Shooting with fill flash at sunset

Sigma 15-30mm f/3.5-4.5 EX Aspherical DG DF for Minolta

11/04/2006 12:33:35 AM · #1

Just making sure i have this right! When shooting portraits at sunset, I should lock my exposure on the sky, recompose and then shoot. Then I will get just the right amount of fill flash. I will also be using my Fong. :)

I usually shoot in Av mode. Say I focus on the sky and get an exposure of f/5.6 at 1/250th. Can I switch to Manual, dial in f/5.6 & 1/250th and still get the correct amount of fill flash?

Thanks :)

MrEd

Sony DSLR-A100

11/04/2006 12:35:51 AM · #2

Why not put it in manual, expose for the sky......then all you'd have to do is focus?

11/04/2006 12:40:48 AM · #3

Originally posted by MrEd:

Why not put it in manual, expose for the sky......then all you'd have to do is focus?

That is what I was asking. I just want to make sure fill flash works the same no matter if I am using AV mode or Manual. I am not the brightest crayon in the box when it comes to using flash..LOL

11/04/2006 12:50:53 AM · #4

You are correct.

As for the fong... if you have the clear lightsphere II, I'd suggest pointing it straight at your subject. The lightsphere will still diffuse it some. But if your sunset is still bright, you're gonna need a lot of light on the subject. Anyway, play with it.

11/04/2006 12:53:08 AM · #5

Also, if you have another flash (Canon 420EX for example), you can light your subject from the side like this:

Shot with a 420EX mounted on a light stand shooting through a white translucent umbrella.

fotomann_forever

11/04/2006 12:55:36 AM · #6

You might want to bracket the exposure some. I often find underexposing the sky just a bit is more natural looking.

11/04/2006 01:08:36 AM · #7

Originally posted by dwterry:

Also, if you have another flash (Canon 420EX for example), you can light your subject from the side like this:

Shot with a 420EX mounted on a light stand shooting through a white translucent umbrella.

I only have the 420EX. Thanks for the help...again! :)

11/04/2006 01:09:29 AM · #8

Originally posted by fotomann_forever:

You might want to bracket the exposure some. I often find underexposing the sky just a bit is more natural looking.

I can autobracket the shots with the 20d, right? Basically so it automatically takes 3 different exposures or something. I really could just go down and look at the camera..LOL

11/04/2006 01:14:01 AM · #9

Originally posted by JRalston:

I can autobracket the shots with the 20d, right? Basically so it automatically takes 3 different exposures or something. I really could just go down and look at the camera..LOL

Umm.... in this case, probably not. But don't worry, it's easy to do it manually.

The problem is that you're in manual exposure mode. So what does it mean to bracket your shots in manual exposure mode? Should the camera change the shutter speed or the aperture? In manual mode you've told it you want to control both of them yourself. So that's okay. Meter your sky. If you get, say, 1/125 at f/5.6 then take one shot at 1/60, one at 1/125 and one at 1/250.

fotomann_forever

11/04/2006 01:16:06 AM · #10

Originally posted by JRalston:

Originally posted by fotomann_forever:
You might want to bracket the exposure some. I often find underexposing the sky just a bit is more natural looking.

I can autobracket the shots with the 20d, right? Basically so it automatically takes 3 different exposures or something. I really could just go down and look at the camera..LOL

Yeah, it should autobracket... RTM ;-) Also, check what your top shutter sync is... not sure about the 20D, but the 300D is 1/200.

One last piece of advice:

With flash photography, your aperture controls the amount of flash exposure. And shutter speed controls the amount of ambient light.

So, if the background is not light enough, drag the shutter a bit. If the subject is too dark open the aperture some and vise versa.

11/04/2006 01:19:31 AM · #11

Thank you both! I really need to get a book on flash photography. Good information here.

Hopefully it goes well. Tonight is just for friends, so there is not as much pressure..LOL Still, I want to get it right. Thanks :)

Canon EF 28-135mm F/3.5-5.6 IS USM

11/04/2006 01:25:01 AM · #12

Originally posted by fotomann_forever:

Yeah, it should autobracket... RTM ;-)

Man, I haven't seen my manual since the day I bought the camera. But you're right. In manual mode it *still* autobrackets. It adjusts the shutter speed while leaving the aperture alone.

Learned something new tonight. I can go to bed with a smile on my face. :-)

kopa21

Canon EOS-30D

11/04/2006 01:27:42 AM · #13

Originally posted by dwterry:

Love this shot. I am getting the 580ex to use with my 420. Can I use the 580 as the master and the 420 as the slave ? Do I need anything else to make that work ?

thanks !

kopa21

fotomann_forever

11/04/2006 01:31:50 AM · #14

Originally posted by kopa21:

Do I need anything else to make that work ?

A model and a beach... LOL...

Seriously, I don't know about what can slave what ...

Edit again: You can do similar stuff with a on-camera flash and a bounce ... gold or white would be good.

Message edited by author 2006-11-04 01:34:58.

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

11/04/2006 01:47:35 AM · #15

Originally posted by kopa21:

Love this shot. I am getting the 580ex to use with my 420. Can I use the 580 as the master and the 420 as the slave ? Do I need anything else to make that work ?

The 420 won't do master, so it has to be the slave. The 580 could be master or slave, but it's cheaper to use 420's as slaves.

I like using a shoot thru umbrella because it's highly portable (more than a softbox) and it softens the light (much more than a lightsphere or other on-flash modifier would).

Sheryll

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

11/04/2006 02:39:49 AM · #16

Originally posted by fotomann_forever:

You can do similar stuff with a on-camera flash and a bounce ... gold or white would be good.

How do you bounce from an on camera flash? I'm still new so I don't have any flash equipment except the one built into the camera. You can bounce from that? Or did you mean an external flash bounced in addition to the on camera flash?