Reverse engineer a photo: Photo session with a couple in bright sunlight
When I posted this sequence of photos on Facebook of Jessica and Tony’s engagement photo session in New York, there were a flurry of questions. Which lens? 50mm? 85mm? What type of lighting? What were my camera settings?
Well, this stuff has been covered before with numerous articles here. So by now, anyone who regularly follows the Tangents blog, and have done some reading, will be able to figure this out.
So here’s your challenge – look at the photos, look at the location, and reverse engineer the camera settings and lighting. Figure out the possible camera settings, lens choice, focal length, and details about the lighting. I’ve added 1200 px images if you click through, to make the thought-process easier.
The answer
The discussion of the technique and thought-process has been explained in that linked follow-up article.
Thank you everyone! who contributed to the discussion.
I hope this all helped you in some way, trying to figure this out.
Not sure how we’re supposed to provide the info so I’ll do it here.
Given the ambient light the shutter will have to be high since the aperture is quite wide.
Relationship of couple to background I’d say a 50mm on full frame, or 35 on crop.
Aperture, given focus distance is around F2.0, so ISO 100 which means the shutter is going to be close to 1/4000 to 1/8000. That means either an ND filter with a larger strobe or HSS with a small strobe just outside camera view. Light is pointing down about 45* and also close to 45* off axis.
Nice series by the way.
Looks like a longer focal length maybe a 70-200mm lens around 100mm-200mm, and off camera flash, a little bit off to the front/right. Most likely 1/200th of a second to maximize the flash capability, and f5.6-8 I would say. That’s my guess for the evening.
I think you used a 85mm lens.. ISO 100 f/11 @1/200 .. I mean, they pretty focused all over.. the background is compressed but not that much.. tricky… I hope I`m at least close enough.. LOL
50mm @ f/5.6. Direct flash from camera right (45-degrees).
I will go with 70-200 2.8 lens shot at 200 with aperture 2.8. I will say shutter speed 1/250, ISO 100. OCF for fill bounced on subjects 45 degree camera right.
Rendered in 3DS Max. Couple doesn’t actually exist.
I’d say you shot this with a 50mm (guessing from the rings on the specular highlights in bokeh, and because you’re shooting full length photos you’re probably standing far back enough to not have major perspective distortion). I’d say wide open because depth of field seems very shallow – so f/1.4 or f/1.8 (I know you like the 50mm f/1.8G Nikon).
Off camera flash from the right and slightly above. TTL? I’d do it manually, so I’ll go with that, instead.
The sun’s fairly high so I’m guessing you’d be at lowest possible ISO (ISO 100) and max sync (1/250).
My guesses:
70-200mm lens
150mm focal length
f/4.0
ISO 200
1/1000
Off camera flash to the right of camera (forward and left of subjects). About 45 degrees from the couples’ left and situated above them.
Forgot to add that you would be working in HSS to compensate for the shutter speed. Second guessing my shutter speed choice–could be even faster!
I’m thinking 70-200 lens at the wider end (70-100) at F6.3 or so. Since it looks like high overhead noonish light, I’m guessing you have an ND filter on your lens to drop down the ambient, keeping it at ISO 100 and 1/250th. The camera right OCL is high and at 45 degrees or so, probably hand held by an assistant to keep in position with the walking couple. It doesn’t look harsh enough to be bare flash, but it’s still pretty hard. I’m guessing either a B1 with a beauty dish or a speedlight at full power with a little softbox. I think you’d prefer the B1 given the power you need for this type of shot, but since you’re giving away a book about speedlights, it seems more appropriate that you’d use one (or two) for this shot. That’s all I’ve got!
The lens is wide open (probably 70-200 2.8 @200mm)
Flahs with no light modifier (less light loss) – the shadows are hard. Light is coming from top, 45º right off the scene.
The shutter speed is not that relevant, could use either HSS (paying with light loss) or ND filters to keep the sync speed.
I’m guessing a tele @ 2.8 – probably 150mm+ and some fill flash as the sun is causing a shadow just ahead of them (almost high noon), but there’s a shadow of his arm on one that is pretty strong, so some strong fill flash or strobe coming from the front/camera right – strong shiny spot on his head in a few as well; I can’t see the eyes so well – high enough not to be in his glasses and also to shadow her hair onto her.
The crushed background looks awesome.
Start with an equivalent to the sunny 16 rule: sync speed (probably 1/250th) @ f/11 @ 100 ISO. But the depth of field looks too shallow for f/11. Add a 3-stop ND filter and we get sync speed @ f/4 @ 100 ISO. The lighting is off-camera and to camera-right — undiffused flash based on the harsh shadows. Lens and focal length are more difficult. Based on the field of view, I’ll say something around 70mm, probably via a 24-70mm lens (but a 70-200mm lens at the wide end could give the same result).
Cheers,
Justin
I’d guess this is a 85 f/1.4 shot at or around f/2.0. ISO 100 Shutter speed at 1/200 with some sort of 2-3 stop ND filter. Flash is camera right probably on a stick aimed from a height down on them. I’m going to guess it’s a bare speedlight (no modifier). I’d also say it’s close to noon or 1PM with the sun above and slightly behind them.
My guess is a 70-200mm lens; shot at around F 3.2 @, 1/250th @ ISO 100 using a neutral density filter to control the ambient light; off-camera light source from the photographer’s right hand side, possibly multiple speedlights from a height above the subjects’ head creating the 45-ish degree shadow. …going on a limb to say no HSS was used, since depth of field is pretty shallow and controlled.
Hi Neil. I’ve been perusing your wonderful website since your appearance on B&H and I must, I really find it informative and educational. I’ve only been involved in photography for the past year, but my knowledge and experience has growth substantially thanks to people like yourself.
Anyway, as this is my first post, I thought I’d jump in the deep end. Here goes:
Flash settings:
Off camera flash at 45 degrees to the subject, camera right
Bare flash as it’s resulting in sharp shadows on the man’s right leg by his left leg.
Full power to over power the midday sun
Camera settings:
Focal length: 85mm – I would guess an 85mm lens as the compression doesn’t seem like 200mm focal length
Aperture: F11 – This might seen high but at 3 metres from the subject you only have a DOF of close to a metre.
ISO: 100
Shutter speed: 1/200 – If I understand the sunny 16 correctly
On a sidenote: I’m from South Africa
Thanks again
My guess :
Iso 50
ND filter
1/250 th @ f2.8
Moderate telephoto ~ 135 mm (70-200)
Strobes : 2 bars speedlights caméra right for quick recycling
70-200 lens. About 150mm at 200 shutter speed f/5.6 ISO 100 off camera flash on the right upper side.
35mm on FF, iso100, 1/4000s, f4.0, speedlite at 3/4 power via HSS
I am going to guesstimate high speed flash sync, lower ISO, 70-200mm lens and maybe 1/500 or 1/1000?
My guess is
50mm lens wide open (wherever f that is)
Shutter speed high around 1/3200
ISO as low as possible (50/100)
Flash from camera right – bare speedlite on HSS 1/1 power
Ah, yes. HSS or ND filters would be needed to bring the sun and ambient down in line.
I think it`s:
70-200 mm at 170 mm
Shutter 1/250 s
Iso 200
f/13
bare speedlight – camera right, about 45 degree
35 mm and off camera flash from the right.
my guess is 35mm f/1.4 @f/8 and a flash (or two?) at 5 o’clock
Sun is from the back, strobe (softbox?) front-right, aimed at faces.
Shutter is 1/250 (max sync speed), 85mm F5.6-8, ISO as low as possible. Exposure was set manually on the background and then the (now dark) subjects were lit with the strobes
I think it is:
70-200 between 135-170mm
Shutter speed 1/160
Nd 3stop
F/ 2.8-3.2
Bare speed light high camera right
I’m going to base my reverse engineering on the fact that you probably had to use a 3ND filter because of the small DOF and sunny environment. Because of the fill flash, you probably used a shutter of 1/200, so ‘m guessing you used an aperture of F4 because of that (sunny 16 rule). The image has a relative “tele” look to it which together with an aperture of F4 would make it logical if this was an 85mm lens.
24-70mm @ 70mm
1/1000 @ f5.6 @ 200 ISO
On Camera Flash for fill in manually set at 1/2 power.
I’d say…
70-200 lens (at close to 200)
f2.8
ISO100
1/1000 (HSS)
Off camera flash (bare) off to the right and fairly high, at +2.
Wasn’t sure about dropping into HSS but can’t see you using a ND filter and looking at the ambient I imagine that 1/250 would totally blow out the shot.
70-200mm lens around 100mm focal length at f8. ISO 100. Shutterspeed 1/250. Bare off-camera flash held by assistent at 45 degrees at the right of the camera held on a stick slightly up.
D4 with 70-200 at the long end. Sun at back. Around 2hrs either side of noon from the really compressed shadows.
Monobloc top right in a box, thus no HSS.
ISO100, 1/250s, f8-11 from the DOF
Don’t think you used ND just because they’re so fiddly.
You’ve exposed perfectly for ambient light (these are backlit by the sun) and popped flash in at 45 degrees to the left of the couple (shown in the shadows and catch lights in her eyes).
Shutter 1/250 s
ISO 200
F 5.6 (there is only a sliver in focus)
Lens 24-70 2.8
TTL flash
I’m going with 70/200 at F2.8,,Doesn’t look like you tried to choke out the ambient instead put sun at there back and went with highlights…This leaving there faces underexposed so you avoided HSS/ND filter and got away with the power from one speedlight (Just out of frame) .. 1/250 at F2.8,ISO 50 Maybe 1/320 ..I have read a ton of your material and your minimalist /Simplistic style guided me in this decision..
Looking at the bokeh balls I assume it is shot wide open, so 2.8 on 70-200@150mm, ISO 100, 1/1000 sec, Nikon D4, barebulb flash from camera top right in TTL and HSS.
It is apparent that the pictures mix the ambient light in the background with heavy flash lightning of the main subjects. Considering that these are full-body portraits with plenty of context around, Neil’s favorite 70-200 would mean that he would have to be standing much farther from the couple than how he usually works. Well, it’s doable with an assistant or a lightstand holding the light just outside of frame and a decent radio control, but that’s not how Neil usually works, so that rules out the 70-200 for me. (Hmm, or perhaps not really — https://neilvn.com/tangents/images/models/elle-olins/NV1_2354.jpg …)
On the other hand, if this was a wide-open 85mm prime, there would be no background to speak about.
All right, you made me think about this. I should spend more time behind the lens :). Thanks!
Ambient -2/3 for separation
85mm, 1/250, f/5.6, ISO200
Bare flash camera right. (TTL +2/3) or 1/4 power @35mm 5-6 feet from the couple, assuming SB-910.
50mm @ f4, bare speedlight of camera
Hi Neil,
thank you about all the information you provide on your websites. I’ve learned a lot since I read your blog.
My guess:
Shutter speed: max sync speed, so 1/250s
Aperture and ISO: the background is slightly over-exposed so with the sunny sixteen rule, I’d say f/8 at 100 ISO
Main light: sharp shadow edge so I’d say a bare speedlight set on full manual output, quite close from the couple at camera right but not too much to have the same exposure on the woman and the man. Perhaps 30° camera right?
Rim light: the sun is behind the couple
Lens: the background is very compressed, 70-200mm at 200mm. By the way, this helps to reduce the DoF
Kind regards,
Michel
Look forward to the end results & comments on this one!
My guess:
85 mm
f3.2
ss 1 /5000
ISO 200
TTL High Speed Sync to camera right
These are backlit by the sun, so there is definitely a need for an additional light source. I don’t think you used a softbox since the shadows are quite hard. I would say speedlight on lightstand about 30 degrees to your right above head level.
Lens used 70-200 2.8 (for compression) @ 130+-mm I would say.
Settings: 1/250 (maximum speed sync), f7.1 and iso 100 using ND filter
Hello Neil,
My guess is that you used a Flash to the right at max sync speed to the right of the couple (high over them).
The lens was about 80-100 mm, at 5.6 or 7. ISO 50 to 100, and at 1/250, using ND filter to compensate for the bright sun and the max sync speed.
Let’s try to make an educated guess! ;)
The sun is shining (hard shadow in front of couple) and is high in the sky (relatively short shadow). We can take the sunny 16 rule as a baseline for the background lighting (f16 – ISO 100 – 1/100s). To optimize flash and assuming this is shot with Nikon, shutterspeed should be @1/250. (I think for portability reasons, a SB-910 on a stick is chosen as flash. The couple moves closer through the different photos, so the light has to move as well.) Background is slightly overexposed, I would guess about 1 1/3rd stop. You see some clouds in the sky, the street is localy burnt out. Together that would give me ISO 100 – 1/250s – f6.3. This aperture should be enough to have them both completely sharp at a starting distance around 10m from you.
The aperture will stretch the flash to its maximum, so no softbox is used. Bare flash it is (hard shadows from the nose). Bare flash will also help put texture in the white shirt and black dress if put at an angle towards 90°, let’s assume something around 60°. Light source on photographer’s right side and slightly above headheight, just outside the frame. Could be TTL with maybe +2 flash compensation, but more likely manual flash @ 1/1.
Now for the lens. To give more flexibility to the photographer, I would guess a telezoom is used, maybe a 70-200mm @ the lower end (70-100mm). There is not that much distortion on the sides of the photo.
If not correct, at least that is the way I would try to capture it :)
Here’s my guess:
Nikon D4
24-70 f/2.8 at 50mm
f/3.2, 1/250, iso 200
SB-910 in 24″ softbox camera right aiming down 45 degrees TTL -0.7 FEV
Here’s my guess
Time: 12-2pm
Lens: 70-200 @ 200
Apenture: 5.6
Shutter: max sync speed of camera too get the most out of your flash
OCF: camera right used as main light (bare bulb)
Lovely exposed shots with context in the background and a great challenge Neil :) Really got me thinking, as they’re excellent images. Exactly the kind I haven’t mastered yet – so this is useful brain food!
Here’s my thinking… Sun looks quite high in the sky going by the floor shadows. Late morning, if not noon – almost over-head. Background is bright definitely not underexposed – more correctly exposed or slightly + to the meter, with no significant highlights blown. In and around f/11 at sync speed (1/250s for Nikon) at base ISO of 100, I’d guess.
That doesn’t match the focus depth, so guessing a 3 stop ND to take that down to f/4. So what focal length would work with that dof at that f-stop bearing in mind what’s in frame? Hmmm guessing a longer lens, say at least 85mm, maybe 100mm.
Shooting angle looks like kneeling height, so guessing you weren’t holding the main flash yourself! Shadow is hard, so suggests bare flash – which would also support the power needed. I can see a loop shadow on one pic, so prob just out of frame camera right, a little highger than their faces.
Flash is very well blended with the ambient, it doesn’t look too ‘flashy’, so what power would be required for this at a relatively close distance, to get through the ND? 1/4 power, half power maybe.
There’s detail in the neck shadows too; they’re not overly contrasty so possibly you also used some direct fill flash, say a stop or more lower than the main.
Could be way off of course – but that’s how I’d approach thinking about it. :)
I’d say 85mm @f/2.0, ISO at camera’s base so likely 200. Flash is high from camera right with sharp shadows so no modifier. In order to deal with bright, mid-day sun it’s likely the B-1 unit rather than speedlight.
Lens: 70-200
Focal length: 120
Shutter speed: 1000
F-stop: 5.6
ISO: 100
Off camera flash set to TTL, no compensation, held to camera right up high at about 45 degrees. High speed sync set.
Looks to me like a 50mm wide open with a high shutter speed. Lighting..Looks like the sun is high and to the left with a flash high right.
Hello Neil! I think you used the following settings.
Lens: Nikon AF-S 85mm f/1.4G
Shutter Speed: 1/250s
Aperture: 8.0
ISO: 100
Lighting: Bare flash (SB-910), manual 1/1 power, 30° camera right
Close to mid day (hence the shadows in front f them) creating a hair / rim light on the couple. Flash at about 45deg camera right and above at 45ish deg. You would have needed ND filter to get a shallow DOF. I’d say ND8. Starting with modified sunny 16, f11, 1/250th and 100 ISO. So you would need to open the aperture to f4 for correct exposure but, the back ground is a little underexposed so probably set to f5.6. Speedlight would need to be full power and bare to get enough power (evident from the hard shadows from fingers and arms) and just barely out of the frame. Possibly something with a little more oomph. The focal length on all 3 frames are different. Starting around 70mm, then about 110 and then 200, so, 70-200, f2.8 lens.
It’s 85mm F2.0. You are using a ND filter to bring down to 1/200 shutter speed, your artificial light is creating loop lighting it’s about 40 degrees from the camera and slightly above the eye level of the client. You are using a big flash with no modifier. Your flash power is in the 600 to 1200 watt second range but you decided not the kill the ambient to keep it an open light. The shadow in front of the client is the shadow cast by the sun which you are also using for some rim effect. The ND filter is tricky so you probably used more f stops than needed and raised your ISO to say 200 or 400 to get to where you needed to be exposure wise.
My guess:
Lens: 70-200mm lens, but shot closer to the 170-200mm.
ISO: 100
Aperture: F/10
Shutter speed: 250th (maxium sync speed)
Flash: bare flash, full power, camera right about 45º in relation to the subjects
My thought process:
It was a very bright day, and therefore the lowest ISO would do. Using the Sunny-16 rule, I can the f/10 and 250th combination.
The flash was set at full power without a softbox to try to match the sun light.
I love this game! I’m so trying to get harsh light right! So, thank you for the lesson! My guess:
70-200 lens close to 200mm
f 3.2
ISO: 100
shutter speed: 1/1000
flash to camera right, no softbox, full power
Daylight, backlit by the sun – as shadow is formed in front of the couple.
Maybe bare flash placed about 45deg to camera right and slightly above the cople – as shadow from shirt collar is pretty sharp, and slight specular highlights on his forehead.
Lens focal length – closer to 200, maybe between 150-200mm – to work in broad daylight with sync speed of 1/200 or 1/250, aperture maybe between f/11-16. This lens setting would give a narrow depth of field if you were shooting about 10-15 ft from the couple.
Also, these lens settings would be required to match the ambient light, and set the flash to match the ambient light.
70-200 mm @ 200mm
f-2.8, 1/250 and use of ND filter to cut of some ambient light
lighting: flash 45 degrees from above through softbox @ full power
iso : 100
Bright sunlight conditions, therefore start with sunny 16 rule (F16, ISO 100, 1/100). Since flash will be used (shooting into the sun), you would go right to max sync speed of 1/200 or 1/250. That would bring ambient exposure to F11, but DOF looks shallower; therefore, probably used a polarizer (possibly an ND) which would bring you to F5.6. This seems to agree with the picture as the background does not look like it would wide open using F2.8. Looks like a 70-200mm near the wider end. Flash is off camera and unmodified (to overpower sun) roughly at 45/45 (camera right and up).
I’m going for 70-200mm at 180mm f/2.8, ISO 100 and 1/250 shutter. ND filter attached with a B1 high and to the right 1/2 power.
Midday sun looking at the shadows in front of the couple.
70-200mm looking at the compression and bokeh.
Shallow depth of field, so I think a ND filter was used here, lens aperture F2.8. ISO100. Shutter speed, 1/200th, Apperture priority.
I don’t think HSS and a small flash was used, it would not be enough to get that kind of an exposure even when shot bare, unless there where at least 3 from the same spot. I suspect a Profoto B1 was used here in TTL mode, the ND filter keeping the sync speed in the native sync speed range and therefore allowing for moving subjects.
Lights positioned camera right up high shot at full power…
Though I suspect I am waaaayyyyy over thinking this…lol.
I would guess:
ISO :100
Lens : 70-200 @ 70
F-Stop: F16
Shutter: 1/100
FEC: -1EV
Hm.
Bare speedlight, a little above their heads, camera right but not that far off axis and fairly near to the couple.
ISO 100
@200mm
F/16
1/250
I’m awfully suspicious of other photographic tools–an ND filter, e.g., but can’t really say.
Neil,
You should come up with more of these reverse engineering exercises. They can be very helpful in the sense that we get to apply theoretical knowledge to more concrete examples. In high school one of my English professors used to give us sentences and asking us to spot the grammatical mistakes.
Field of view looks normal from the long shot and I think you moved closer for the close in shots. so I will guess at a 50mm Lens. ( Probably a bad guess since I know you rarely use one ).
The light from the flash looks hard so I am guessing no modifier. Arm shadow and specular highlight on the forehead suggests this. Flash on camera right.
Narrow depth of field is controlled by dist. to subject and background, aperture, and focal length. If I am correct then a large aperture was used. In order to achieve this in bright sun you used a 3 stop neutral density filter to get a larger f stop and zoomed by walking to or away from the subjects. Evident in Pict 2&3. No need to move the lights.
Shutter speed was 1/200 sec and ISO was 100 in order to maximize the flash power. ( Using off camera flash, 1/200 instead of 1/250 to avoid communication delay )
Camera exposure was correct ambient exposure for sunny with the subjects back to the sun.
Flash set to manual exposure for consistency, probably full or half power.
So a 50mm lens on your D4S set to 1/200 sec at f4.0, ISO 100, 3 stop ND filter.
70-200 at f 2.8 reflectors left and right bouncing light back at subjects .
70 mm
1/1600
F4
100 ISO
Flash TTL 1/4 Power
I think…
Flash sync 1/250
F4
0.9 ND (3 stops) for ambient light
and 85mm
Hi Neil,
Lens choice: There is not enough compression to suggest 70-200mm lens. So it was 24-70mm lens used
between 24mm to 50mm focal length. This would also allow being close enough to the subject for flash to
be effective in bright sunlight from about 6 to 8 feet away.
Nothing is blown-out so it was metered for the ambient with sunny 16 rule.
• ISO = 200 (there is not enough motion blur anywhere in the picture to suggest lower ISO to match
lower shutter speed).
• Shutter = 1/250s to be at the max. Sync Speed
• Aperture = f/16
Well defined shadows on their faces suggests, bare flash from camera right about 45 degrees to the couple and about two feet higher above head. Either TTL or Manual 1/1 would be just enough to match the sunlight from 6 to 8 feet away.
Ali
Lovely and unusual series of images that immediately look special to a photographer as its obvious there is something more clever at play with the lighting and aperture settings.
Would guess a fast 50mm lens due to angle of view and falloff into blur. Does not look tight enough for an 85.
You are using max flash sync of 1/250 to cut down ambient light as much as possible using shutter speed.
Bright sunlight would normally give around an f11 aperture setting at this shutter speed and the actual aperture is clearly much wider than this due to the wonderful falloff into blur.
I would suggest that you have used around a 4-stop ND filter to bring ambient exposure down to where you can use an aperture of approx f2.0, with the background having a slightly higher than normal exposure value by maybe 1 stop.
You have placed a strobe (Profoto B1 or similar) to high camera right and lit the front of the subjects. The shadows and light are quite bold so I am thinking the flash was bare to avoid losing light to a modifier and for a bold look to the lighting. The light was not powerful enough to completely overpower the sun as there is still a strong shadow caused by the natural backlighting.
I have doubts that a normal speed light could have pumped enough light onto the subjects either through a dense ND filter or with high speed sync as the light looks too dramatic and too even over both subjects.
That’s my take!
250sec
Aperture to suit ambient to taste! F8 -F11 in this case?
Lowest ISO – 100isi
Bare-Flash in Manual Mode and Full Power.
I presume a 70-200IS Lens has been used? Second choice would be the 24-70mm f2.8 but this would result in more-in-focus regarding background.
I’d say 70-200mm (85mm -135mm) with ND filter at f/2.8 at 1/250th shutter speed with off camera flash on softbox in Manual exposure at 100 ISO.
I will go for 135 at F2.8 on a FF, a very powerful flash in a small softbox on camera right held by an assistant…
To be more precise…
The first picture is between 24-50mm.
The second picture is between 50-70mm.
The third picture is at 70mm.
My second thought on aperture due to shallower depth of field in the pictures would be f/5.6 or f/8 with ISO 100 and not f/16.
24-105mm @ 105mm
f/5.6
1/200th
ISO 100
3 Stop ND
Profoto B1 Camera Right – Bare Bulb
85mm
f 1/1,4
ISO 100-200;
ND4
flash, softbox
Very interesting exercise :) Firstly I would try to sort out most certain things and then move into more grey territories.
In these conditions Neil is clearly going for maximum subject-to-background isolation, while maintaining framing flexibility. The perspective tells it is 70-200 f2.8 lens at wide open. I can’t imagine why would Neil go with anything else than f2.8? This Nikon lens is super sharp from the start therefore it makes little sense to use f3.2 or f.3.5. Also, there is plenty of light, therefore iso has to be at 100. I am also dead certain that Neil would not have used any ND filters in front of the lens to balance out for the off camera flash on the right, because the needed strength of ND filters would have completely killed the autofocus and having walking couple moving towards you with shallow dof while managing manual focus is not the way to go, if you need reliable shots.
Things we know so far:
1. The lens Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 VRII (for tech geeks)
2. Chosen aperture f2.8 for all pics.
3. Iso 100 for all pics.
4. No ND filters.
Now the focal length. When looking at the couple, they are closely walking towards Neil to maintain natural looking poses but at the same time Neil has slightly zoomed in for tighter shots. The guesswork for chosen focal length is therefore bit tricky but here goes:
1-st pic: looks like 70-200 at wider end but not completely at 70mm, seems more like 80-90. I will go for 90mm (btw, nice OOF dove at the left bottom of the pic ;)
2-nd pic: the couple have moved closer but Neil has zoomed in as well. Maybe 110-120mm. Lets go for 120mm.
3-rd pic: even more zoom, probably around 150mm. Lets go for 150mm
The exposure on camera. When looking at shadows, the ambient light is absolutely striking from the top and sun is in zenith. In these conditions the shutter at 100iso and f2.8 has to be around 1/3200-1/4000 but the highlights have blowed out on back, so lets go for 1/3200.
Off-camera flash on right is really wild guess. Sharp shadows from flash, lots of sunlight to balance. I would go for the light from bare head of larger flash and not SB900 or other Nikon flashgun. Positioned higher up about 45 degree angle.
What else, white balance perhaps? Looks that tones are balanced from flash lit subject and background. Looks regular daylight white balance and the flashguns are also usually set around that so it has to be 5500K.
So to sum up:
1. The lens Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 VRII (for tech geeks)
2. Chosen aperture f2.8 for all pics.
3. Iso 100 for all pics.
4. No ND filters.
5. 1-st pic @ 90mm, 2-nd @ 120mm, 3-rd @ 150mm
6. Off camera large bare flash head from top at about 45 degrees
7. White balance 5500K
Thanks for the brain/eyetwister and keep up the excellent work :)
Kaur
Tallinn, Estonia
A clarication for the flash light source. I still find it hard to believe that it is at max sync speed due to the fact that couple in this picture moves around models move around (necessitating the AF use) instead of the shots with Ulorin & others where the single model is more or less fixed at one position, allowing for the manual focus to be used with 3-stop ND (pro bodies D4, 1D can sort of handle AF for f8 equivalent but the AF will be slow).
Also, in this pic it does not seem so much “overpowering the sun” but rather lifting the shadows exercise, allowing for HSS use.
So, for the flash:
6. Off camera large bare flash head on right in picture in HSS mode, looking down at about 45 degrees angle.
Or, I could be completely wrong :)
This exercise gets trickier time by time, which is good :) I felt something is not right about my initial guesses on the used focal lengths.
1st vs 2nd pic – given that Neil is standing still, the couple have moved in considerably and instead of zooming in, Neil has zoomed out – there is more of the background visible than on first pic. So the 2-nd pic has to be at the widest end of 70-200. Lets make final call at 70mm for the second picture.
Meaning, the first pic has to be zoomed in a bit, lets give it a 110mm
As for 3rd pic some zoom is added again but probably not much more than on 1st one. Lets call it at 115mm.
So final correction for focal lengths:
1-st pic: 110mm
2-nd: 70mm
3-rd: 115mm
I will now stop bugging myself about it.
Hi Neil,
Love the website!
My guess is:
70-200 lens – around 150mm
f5.6
1/250th – max sync before hss would diminish power
ISO 50/lo 1
Off camera speed light 1/1 full power-possibly softbox no diffuser up and to the right of the camera.
I do not believe you were using a neutral density filter.
“I can’t imagine why would Neil go with anything else than f2.8?”
Kaur, I think, because at ISO 100, 1/250s it would be way way overexposed.
To me life does not revolve around max sync speed :) This level of ambient light requires between f8-f11 to get correct exposure for 1/250@iso100 but level of background blur would have been drastically different then and shot would have been from artistic perspective also quite different to put it politely.
When looking back at my comments and remembering Neil’s older posts about ND filters, I do get a little uncomfortable. But I will stick to my guns that 3-stop ND filter would have been quite difficult for AF on moving subjects (f2.8 lens becomes effectively f8 lens for AF purposes) and I make the bet on high-speed synced powerful strobe head.
Here is the article that makes me bit uneasy now: :)
https://neilvn.com/tangents/using-neutral-density-nd-filter-control-dof-with-flash/
NVN formula for outside mid-day sun
1. set iso to 100
2. Set to max sync speed 1/250th if shooting your Nikon
3. Aperture to get DOF you’d like
However…Since a wide aperture would be hard at this time of the day, you used an ND filter.
Off camera flash at 45’s.
almost forgot….let the ttl do the rest.
I didn’t see others posts.
Here’s waht I think:
Couple backlit from the sun.
1 speedlight (main light) in large softbox at right.
1 speedlight for fill in front.
1/160 at f1.4 in a 35mm lens.
Minimum ISO available (100 or 200 depending on the camera).
Ups..flash in HSS around 1/800, otherwise all would explode in white, and forget about large softbox as main. At second glance, couple’ shadows aren’t soft. Probably a silver reflector or barndoor.
70-200 at 3.5 around 150mm to 160mm
1/250
ISO 100
soft box camera right at 45 degrees
I would say you used a 24-70mm. All 3 photos are different focal lengths – maybe 24,50, and 70 since the background is magnifying/compressing with each shot. Your sky is almost fully overexposed, but not quite, so I would say you used F5.6-F6.3. Your shutter speed was your max sync speed – probably 1/250 because of your low aperature and you used a speedlight about 30 degrees to camera right and above the the subjects pointed slightly downward. The speedlight was full power with distance adjusted to match your aperture – there is a lot of shine on their foreheads so the flash was bare.
Forgot to add ISO 100.
24-70mm f/2.8 Lens
Focal Length: 50mm
Aperture: f/2.8
Sun is high and behind them. Maybe 12-1 during the day.
Gold Reflector to the couple’s left side, maybe 45 degrees from their direct left side.
ISO 100
Shutter Speed 4,000
Just a guess…
ISO 100
F 6.3
1/250th
Either 135mm prime or 70-200 zoom. I’m leaning towards the zoom because that first shot just seems too wide for a 135. And the bokeh circles get larger between the first and last photos.
OCF 5-6 feet away from couple. 2-3 feet above head of dude. About 30 degrees away from the line drawn between the couple and the shooter. Basically 2 feet off the line between couple and shooter.
Those settings don’t require an enormous amount of flashpower, so I’ve guessing you have an assistant with a small ish softbox with 1 strobe at full power, or two strobes at half power. I think you own a profoto strobe too, which is probably what I would have used for a middle of the day shoot so I’d have the accessible power. Studio strobe in a 20×20 softbox on boom held by assistant. I say assistant and not a light stand because you’re in the middle of a street, and the light definitely changes direction between images. The assistant is moving the light closer to the center line between you and the couple between shots 1 and 3. They also lowered the flash slightly.
Sun directly behind couple.
Definitely not wide open at 200 mm. Don’t know what these people are thinking. Focal length is the toughest part–the stop sign is approx the same size as the couple, even though they’re pretty far in front of it, thus the rational for ~135mm, maybe less. Hmmm. I think you moved to the left as well, 1-3 steps, and then knelt for the second two photos. You’ve got a fast assistant.
OCF 8-10 feet away
No fill flash because there are zero catchlights/specular highlights in the watch, eyes or glasses.
The flash might be bare, but I think the assistant is just a little far away. Which makes sense, because they’re definitely moving between shots.
The sun is shining high behind them and is basically a rimlight in terms of position. It is BRIGHT. This looks like the Nikon 50mm f/1.4 stopped to about f/2.8. With that sun at 2.8, you’d be shooting around 1/3200 to expose for the background, except you’re letting the background highlights blow out a little, so I’m thinking more like 1/2000. You’d put a 3-stop ND filter on, which would allow you to shoot at the max sync speed of 1/250 with the same background exposure. Instead of needing f/2.8 out of your flash, you now need f/8 because of the 3-stop ND filter in place. An SB-910 will give you f/8 bare from about 12 feet away, and bare it is – those shadows are hard.
So I’m guessing you shot your D4s with a 50mm prime at f/2.8, 3-stop ND filter, 1/250 sec shutter, and synced to a SB-910 set on manual at full power high and camera right from 12 feet away.
Wow very powerful and distinctive shots. Not easy to shoot in these conditions competing with the sun.
Hi!,
My guess:
– Focal length 50 mm
– Aperture: F2.8
– Speed: 1/2000
– Flashlight: HSS mode, TTL, direct bare flash 45º high, 45º camera right
Regards,
Sort out the ambient exposure first. Let’s assume 1/250 at f8 for a sunny day at 100 ISO, this will give a lot of deep shadows in areas not hit by direct sunlight, so open up the aperture by 1 stop as there are no deep shadows in your shot. My ambient now is 1/250 at f5.6 for the slighter brighter background that you appear to have. Flash is off to the right, approx. 45 degrees to the subject and 50 cms above their head. Flash set on ttl to give f8 you’d hope (some + exposure comp may be necessary) or maybe shoot the flash on manual, but I don’t think you’d do that. Flash, probably the top of the range Nikon (is that the SB910?) with no softbox judging by the nose shadow though I know you use to profoto.
1. Lens = 70-200mm at varying focal lengths. First shot looks like it’s at 70mm and the last two may be at 135-150mm.
2. Shutter Speed = 1/250 max sync speed (assuming you didnt use a camera with a leaf shutter).
3. Flash= Bare bulbed at full power positioned right outside of the frame.
4. Aperture = f2.8- f4.0 because the DOF of the background is very shallow.
5. ISO= 100 or whatever the lowest ISO setting for the camera is.
6. At least a 3 stop ND Filter (once again assuming you didnt use a camera with a leaf shutter). The sun is very bright and very high, and I dont think High Speed Sync would have given you enough juice to expose them properly.
Lens: 50mm
Aperture: 2.8
Iso: 100
Shutter: 250th (max sync speed of camera)
Flash: Speedlight, full power, overhead and over by 40 deg.
Camera in M mode.
Lens: first image looks wider than 70mm to me, maybe 50mm, but doubt you changed lenses for images two and three, so guessing you shot first at 70mm and then zoomed for second and third. So, a 70-200f2.8.
Aperture: wide open / f2.8 based on the 3-4 feet of in-focus area around the couple.
ISO: in this bright sunlight, as low as possible, so ISO 100 on the D4 — maybe even Lo1 (ISO 50).
Shutter: even at ISO 100, at noon at f2.8 that’s a high shutter speed, far beyond max sync. So agree with others that you are using an ND filter with 2 or 3 stops to pull down shutter speed to get to max sync, 1/250th.
Lighting:
Main: This light has to be powerful to match the sun, so I’m guessing it’s a Profoto rather than speedlight. The shadows are pretty crisp and there is some specular highlight on Jessica’s cheeks, so I estimate it’s a Profoto beauty dish without a sock. The light is on a pole, up high – almost above them – and to camera right.
Hairlight: sun above and behind them based on shadows cast.
Fill: None, albeit you might get a bit of sun reflection back up from the cobbles.
Shooting position: Given the angle – looks to be straight on wait level shots – I’d say you were kneeling / crouching or otherwise shooting from a lower position.
Fun!
70-200 mm (approx 100 – 150mm)
ISO100
F5.6
Max sync (1/250th or 1/200)
Flash camera right 45deg and high up judging by the chin shadow.
Bare flash, (maybe even 2 flashes synced to give a decent recycle time)
180mm
1/250
F6.3
ISO 125
bare flash camera right
Neil–it’s obviously a fantastic exercise to do. But do you think even your discerning eye could piece together the setup !? This is tough, man !
50mm
1/8000
F2
ISO 100
High speed sync Flash light X 2 from the right
Neil,
Nice picture. I have tried to figure out the focal length using some math, but I’m going to guess the focal length is about 50 mm and you are 20 feet from your subjects. Looking at the ground, I’m guessing about 8 feet are in focus, so you used f2.5. It’s quite a bright time of day so I think you had to use a ND filter to cut the exposure enough to use f2.5. You used a flash placed to the right of the frame above the couple and directed down at a 45 degree angle.
Because of the sharp shadows, I’m guessing this is a bare flash. The background is properly exposed, so assuming the sunny 16 rule, that would be a 1/100th of a second exposure at f16 for iso 100. With the ND 3 stop filter, that would be f 5.6 at 1/100th or f/4 at 1/200th or f/2.8 at 1/400th. Since you used f2.5, 1/500th would work since they were moving and you had to freeze their movement. You synced with high speed flash sync but since they are well lit, I think you used two flashes at full power. So, 50mm lens, f2.5, iso 100, 1/500th of a second exposure, two flashes off camera to the right above your subjects, no light modifiers. Wish me luck!
3 stop ND filter
F5.6 1/200 Iso 100 (with a canon) Iso 200 with nikon
70-200 around 120mm
Hard light source turned up high camera right and aimed down (some type of standard silver reflector)
Neil, I’m going to presume that you used your “the simpler, the better” approach. So my guess would be: no ND filter, 70-200mm lens @200mm, 1/250s, f9, ISO 100, bare flash coming from camera’s right side, manual power @ full power, distance of the flash from the couple is about 9 feet. Flash held up by an assistant moving with the couple, you using the 200mm focal length so that you can control the background and exclude the assistant. The background is blurred even at f9 because of the great distance between the couple and background.
The competition is now closed.
The discussion of the technique and thought-process has been explained in a follow-up article.
Thank you everyone! who contributed to the discussion.
I hope this all helped you in some way, trying to figure this out.
I decided that there are two winners of a book prize:
Angie Hurst, for absolutely nailing the settings!
Klaur Ilves, for the thorough and clear analysis.
I have a few different titles that I can offer as prizes. I’ll contact you to find out which you’d prefer.
What a nice surprise, Neil! Thanks!
I am extremely glad that I managed to guess finally at least the focal length change logic and the fact that ND filter would be out of question due to moving subjects. Change in range is surprisingly small 135-120-135 (my guess 110-70-115) but as the couple is walking into the scene, it makes guessing the actual focal length change very hard.
All the best,
Kaur
Well, look at that – maybe I know more about this biz than I give myself credit for. ;) Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge, I’ve learned a ton through your blog! Can’t wait to delve into the book!