- iTTL flash triggers and they look rather interesting, and would let you do just that. I am in the process of evaluating mine, I just took delivery of a pair this week.

Don't use a light stand in a crowd, it might get knocked over. Use a Justin clamp That's what Joe McNally calls them - you can hang a speedlite almost anywhere with them. With a pair of FLexTT5s, you can put your light wherever you need it. If you go to the B&W website, you can just enter Justin clamp in their search box and find it immediately. That is how I found the link above for you.

rutt · April 19, 2009

What about learning to bounce the flash instead of using it directly? This flash looks like it can do that. It will fix this problem and take your portraits to a completely different level. If you do make one investment in equipment, consider some sort of flash diffuser. Explore these directions first and you'll make a big improvement while eliminating red eye completely.

pathfinder · April 19, 2009

I did not think there would be a ceiling bounce off of at an outdoor motocycle track.

Bouncing will work off of a wall, though, or a sheet of fabric, like a Californian Sun Bounce panel.

rutt · April 19, 2009

Oops, didn't read closely enough. Still a diffuser would be a good thing to have in your tool box.

time2smile · April 19, 2009

I've seen a sports post were the photographer used a monopd and mounted the flash toward the bottom of the pod with a superclamp. With the D300 I think you can cammander the flash so you dont need a cable or popper.
It did a wonderful job, highlighted the face and eliminated that downward shadow you get from wearing helmets.

Good Luck

pathfinder · April 19, 2009

Here is the link to Randy's original post. here

Looks like the pictures are no longer available. There is no fence at ground level along the sidelines at a football game, but at a motocross track I suspect there is some safety fencing that might interfere.

If there is no fencing, clamping a flash to your monopod your camera is on, about 3 feet further down, might actually work for you. May need an OEM off camera cord to automate your flash or something.

time2smile · April 20, 2009

pathfinder wrote:

Here is the link to Randy's original post. here

Looks like the pictures are no longer available. There is no fence at ground level along the sidelines at a football game, but at a motocross track I suspect there is some safety fencing that might interfere.

If there is no fencing, clamping a flash to your monopod your camera is on, about 3 feet further down, might actually work for you. May need an OEM off camera cord to automate your flash or something.

Thanks Pathfinder, here is a link to the tutorial
http://dgrin.smugmug.com/gallery/3737879

pathfinder · April 20, 2009

That's It!!

Great stuff!!

red eye with flash

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