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11/24/2005 10:44:23 PM · #1 |
As some of you may be aware, I (the ultimate "non-flasher", I've always hated them) acquired a Canon 430EX Speedlight to shoot a wedding last week. I was stunned at how powerful it is and how well it performs when bounced off a white ceiling. Today at Thanksgiving my neighbors' 8-month old grandaughter, Rosie Jack, was in attendance, and I shot her in front of a very large still life on my big wall. I also shot a couple grab shots of her Grandpa Mark to illustrate the difference between built-in flash on 20D and bounced speedlight:
These are absolutely straight from camera except resize and USM; they weren't intended to be "good" shots, just to show the lighting. Note especially the difference in color values ΓΆ€” the bounced light is a much more natural warm.
 
And here's "Still Life with Rosie":
 
Comments are welcome :-)
Robt. |
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11/24/2005 10:48:35 PM · #2 |
| I also broke down and purchased a good flash for my camera and it has made a world of difference when it is needed!! The pictures of that little gal are wonderful! |
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11/24/2005 10:56:26 PM · #3 |
Now that is one happy and adorable little girl! I really like first one of her as it has kind of a relaxed, jolly feel to it. :-) Bounced flash has made such a difference for me that I don't really know how I lived without it for so long. The lightsphere is fun to play with too, just in case you were looking for another little gadget to add to arsenal. :-)
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11/24/2005 10:58:23 PM · #4 |
microstock has been treating me very well lately so i got a 580ex and a 430ex as a slave unit. Been having a lot of fun with them. Also got the photojournalist II light diffuser by gary fong, it was highly recommended by a friend who does a lot of flash photography and I've been really pleased with it so far.
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11/24/2005 11:00:41 PM · #5 |
The one of the gentleman on the right is warmer, I agree. It has a red tint in the skin tones and the mouldings. Not knowing the gentleman I wouldn't be able to say which picture is closer to his actual skin tone. But I do have to say that for some reason, to me, the straight on flash looks more natural, in terms of skin tone.
Great job on shooting the little girl. She's a cutie.
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11/24/2005 11:05:19 PM · #6 |
| Yes Robt, I have a 420EX and I bounce it 9 times out of 10. I love the even light you can get off a normal white ceiling. |
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11/24/2005 11:09:55 PM · #7 |
But why stop at just bouncing off ceilings? I've bounced off of walls, blinds and even the floor. Got this one by bouncing my 420ex off the carpet up onto his face. I've gotten some interesting effects sometimes. Of course, I've gotten alot of crud that way too. :-)
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11/24/2005 11:16:47 PM · #8 |
Oh, I'll bounce off anything. It's just that my house has a high, angled ceiling so it works beautifuuly as a bouncer. It's about 14 feet high over the wall the painting's on, and 9 feet high on the outer wall (behind me).
As for the color issue on the shots of Mark, remember they are completely unadjusted. For sure I'd peel a little of the warm off the bounced image. In fact, I did so with Rosie. But I wanted to show the differences.
Robt. |
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11/25/2005 01:13:45 AM · #9 |
Robert, I'm curious about the color balance. The 20D's onboard flash makes it look a bit on the cool side to my eye; while the external flash is warm the way I like most of my photos, but perhaps a bit too warm. Would you try to find ways to get the color closer to what you want by adjusting camera or flash; or would you just take what it gives and do the adjusting in post?
I have a 580 but haven't used it enough to feel comfortable with it. I am pretty much a "non-flasher" myself. I tried using it for my sports action shooting (night football games and basketball in dim gyms) but don't really care for the look too much. Don't always have something good to bounce off of.
Just read your OP again. Do you attribute the warmer color of the external flash to the fact that it was bounced? as opposd to straight on with the 20D's flash?
Message edited by author 2005-11-25 01:17:15.
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11/25/2005 01:18:35 AM · #10 |
I've always liked the bounced flash effect. I think it would be easier to adjust colours afterwards if one needed to, than if one used a straight on flash.
Could one adjust the WB while using the bounced flash for better results? |
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11/25/2005 06:38:38 AM · #11 |
Originally posted by bear_music:
These are absolutely straight from camera except resize and USM; they weren't intended to be "good" shots, just to show the lighting. Note especially the difference in color values ΓΆ€” the bounced light is a much more natural warm.
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And does the colour of the ceiling or walls make much difference to the 'warmth'? - I always assumed bouncing off a pure white surface would just diffuse the light, not colour it.
By the way, does everyone where you live have beards? :) |
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11/25/2005 08:17:33 AM · #12 |
i have a 580EX and i never use it unless i bounce it of somthing hehe
This is one of my fav pictures, prolly cuz its of my son and this was taken with lights of but flash bouncing of the wall to the left |
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11/25/2005 10:20:36 AM · #13 |
i don't see why not - i do it quite a bit. but more for a cooler effect than a warmer one. but should work either way. if i am just using the flash and no other lights, i use the flash whhite balance setting. if there are other lights besides the flash, i'll set a custom white balance or use the tungston setting.
Originally posted by heatherd:
Could one adjust the WB while using the bounced flash for better results? |
Message edited by author 2005-11-25 10:21:10.
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11/25/2005 01:35:06 PM · #14 |
It's ironic that a bounced flash often produces a warm / reddish cast, since most ceiling white paint has a slight blue tint added to it to make it appear "whiter". You'd almost expect it to be cooler, wouldn't you?
BTW Robert, thanks for offering your rationale for the post.
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11/25/2005 02:13:49 PM · #15 |
Originally posted by coolhar:
Robert, I'm curious about the color balance. The 20D's onboard flash makes it look a bit on the cool side to my eye; while the external flash is warm the way I like most of my photos, but perhaps a bit too warm. Would you try to find ways to get the color closer to what you want by adjusting camera or flash; or would you just take what it gives and do the adjusting in post?
I have a 580 but haven't used it enough to feel comfortable with it. I am pretty much a "non-flasher" myself. I tried using it for my sports action shooting (night football games and basketball in dim gyms) but don't really care for the look too much. Don't always have something good to bounce off of.
Just read your OP again. Do you attribute the warmer color of the external flash to the fact that it was bounced? as opposd to straight on with the 20D's flash? |
There's no difference in color between the on-board flash and the speedlight flashing directly on subject that I can see, in earlier tests at the church. Exactly why the bounced flash is warmer I am not sure. I had assumed that the paint is absorbing more of the cooler end of the spectrum, but that's simply supposition in my part. It may simply be that the flash is bouncing off more than just the ceiling, and most of what else it is bouncing off of is a warmer color. For example, in the shot of Mark in my house, there's an exposed beam in natural pine just a little above and behind me.
It would be very easy to correct for with custom WB, or by using a "degrees kelvin" WB shift, which the 20D provides. However, the results are not displeasing to me, are easy to adjust in PP, and are completely consistent (i.e. can batch-process an entire shoot if needed to alter color throw). The disadvantage to using a custom WB would be if I am switiching between flash and non-flash shots; I'd have to remember to switch the WB each time as well. I find the straight results perfectly adequate. But I like warm pictures...
As to "everyone with beards", I have one and Mark has one, and we are the only two guys I have posted shots of in here, so that's a pretty limited sampling :-) The overall distribution of beards ont he Cape seems to be perfectly normal.
Robt. |
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