Camera/Photography questions?

hi guys,
I just wanted to let you know that I'm a professional photographer (when I'm not being a full-time mom), and I'd be happy to help answer questions about photography/ taking pictures.

There are also MANY other talented scrapper-photographers here on the site. So if you have a question, please fire away and I know one of us will glad to offer an opinion or share what works for us!

I have a question!

I've been having trouble w/ my speedlight lately. W/ my new lenses (see other thread - I've mostly been shooting w/ a Canon 50D and the lens is 50mm/1.2 L series), the speedlight doesn't seem to work well (when the camera is on auto). When I was using commercial grade lenses, it worked just fine.

I cannot for the life of me figure out how to shoot in manual w/ the flash... How do you know how much light to factor in when setting the ISO/shutter/f/stop, if you're using a flash?

This is probably a dumb question, but I am stuck.

Thanks

Lisa, that is NOT a dumb question! Personally, I think mastering flash is one of the most difficult aspects of photography. Maybe THE most difficult part!

I hope other people will chime in with their advice to answer your question about how much flash to use when shooting manually.

I like to use trial and error a lot. It depends on whether I'm relying on the flash to provide a significant amount of light for the exposure, or whether I'm using it as a fill to bounce out facial shadows or prevent back-lighting.

If I'm using the flash for significant amount of light for people/portraits, I usually use it at TTL mode full power, either bounced off a ceiling or a nearby wall, or with my LightSphere (a diffuser that you can use when shooting flash straight towards a person to soften the light and reduce harsh background shadows.)

But if I'm using the flash pointed directly at the person for a fill light, I reduce the power on the flash to provide just enough light for the situation. And that requires several shots of trial & error, checking the screen and histogram, and remembering what worked for similar setups in the past.

For example, if I'm the bright sun shooting kids on the playground, I use some flash to prevent their faces/bodies from being dark/backlit/hollow black eyesocket-ish. But I don't want TOO much flash, because then their faces will be over-exposed and the background may be SUPER-over-exposed. So if I'm working at an aperture of say, f/8, and a shutter speed of 1/200, I might dial the flash down to -1 or more and see how it looks. Distance from the subject matters, too. The closer you are, the less flash you need for fill, so you may need to dial the flash down further to get the right amount.

Today I was actually doing this on the playground. I got a good exposure using:

1/250, f.5, flash pointed forward at -1.7, ISO 200.

Then I got more good exposures using: 1/60, f/11, flash pointed forward at -1.7, and ISO 200.

Basically, I decided which aperture/shutter speed combo I wanted, then added flash, and dialed it down until I got the amount that "looked" right and a histogram that also looked OK.

I always make sure my flash is using the most advanced TTL mode, because if I'm using the flash at full power, I do want it to "best guess" how much light is needed to complete my exposure. If it's not right, then I start adjusting.

I generally ALWAYS want to bounce my flash when I can, though. And when I bounce, I know that lots of light gets eaten up, so I don't often need to dial down the power when bouncing. I usually only adjust it when doing the fill technique. Of course you can't usually bounce your light outdoors (unless you bring a reflector or have a nice outdoor wall to use), so that is where I mostly use trial/error fill flash.

Now I know that there are people who say that you can use the Guide Number of the flash and look at charts in your camera manual to figure out the right combo of aperture / distance from subject / flash output for your picture. But I don't use these. For me, the trial/error works better and is really very quick. It DOES mean that I have to do some test shots before doing my "real" shots, but that's OK. It's rare that I really have to jump blind into the action, anyway. There is usually always time to try a few shots and adjust as needed for starting the real shooting, for me.

Another comment on bouncing the light: I always know that if I'm bouncing the flash off a ceiling, I want full flash and sometimes even MORE than it think is full, so I'll adjust it to +2/3 or so. If I'm bouncing off a nearby wall, sometimes full flash is fine. If the wall is really close AND bright and reflective, then I sometime need to dial the flash down.

I will write another post with some links to websites that have good info on using flash, both in auto & manual mode. I'll also think about this some more and add more thoughts in a bit!

WOW. Thanks Jennifer!!! I think I need to start by reading the manual that came w/ the speedlight. I only started shooting in manual a few months ago and I have so much to learn. I feel so much better now - at least I don't feel like a complete incompetent!

Have you taken a lot of photography classes or did you just learn it all on your own?

hi Lisa, the manual is helpful and I definitely recommend it. Here are a few other sites that I like for flash advice. I find with flash that I have to read the info many times, then just practice a TON until it becomes natural to me. But again, flash is tough and it takes lots of time.


A Canon USA site that gives an overview of when to dial the flash up or down for fill light:
http://www.usa.canon.com/dlc/controller?act=GetArticleAct&articleID=106


Flash Photography using Canon speedlights: (a general overview)
http://photonotes.org/articles/eos-flash/

A site from DP answers on using Canon flash, and when to use flash compensation:
http://dpanswers.com/canon_flash.html

One of my favorite articles about "dragging the shutter" and using flash in manual mode:
http://www.planetneil.com/tangents/flash-photography-techniques/3-dragging-the-shutter/

PS - edited to add: I learned a lot of photography from my dad, who was a photographer on the side (and still is). I have a degree in chemical engineering and never took any formal photography classes; I learned on my own by practicing and reading a LOT of books & tutorials and just spending literally hundreds of hours with the camera. I'm still learning. In the past, before I had my dd, I taught basic photography classes and portrait photography classes through my city's parks/rec department and loved it!

This is just awesome. I'm so happy to have you as a resource! Looks like I'll be spending some time reading and practicing this weekend Thanks!

Wow Jennifer! You are going to be an awesome resource to have around.

I almost always bounce my flash as well. Makes for less shadows and gives me more control. Reading the manual always helps! I typically set my flash to manual and then adjust it from there. Once I test a few times and get it close to what I want, I adjust where it is pointing to give me more or less power. Like if it is a little too strong, I will tilt it back a notch or away from the subject slightly.

Lori, you too!

I should add that rarely -- but still once in a while -- I will actually swivel my flash and bounce it off something BEHIND me, like a close white wall. I do this when I want light, but not direct light, and if there is a very close reflective surface I can use. It's not for every situation but it's something to keep in mind!

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