Tips on shooting manual with flash

LRussoPhoto · February 24, 2012

I am going to a Baptism and would like to take photos using manual mode. I will be using a d90 with a 18-200 nikkor lens and a sb9000. Trying to learn how to use manual with a strobe. Any good starting points of suggestions as far as camera settings?

spinero · February 24, 2012

That's a year's worth of work to learn
But here's enough to get you started. On full manual, camera and flash.

1. Always start with getting a reading on ambient. You can either eyeball it so that it is one or two stops underexposed, or use an automatic setting to get you there. That means, without flash, the manual setting on the camera should be a little dark. Set manual settings to this setting.

2. Set up the light. If you have the flash off camera (you should) and the flash stays the same distance from the subjects (that's best), then you can set the flash power so that it illuminates the subject correctly.

In theory, that is how it works.

In practice, you need to at least learn how the inverse square law works. I will help you out by telling you that the further the light to the subject, the less the exposure will change with distance. That means if your light is close to the subject, you will constantly have exposure problems if the subject is moving.

All of this adds up to, at this type of event, if you have the flash off camera, put it far enough away to evenly light the subjects. if you have the flash on camera, bounce it off of something so that the light travels a distance and the settings on the flash won't change too much or at all.

As you get better at it, there are so many other ways you can set up your flash.

I discuss some of this on my blog. http://blog.sampinero.com/?p=100

Sam

Nikolai · February 24, 2012

QuadRacer041 wrote: »

I am going to a Baptism and would like to take photos using manual mode. I will be using a d90 with a 18-200 nikkor lens and a sb9000. Trying to learn how to use manual with a strobe. Any good starting points of suggestions as far as camera settings?

The first thing I'd do is to check with the venue if they even allow any serious flash work to be done inside. Many houses of worship have fairly strict rules about that. Once you do that you will also learn how close you can get, as the flash efficiency, an with any light source's, drops proprotionally to the squared distance value.

jpc · February 24, 2012

I recently shot a baptism in a church that was relatively well-lit. Flash was NOT allowed and the priest made that very clear. I was using a D700 and a Sigma 85 1.4. Settings were F2.0, 1/160 and ISO 3200+ the entire time.

Having owned a D90, I can tell you that there's no way I could have pulled it off with a D90 and an 18-200 using ambient light.

As Nikolai said, you need to find out if flash is allowed. If it's not, that church had better be lit like a stadium.

I visited the church the week before, took test shots and spoke with the priest. A little recon goes a long way.

Nikolai · February 24, 2012

jpc wrote: »

I visited the church the week before, took test shots and spoke with the priest. A little recon goes a long way.

+1
That what I do when it comes to this matter. Show up a few days before (and not when they busy), introduce myself, ask about the "house rules", get the lay of the land lighting wise and shooting positions wise...

LRussoPhoto · February 24, 2012

Thank you guys for the info.

Tips on shooting manual with flash

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