flash photography techniques
wireless TTL flash ~ flash outdoors ~ metering techniques
Speaking very broadly, there are two ways of using on-camera flash outside – either as:
- a slight fill-flash, or as
- a brute light source to lift the shadow areas of a subject to the same level as the sunlit areas.
Of course, in between that, there is a wide spectrum of possibilities, but for simplicity of explanation, I’ll show examples of those two extremes.
Metering correctly for ambient light is key here.
It is important that you understand how shutter speed, aperture and ISO inter-relate.
The following three photos are really simple in their execution. I metered correctly for the available light, and then shot with flash straight on – but my flash exposure compensation was dialed way down.
It is as simple as juggling the three inter-dependent controls – shutter speed, aperture and iso.
When I shoot this way outdoors, I usually dial my Canon speedlights down to around -2 to -3 stops. But with Nikon strobes I tend to dial down less – usually around -1.3 or -1.7 … because I then use the Nikon speedlights in TTL BL mode, which balances flash automatically with ambient light.
.
The idea here is to just use the flash to lift the shadows, and avoid shadows under the subject’s eyebrows. The flash should ideally be imperceptible, and is really only used as fill-light.
Just to round out the variety of cameras used, I should mention that the above photo was taken with a Fuji S2.
.
 |
Flash straight on, but dialed down because I wanted it as a touch of fill light only.
specific settings: The wide aperture was chosen for the minimal depth-of-field. I wanted the autumn leaves as a soft mush in the background. My exposure was chosen by chimping and making sure that the exposure on her skin was good without flash. |
.
| I used the same simple technique here as well for daylight fill-flash as with the previous photographs on this page. I set my camera to expose for ambient light, and then used flash which I dialed down.
specific settings: |
 |
.
 |
Unless you want the background to blow out, or the shadow areas to go black, you’re compelled to try something to balance the shadow areas with the brighter sunlit areas. The easiest way is usually with an on-camera speedlight.
To help with contrasty situation here I had to blast a lot of flash in order to balance the exposure between the couple and the setting. So here the light from my flash isn’t as subtle as the previous examples – but it was a necessity in order to get the photograph, and still shoot while on the move. specific settings: |
next: More on exposure metering, and using TTL flash …
photography books written by Neil vN
| Amazon USA | Amazon UK |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
newsletter / forum / workshops & seminars
Stay informed of new articles via the monthly newsletter.
Also join us on the Tangents forum for further discussions.
If you need more direct help or instruction on flash photography,
I do present workshops & seminars and also offer individual tutoring sessions.
If you find these articles interesting and of value, then you can help by
using these affiliate links to order equipment & other goodies. Thank you!
Your work is very superior to others and with your own style. Very nice.
I have a group shoot of 50 people in a class reunion. I have a D700 w/ 24-70mm and 1 sb900. What camera settngs and flash settings should I use? should flash be on camera or remote? I have a on flash diffuser that came w/sb900 or should I use bounce card? This will be shot outdoors and the forecast for this Saturday will be 74F partly cloudy and winds 8 mph.
Could you give me some advice?
Thank You,
Erik
Comment by Erik — September 16, 2009 @ 7:56 pm
Comment by Neil — September 19, 2009 @ 2:29 am
Hi Neil,
I have a Nikon D300 and SB-900 and am wanting to use it in an abandoned building for a fashion shoot,
I know its not easy to say what the settings will be due to light change, location etc but have you got any advice on how to set the exposure up etc.
I will be using a single flash gun. I also have an Infra-red trigger and of course on board flash.
Thanks
Dave
Comment by David — September 22, 2009 @ 2:16 pm
Comment by Neil — September 24, 2009 @ 9:26 am
Hi Neil,
Been an avid reader of your site for quite sometime. Anyway, I’m still trying to get my head around the outdoor flash thing. I live in the Philippines so sunlight can be pretty harsh except for the early morning or late afternoon light. Now trying to get nice photos when I’m at the beach can be a challenge. Of course these are pretty much candids for personal use and so I’m restricted to on-camera flash since I’m moving about quite a lot. I find that the only alternative is to use HSS. Under the harsh afternoon sun, I usually get readings of ISO 100, SS1000, f.8-10. Trying to blur the background by opening up my aperture just raises the shutter speed. SO, using max synch seems to be out of the question. Any ideas? Oh, btw I use a 30D and a 580 EX.
Comment by Joey Server — September 25, 2009 @ 12:53 am
Comment by Neil — October 3, 2009 @ 9:23 am
“I set my camera to expose for ambient light”
1. Please explain just how you do this.
2. Is the difference between fill light and full light from the on-camera flash, that fill flash is dialed down to something like -3 compensation, and full light is dialed up to about +3?
Many thanks
Comment by Lydia — October 5, 2009 @ 5:53 pm
Comment by Neil — October 5, 2009 @ 10:37 pm
“When I shoot this way outdoors, I usually dial my Canon speedlights down to around -2 to -3 stops. But with Nikon strobes I tend to dial down less – usually around -1.3 or -1.7 … because I then use the Nikon speedlights in TTL BL mode, which balances flash automatically with ambient light.”
Neil, why do you use TTL BL for Nikon instead of TTL? I read a post on Flickr, think it was Zeroneg1, which stated that TTL BL is for outdoors and TTl for indoors – is this your opinion as well? What is the difference between the two?
Thanks
Comment by Lydia — October 9, 2009 @ 8:44 pm
Comment by Neil — October 10, 2009 @ 2:05 am
Hi again!
I do not shoot RAW because I do not know how to process the images afterwards. So, what should I set my WB to when shooting in ambient light with flash? Thanks,
Genevieve
Comment by Genevieve — October 12, 2009 @ 12:18 pm
Comment by Neil — October 12, 2009 @ 12:26 pm
Hello,
I was wondering something. You say you metered correctly for the available light. So i guess you mean the exposure. When i meter my exposure in daylight it often is 1/30 – 1/60. How come you can get numbers like 1/250 ?
Kevin
Comment by kevin — December 24, 2009 @ 10:42 am
Comment by Neil — December 24, 2009 @ 12:20 pm
Neil, you use CTS gel with your Quantums just as you do with your speedlights?
Comment by Alfredo Medina — December 24, 2009 @ 3:18 pm
Comment by Neil — December 24, 2009 @ 4:23 pm
…then you never use cts gel when you work outdoors. Why?.
Comment by Alfredo Medina — December 24, 2009 @ 6:15 pm
Hi Neil
A further question to the one Lydia already asked. When you say that’I set my camera to expose for ambient light, and then used flash which I dialed down.’ does that mean that you metered without taking the flash into consideration (ie meter whilst flash is turned off) or with the meter with flash turned on and as usual and then simply dial down flash (with camera adjusting automatically)?
Thank you for your help! I already learned heaps by reading my way through your website. Whilst I have read quite some photo books over the years, it took your website to get my photo-brain going again. Excellent work!
Comment by Seb — December 26, 2009 @ 10:03 am
Comment by Neil — December 26, 2009 @ 4:12 pm
Hi Neil, are the photos shown on this page Photoshoped in anyway? If so, what sort of processing did you do to it?
Thanks alot for your help!
Comment by theKimsta — January 8, 2010 @ 3:11 am
Comment by Neil — January 8, 2010 @ 10:02 am
Hi Neil,
I have a Nikon D90. But my question is, when you use direct flash outdoors with the FEC dialed down to -1.3 or -1.7, do you use a diffuser on your flash such as the nikon or stofen diffuser so the light from the flash is not harsh on the skin?
Thanks in advance,
Trina
Comment by Trina Cheney — January 8, 2010 @ 11:59 pm
Comment by Neil — January 10, 2010 @ 4:26 am
Hallo,
Best website I’ve ever followed. I don’t know if my question is flash related but it is outdoor related.
When taking photos outdoors under or in between trees and other plants, I very often get this (very) slight green tint on the more exposed areas of the face. I guessed it is from reflections from lawns and or trees. It is hardly noticable but I would like to avoid it. I tried to correct it with temperature and tint combinations in RAW, but just can’t get the right balance. Will the flash help or do one use a special filter?
Hope it is a valid question and someone experienced it as well. Receiving your book in 2? days. Can’t wait.
Again, Excellent site.
Pieter
Comment by Pieter — January 18, 2010 @ 3:06 pm
Comment by Neil — January 20, 2010 @ 7:18 am
Hello Neil,
I have a D90 and 600. will shoot a wedding outdoors in april, starts 2pm or so. the couple may be under a gazebo thing. the two scenarios i’m expecting is under daylight, and one under the gazebo with daylight around it. i have the kit 18-105. may get a tamron 17-50 f2.8 heard it’s decent. would like to get mostly shallow dof shots. doing it for free, may be good practice for me.
btw, ordrered the CTS gels and a stofen. if the reception is gonna be indoors, i’m reading up on it. but kinda lost for the outdoor ceremony part.
now, i’m gonna be on manual. what settings do you recommend? what would i anticipate in both under daylight, and while in the gazebo?
Comment by Angel — February 2, 2010 @ 4:06 pm
Comment by Neil — February 3, 2010 @ 6:59 am
Hi Neil. Love your website and your book. Thanks for what you do it is well appreciated. My question is on how to approach exposure at a wedding. I was told you almost always expose for the dress however you are saying to expose for the ambient ligth and then dial in the FEC on the flash. Does this method always works well for the dress? Does the same hold true for indoor shots? Thanks
Comment by Denis — February 14, 2010 @ 7:58 am
Neil, I saw on the example above that you always get 1/250th with aperture at 2.8 when you exposed for the ambient. Wouldn’t the shutter will be way high if I took the picture in bright daylight like 1/600th or something higher? In that case what would you do? thanks
Comment by Adi — February 21, 2010 @ 3:00 pm
let me add to my previous post. In the case of bright daylight, what would you do to be able to get 1/250th and wide aperture? Did you move the subject to a shade location or did you usually schedule the session when the sun is not so bright? So that you will be able to use max synch speed and wide aperture?
Comment by Adi — February 21, 2010 @ 3:07 pm
Neil,
I’m working through your articles and just got your book a few weeks ago. You are a great teacher and an inspiration to us amateurs.
I have a question regarding your response to the Joey Server post above;
NvN: “Since you lose at least half your flash’s power by going to HSS, but need the narrower DoF, I would suggest ganging up two or more speedlights and in that way getting enough power in bright daylight … and still get narrow DoF”.
Would you ever consider using a single on-camera flash aimed directly at the subject with a 3-stop ND filter on the lens. This gives you f/4, 1/250 assuming ambient is around EV 15 (“sunny 16″). Of course if you need f/2.8 or wider, this is a different story.
Comment by Anthony — March 11, 2010 @ 8:57 pm
Comment by Neil vN — March 22, 2010 @ 5:34 am
Thanks Neil,
I never thought about an issue with the AF. I’ve played around with this set up shooting my 2 yr old running around a sunny CA beach in the early afternoon. I’ve had reasonable success but some OOF shots. There were too many variables to know for sure if it was the filter or just missed AF by the camera.
I look forward to your results.
Anthony
Comment by Anthony — March 23, 2010 @ 2:58 am
Neil,
When you say, “I set my camera to expose for ambient light, and then used flash which I dialed down.”
What exactly do you mean by dialed down. Are you talking abuut the meter in your camera, or on your flash?
Still trying to get the full ah-ha.
Thanks!
Comment by Silisia — March 26, 2010 @ 2:16 pm
Silisia,
Not to speak for NvN, but that’s a fairly easy question to answer. Say you’ve got your camera in Manual mode and you’ve metered the scene for 1/200th @ f/8, with an ISO of 640 (just an example). This is your ambient light (this is the setting by which your camera will expose for 18% gray; if you have a white wedding dress and/or a black tuxedo as your subject, you may want to adjust your camera settings accordingly).
Your on-camera flash can then provide as much, or as little, light as you want it to. If you just want a little fill light to lift the shadows from beneath the eyes and nose, you can ‘dial down’ your flash output. That is (and this may take some slight reading of your flash manua, depending on what model flash you have), you can set your flash (in E-TTL or TTL mode) to -1, -2 or -3 (or any increment in between, in 1/3 increments), by using the buttons on the flash itself (or via the camera, if you’re using at least a 5D Mark II and a 580 EXII speedlite). If you’d like your flash to provide more light (for example, if your subjects’ backs are to the sun and you need a large burst of light to lend some detail to their shadowed faces), you can ‘dial up’ your flash in the same way as I described above (usually, with Canon speedlites, you will see a minus sign and a plus sign on the flash controls; these are how you dial up or down).
So here’s a way to see how this works: expose your image so the background comes out exactly as you want it to (check your LCD and histogram to make sure it’s perfect). Leave the flash off at this point. Turn on your flash and point it at the subject (this is assuming your subject is outdoors and you have nothing to bounce your flash-light off of; if you’re shooting indoors, by all means bounce that flash head (see more posts on this blog on how to do that). So, assuming you’re outdoors and you’ve got the scene metered how you want it, turn on your flash like I said and point it at your subject, leaving your flash in E-TTL or TTL mode, and fire off a few shots. If your subject appears too dark, dial up your flash a stop or so. If she appears too bright, dial it down.
Comment by photomatte — March 26, 2010 @ 11:40 pm
Hi Neil, when flashhead at position directly to shoot indoor and you use stofen, have you dial down again you flash exposure like when you shoot outdoor? Thanks Neil
Comment by Ivan — March 30, 2010 @ 2:25 am
Comment by Neil vN — March 30, 2010 @ 7:03 am
Hi!
On the first on NIKON you use BL Mode and an addtional decreasing of -1,3 to 1,7?
And the last one (here done with canon) with this extreme backlight you would have chosen by nikon just i-TTL or or i-TTL BL (with which flashvalue correction? )
Of course every situation is a little bit differnet. just for getting feeling for the values.
thanks a lot.
Comment by Tim — March 31, 2010 @ 11:28 am
Comment by Neil vN — April 1, 2010 @ 2:20 pm
Neil,
I have been using my D700 with SB600 on-camera in iTTL BL mode for outdoor fill-flash. Flash comp of -1.3 to -1.7 seems to be the sweet spot for me. Many times I have to resort to using the “P” mode when the lighting varies from chasing subjects around and it works pretty well – but not necessarily as expected.
So my question is related to how Nikon fill flash works with the automatic exposure modes. While in “P” mode, and I checked it in “A” mode as well, when the flash is in fill flash (BL) mode, the metered exposure is lower than pure ambient. For example, if I use a tripod and have flash turned off, the camera meters to say 200/8 and if I turn the flash on and it is in BL mode, the meter drops down to 200/11 or approximately 1 stop. With the flash turned on I can then duplicate the non-flash results by simply depressing the function button (Note: Since I shoot a lot in manual mode I have set my function button to “no flash” so I can check ambient exposure while the camera is up to my eye).
The result is that the background ambient is lowered around 1 stop and with flash compensation I can get the subject looking good. This seems to be about what I would try and accomplish in manual mode. I am not dissatisfied, just surprised and want to know if your experience is the same. I THOUGHT that ambient would not change and the the fill flash would be that which was necessary to bring the subject up the to the average exposure of the frame.
I like what is happening but don’t know if that is intended or if there is something wrong with my camera.
Thank you in advance for your thoughts.
Jeff
Comment by JW Stephenson — May 27, 2010 @ 4:16 pm
Comment by Neil vN — May 28, 2010 @ 12:29 am
Neil,
Thanks for the quick response. Whenever possible, I too shoot in M mode when using flash. I just want to add that even under Manual mode, the camera meter is making s similar adjustment. For example, if I tripod my D700 with my SB-600 mounted but not turned on using a scene with bright background and shadowed foreground (a classic shot for fill flash) and adjust (matrix metering) the camera meter until it shows perfect exposure I get 1/200 and F6.3 at ISO 200. Without touching the camera, if I turn on the flash, the meter will now show 2/3rds of a stop over-exposed. The meter in any mode seems to be taking into account the projected effect of having the fill flash. It makes sense but not what I expected. The result is that in Manual Mode I would generally dial down the exposure and get a pleasing picture. The same effect happens automatically in P mode which is obviously tied to the same meter.
By the way, the shots on your website are just incredible. You clearly have mastered lighting techniques!
Jeff
Comment by JW Stephenson — May 28, 2010 @ 6:09 pm
Comment by Neil vN — May 28, 2010 @ 7:50 pm
let me just say I’m a OCF flash newbie. But one thing that confuses me is where you say:
Metering correctly for ambient light is key here. “I metered correctly for the available light, and then shot with flash straight on”
I usually shoot by aperature for shallow DOF, and let the shutter fall where it may taking into account subject movement. If I meter for the ambient light outdoors that typically puts my SS speed well above the max sync speed, so the only thing I can do is close down my aperature, right? I feel like I’m loosing creative control of the aperature w/ OCF.
Comment by Donna H — September 26, 2010 @ 3:08 pm
Another thing I noticed when shooting ETTL is that the recycle time was SO slooow. I decided to test how long it was taking and got a range betweem 10-18 seconds. That’s a long time to wait for your next picture, especially when things are moving fast, like with children, or at a wedding. Again, maybe I’m doing something wrong??
Comment by Donna H — September 26, 2010 @ 3:18 pm
Comment by Neil vN — September 28, 2010 @ 2:07 am
Hi Neil,
Your flash guide was the first one i learned from since getting my first DSLR in 2006. Thank you very much!
I have some questions regarding fill flash for Nikon. I recently migrated from Canon (pentax before that), to full frame D700. I like to use apperture-priority mode for about 90% of my shooting, especially outdoors. What I found out for Nikon, when in Av mode, I noticed that with my sb900 turned on and autoFP & BL selected, the camera will automatically balance the shutter and flash output. Normally the shutter will be a bit faster, turn off the flash and the shutter will be slower I have noticed. Which is unlike in Canon, the shutter will remain and the flash will auto expose as fill flash. I like the Canon approach in fill flash more since I want the camera meter not to change when the flash in on but only the flash will meter as required to fill the photo.
Is there any way to approach Nikon fill flash to mimic Canon? What is the best approach in doing fill flash in Av mode for Nikon?
Thanks!
Comment by syakir.zainol — October 9, 2010 @ 11:55 pm
Comment by Neil vN — October 10, 2010 @ 2:00 am
hi neil,
i’m really a big fan of yours since i came across your site months ago. i guess i really have to shoot with the flash straight towards my subject if that’s what i only have in some situations. but, how about at night? do you still dial your flash to -2 or -3?
thanks!!!
froi
Comment by froilan — November 22, 2010 @ 10:08 am
Comment by Neil vN — November 22, 2010 @ 12:56 pm
Hi Neil,
In your book there is a picture of a couple and in which you used two flashes on softbox. In the case of a small group of people, four or five members of a family-father, mother and two or three children, you consider that it is preferable to use two flashes, both for the case of low ambient light (flash as main light), as in bright daylight (fill flash for the shadows)?
Alfredo
Comment by Alfredo Medina — December 23, 2010 @ 7:30 am
Comment by Neil vN — December 25, 2010 @ 1:01 pm
Thanks, Neil.
I wish both you, as your family, have a happy and successful New Year. I also wish you much success in your new book project, which all look forward.
I also wish congratulations to all the people like me read everyday your advice and guidance on this fascinating world of photography.
Thank you very much,
Comment by Alfredo Medina — December 27, 2010 @ 6:50 am
Hey Neil! :)
Regarding the third shot in this article with the bride on what appears to be a bridge, with her head turned and veil in the air, you have the following settings.
specific settings:
Canon 1Dmk2
Canon 70-200mm f2.8 IS
1/250th @ f2.8 @ 100 iso
manual; eval metering
TTL flash: -3 exp comp
just trying to wrap my head around this one, as to how outdoors in sunlight you got 1/250th sync speed with an aperture of 2.8 and iso of 100?
Although it may not appear so, was it actually much darker outside than the photo lets on? Was it heavily shaded until you exposed for it properly? Just want to see if I can wrap my head around that. I thought I had the whole outdoors flash and when to use high speed sync sorted out, but this moment makes me second guess myself!
AJ
Comment by aj — April 18, 2011 @ 4:12 am
Comment by Neil vN — April 18, 2011 @ 4:21 am
aha! :) thank you
Comment by aj — April 18, 2011 @ 4:24 am
Hi Neil,
Love your opening pic and i have been practicing to get natural flash look at night w/sparklers. I busted my FEC way down, -3, ISO 500, f/4.5, 1/40th. Getting ok results, but think there’s room for improvement. I will be shooting a family of 7 doing this and would be so grateful if you would do me the favor of weighing in with some tips.
Thanks!
Jennifer :)
Comment by Jennifer — April 25, 2011 @ 8:48 pm
Neil,
In other forums that I have read about using direct flash, there has been concerns with “pinlights” in the subjects’s eyes. I am not sure if that is a result of the built-in flash or external flash. Maybe it is just a problem with close up face shots outside with direct flash. Your shots are beautiful and I see no evidence of pinlights in the subject’s eyes. Could the FEC being dialed down have an effect on this? What are your thoughts about this subject?
Thanks!
Comment by Michelle — December 2, 2011 @ 2:42 pm
Comment by Neil vN — December 2, 2011 @ 2:48 pm
Thanks! Sorry about the double posting but I could not find (forgot which article I posted to since I looked at so many that day)!
You rock!
Comment by Michelle — December 2, 2011 @ 3:50 pm
I love your little black fomie thing! Thanks for sharing your experience! Whn you use it do you still bounce the same direction that you would without the black fabric?
Thanks again, and keep it up!
Comment by Miriam Hasselmose — March 9, 2012 @ 3:22 am
Excellent goods from you, man. I have understand your stuff previous to and you are just too excellent. I really like what you have acquired here, certainly like what you are saying and the way in which you say it. You make it enjoyable and you still take care of to keep it wise. I can’t wait to read much more from you. This is really a tremendous website.
Comment by kolonie — February 22, 2013 @ 8:29 am
Hi Neil
Yep. Get all the above but how good do you think the metering is say on a Nikon D80 when in manual mode? Having been a wedding photographer, now retired, I’m of the old school using medium format film and hand held incident metering. Doesn’t seem to happen anymore.
Regards
Richard
Comment by Richard — March 19, 2013 @ 7:07 am
Comment by Neil vN — March 19, 2013 @ 11:05 am
Great info Neil! Have you thought about making some videos and showing how it’s done?
Comment by Mario — April 26, 2013 @ 2:22 pm