After reading in-depth Planet Neil, I feel my knowledge on flash photograph has done a 180. Amazing, understandable information. You are doing a great service for all of us who want to reach for the next level. THANK YOU! Kudos! ~Amanda

Amanda .. you could do it that way, although there are other approaches to using manual flash which is easier to use. I’ll be adding more about this on future blog posts.

And yes, you can dial down your manual flash in 1/3rd stop increments as need for a wider aperture.

Neil vN

I set up some test shots today using my Pocketwizard to trigger my 580ex using a PC sync cord, with the Speedlite shooting into an umbrella. Of course, there is no TTL utilized.

I haven’t jumped into using my 580 in manual mode, but understand that is what is called for in this type of scenario. Am I on the right track here to assume you would set up your subject, set the camera to (eh, i dunno, let’s say) ISO 200 and 1/125. Then, set the Speedlite to M and then set the output to 1/1 and take a reading on a meter. Based on the reading, set the aperture accordingly. True?

Then, I assume if the output was too much, or if you wanted a wider aperture, you can dial it down based on the 1/3 stop increments???

I’m so new to this, but excited for the knowledge. If you covered this, please direct me to the right link. I’d like to use off camera lighting on-location without TTL (since my pocket book can’t afford the transmitter yet ;).

Thanks so much!!!! -Amanda

Hi there Sam …

It depends on the groups you’re talking about.
For family formals I wouldn’t use f2.8

But for the photos shown here of people dancing, then f4 is adequate since the images will rarely be blown up to a great size.
Instead, most will never be larger than 4×6

I also need one central point / person in focus.
In this instance it would be the bride.

About the exposure problem you describe, it does sound to me like your settings are such that your background will be too dark. You need to lower your shutter speed, and use a wider aperture (the 17-85 isn’t going to help you here), and use a higher ISO … and then your ambient exposure will be brighter.

And then make sure you don’t over-expose your subjects with flash.

Neil vN

Love your lighting technniques, in fact i have been reading your site for quite some time now. Always read your site for inspiration. Tried to applied some of your techniques, some worked some don’t.

I seem to have problem with exposure when the ambient light is dim like in a restaurant. The background looks fine but the subject will most of the time overexposed (clipped image in the histogram). When i dialed down the flash exposure, the image looks dark. I shoot RAW, and most of the photos i’ve taken, i need to readjust their exposure in the RAW software, to removed the clipped area, before i can use them, is this the normal process?

Another thing is i noticed you almost set all your photos apperture in the range of 2.8-4, won’t this affect your picture range of sharpness when you take group photos?

I shoot with Canon 400D, 17-85mm lens, with 580EXII.

Brgds,
Sam

Tomasz

Megs ?

Hi there …

I lit it in exactly the same way. But because I was turned away from the light on the DJ’s speaker, the light from the secondary flash was less obvious on the background than the examples I showed here.

How do I manage to hold the 580EX and camera in either hand?
If I do this, I am using the zoom mostly at specific focal lengths. And then I don’t need my other hand to zoom.

Witih my hand outstretched, I can reach behind guests with the direction my light comes from. It’s much more flexible than a flash bracket.

And I rarely use a flash bracket – mostly because of the way the Canon 1-series D-SLR’s hesitate when the camera is hunting for the IR-beam which is often mis-aligned from the correct axis. This happens because, unlike the Nikon SC-19 cable allows, the Canon TTL cable doesn’t allow the IR-beam to be emitted from the camera like it should.

I hope this helps.

Neil.

How did you light it ? I’m guessing a remote flash or two ?

How do you manage to shoot holding a 580EX in one hand and the camera in the other hand ? Why aren’t you using a frame or putting the 580EX on the camera ?

Thanks

Hi there George and David and Lisa …

As it happens I am busy writing a book. It will hopefully be published later in 2008. :)

David .. the easiest way to get updates is to set your RSS feed to check for this blog. Any time that a new post appears, you’ll automatically be notified.

Neil.