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05/27/2006 09:37:45 PM · #1 |
Not sure how stupid my question is, but here it goes: How do I get my Speedlite 430EX to be set as a fill flash?
Thank you!
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05/27/2006 10:00:42 PM · #2 |
Set your camera in one of the automatic modes and dial in -1 or -2 flash exposure compensation. You can go full manual too, dial in the correct (non-flash) exposure and then dial in the negative flash. That's the way I do it.
R.
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05/27/2006 11:02:44 PM · #3 |
I do it the way Bear said (in manual mode)... Here's how I estimate the proper exposure to begin with:
1) Set the camera to Av mode with the aperture set to what I want for the DOF that I want.
2) Focus on something around the mid-point of my subject (i.e. not a highlight and not a shadow) and press the shutter half way. Note the shutter speed that the camera picked. (I might actually take a picture at this point and check the histogram to be sure of what I'm getting)
3) Now quickly switch to Manual mode and dial in the aperture I picked in step #1 and the shutter speed the camera picked in step #2.
4) With the flash turned on, take the picture.
If you get too much flash, you could dial it down on the flash. If you want the flash to light the subject (make it stand out from the background), you might increase the shutter speed one or two stops.
Message edited by author 2006-05-27 23:03:21. |
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05/28/2006 01:07:13 AM · #4 |
Originally posted by dwterry:
If you want the flash to light the subject (make it stand out from the background), you might increase the shutter speed one or two stops. |
By which you mean, underexpose the background? Being sure to use the flash at normal power in this case? It's not entirely clear in the wording.
People should be aware of their synch-speeds, and not set a faster shutter speed than that, but slower is fine. There's also the issue of understanding the relationship of these things to the flash exposure: the shutter speed and aperture control the exposure of the background, of anything NOT lit by the flash, and the power the flash is used at controls the brightness of the (near) subject. Steinar's ribbon-winning Jump picture is a perfect illustration of the concept.
For a lot of people this may be second nature, but to a LOT more it seems to be one of the more obtuse concepts to try to grasp. I'm not sure why. It might be worth a tutorial by someone who does it a lot. I used to do it as a professional, of course; our architectural interiors required just such a balancing of light, for example. But I'm just a dabbler in it when it comes to dSLRs and on-camera flashes; I've barely scratched the surface of my 430EX.
Robt.
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05/28/2006 03:50:43 AM · #5 |
Doesn't the camera/flash combination automatically switch to fill-flash mode when used in aperture priority? All you have to watch is your shutter speed going too high (does the 430 have FP mode?). You can control the background exposure using the normal exposure compensation and that of the subject by using the flash exposure compensation.
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05/28/2006 05:56:33 PM · #6 |
Thanks, everyone! I will get some practicing with that information!!!
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06/16/2006 06:12:41 PM · #7 |
| Some of you have mentioned to be careful of setting your shutter speed too high. If I have the 430ex in high-speed sync mode, would I still need to worry about setting the shutter speed too high? |
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06/17/2006 12:06:58 PM · #8 |
Originally posted by mizzou_photos:
Some of you have mentioned to be careful of setting your shutter speed too high. If I have the 430ex in high-speed sync mode, would I still need to worry about setting the shutter speed too high? |
Depends whether the flash is being used as primary light source or as fill flash. Usually when you are using a very high shutter speed the flash is being used as fill, and you can do this. But when you use high-speed synch and very high shutter speeds, you effectively cut the power of the flash, so you need to take that into account.
Robt.
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06/17/2006 01:27:14 PM · #9 |
| Check out this really informative site for info on flash and EOS |
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