Why use flash if high ISO produces little noise?

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

09/02/2011 10:10:40 PM · #1

Hello Everyone,

I have my 1st engagement photography assignment tonight. I'm in a dilemma. I'm a bit apprehensive about flash photography although I have had successes using it before. Since this is a paid assignment I don't want my flash to screw up the photos.

Please take a look at my Christchurch Charity Dinner photos. They were taken without flash and the ISO is 1000. I used my kit lens which is 18-105mm. What do you think?

So, here's my question. Why use flash if high ISO produces little noise only? What is the advantange of flash in this sense?

Thank you!

Ang

BrennanOB

Canon EOS-1D Mark II

09/02/2011 10:40:35 PM · #2

For one thing it gets rid of shadows over the eyes and gives eyes a nice catchlight to make them sparkle, and in group shots you can worry less about people standing in each other's light. just be sure to dial it down so the flash is a supplement to the natural light, not the atmosphere killing- subject blinding monster it so often becomes.

tanguera

Nikon D750

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8D IF-ED

09/03/2011 12:54:22 AM · #3

The lighting in the images you showed us is all over the place. There were also colored lights which may look pretty in the room but cast all sorts of weird colors on their faces. There are also lots of uneven lighting areas, especially on the faces, as a result from lighting from below or from above. The flash will even it all out (in the good sense).

ETA, if you think the flash is distracting, you might use a reflector - although that requires a consistent light source.

Message edited by author 2011-09-03 00:54:57.

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 28-300mm f3.5-5.6G ED VR

09/03/2011 05:49:41 AM · #4

Hello everyone,

Thank you very much for your input. I value them a lot.

Ang

NikonJeb

Nikon D850

09/03/2011 08:59:32 AM · #5

I looked at your profile after looking at your dinner pics......it prompted me to look at your FB images. I was greatly relieved to see your flower pics. It was nice to see their quality. There's a weird cast to the dinner pics that, at least to me, is almost unpleasant. The colors aren't natural. I don't know if it was something that happened in post, or because the lighting in the building is peculiar. I have a D7000 as well, and I've never seen anything like that come out of mine. Hopefully, you can edit them to have them look more realistic.

As far as your original question, I am thrilled with the performance of my D7000 'cause I *hate* flash (mostly due to my being completely inept with it) and have been quite happy to be able to shoot a lot indoors without it. HOWEVER.....you have to be very careful to watch where your light comes from, or doesn't, and shadows can be real killers until you get used to how to do it. The high ISO performance is stellar, but it's still better to be able to control your light, which you can do with a flash, or a lightstand....or at least some people can......sigh....

David Ey

Nikon D80

Nikon AF Micro-Nikkor 60mm f2.8D

09/03/2011 10:38:32 AM · #6

Jeb and I agree. Looks like your WB is off.

chromeydome

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

09/03/2011 04:01:28 PM · #7

ditto on the white balance--it looks like you had a situation with wildly varying light sources, which is inherently problematic. In each image, you could attempt to find something that "should" be white or gray, do an eyedropper WB correction, and see if it helps. In all that mixed iighting, well, I think you may have some difficulties no matter what. I would go for the most natural looking skin tones you can manage, where the skin is lit with normal light. Let the colored lights fall where they may. If it were me, I would probably go to black and white conversions which should be a little more forgiving in this case.

As for the general use of flash, well, that is a HUGE topic. If you are not familiar or confident with it, you can put your speedlight on full auto ttl, use a stofen diffuser, and put your d7000 on auto. There is an auto fill mode on the nikon speedlights that can help you out without the flash becoming the dominant/primary source of light. You can fire a few shots, chimp em and see (a) if you like the result, and (b) check the settings the camera chose for you, then go into manual or aperture priority, and set them the way you like best.

MelonMusketeer

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

Nikon MF 50mm f/1.4

09/03/2011 06:08:15 PM · #8

If you are planning to buy a flash to work with a D7000, be aware that the hot-shoe and software in the 7000 does not support any of the older flash units for TTL and many other functions. I have an older SB28, and have to use it either "manual" or in the "auto" mode and aperture priority when I use it. A new flash is at the top of my priority list now.
As others have said, the mixed lighting that looks like stage lights causes a lot of problems with the posted images. When you have different colored lights positioned around the scene and shining on the subjects, the shadows of each light will be filled with the light from the others, causing what I seem to be seeing with the W B in the photos you posted. I have been able to get away with fixing some of that by reducing saturation some, or converting to B&W or sepia. Another tough situation is when you have an odd colored light like incandescent in a room and there is daylight coming through a window. Daylight is very blue compared to incandescent, which looks orange in photos, so one side of the subject will look blue, and the other side orange.
It is great to be able to shoot indoors using higher iso instead of flash, and it works well if the lighting is not mixed. The VR2 glass helps a lot too, allowing low enough shutter speeds to get the shots if people are not moving much.

Nuno

Nikon D700

09/03/2011 10:12:36 PM · #9

most of the photos seem a bit underexposed on the subjects. So the iso could be a bit up, probably at 1600 at least.

And some photos seem "soft" also, probably due to slow shutter speed.

when I'm doind this type of photos for a costumer I alway sdo photos with and withought flash, so I can have both.

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8D IF-ED

09/04/2011 12:34:56 AM · #10

Hello Everyone,

Thanks for your opinion. Here's a photo which I took yesterday, with flash. What do you think?

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ppvoZ7aNW3TX510JnsiQZO-5T51uNXlw8aBO1ehWAcU?feat=directlink

By the way, the bride was applying oil onto the groom's finger in preparation for the wedding ring :-)

Ang

tanguera

Nikon D750

09/04/2011 02:12:15 AM · #11

The flash in this case is very natural looking. Great image!

chromeydome

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

09/04/2011 03:20:23 AM · #12

I agree!

Nicely done :-)