"…the art is in selecting what is worthwhile to take the trouble of photographing…" - Berenice Abbott
“Remember, not everything is a picture. A good eye can edit before the shutter opens." - Craig Coverdale
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| © In Sook Kim |
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| © In Sook Kim |
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| © In Sook Kim |
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| © In Sook Kim |
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| © In Sook Kim |
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| © In Sook Kim |
Video as seen on The Strobist website blog
(David Hobby's blog - one of the photographers in the video below)
Overpowering the Sun article and video on Profoto's website
GuessTheLighting.com blog by Ted Sabarese
Mixing Ambient with Flash
Your camera's maximum flash sync speed will be an important factor in
mixing ambient light with flash. Consider changing your ISO to achieve
the maximum sync speed if necessary.
Shutter speed controls the ambient light and has no effect on your flash exposure.
4 Factors that do control flash exposure:
- Power setting on flash
- Distance to subject
- ISO
- Aperture
Where to start:
Find an interesting composition and try to place your model in fairly even light if possible as this will make your foreground lighting much easier. Use your in-camera light meter to determine proper exposure for the entire scene. From here, you have a few options that mainly have to due with what tonality you would like the background.
Option 1: Fill Flash with Normal BG = If you are happy with the foreground and background exposure, you can then add a fill-flash if you would like to enhance mainly the shadows of your model without effecting much of the background. Try your flash 1.5 to 3 stops under the ambient exposure (use manual mode flash setting and using a light meter read 1.5 to 3 stops more open from ambient exposure, or use -1.5 to -3 EV setting in TTL mode).
Option 2: Brighter BG = If you want the background brighter, then over-expose the ambient light by purposely shooting +1 or +2 with your in-camera light meter. Obviously your foreground subject will then be too bright. You must then diffuse or block the light from your foreground subject using something like a light panel or flex fill.
Option 3: Darker BG = This option is fairly common. If you want the background darker, then under-expose the ambient light
by purposely shooting -1 or -2 with your in-camera light meter. Obviously your foreground subject will then be too dark, but you can then easily use flash to give correct exposure for your foreground subject.
Here's a tip - If you are shooting in bright conditions (outside during the day):
- Immediately go to max sync speed (usually 1/125, 1/180, or 1/250 depending on your camera)
- Use ISO 100
- Find your aperture for the amount of ambient exposure you want (see the above 3 options)
- Find your correct flash exposure for the foreground subject (manual or TTL mode)
Further explanation can be found here...
along with other great speedlight flash tutorials on photographer Neil Van Niekerk's website:
Further consideration is Dragging Your Shutter for brighter backgrounds (especially shot at night), or...
High Speed Sync (which allows for shutter speeds faster than max sync speed, but drastically reduces flash output)
High Speed Sync (which allows for shutter speeds faster than max sync speed, but drastically reduces flash output)
