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| Freeze action | Too dark to capture the subject if flash was not used | |
1. When the lighting is extremely dim (1/30s or below).
2. When subject is moving and available light is not enough to freeze the action.
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| Without flash, image become noisy because of high ISO, background overexposed | With flash, better texture and tone because of lower ISO, background brightness under control | |
1. Know your flash power: GN =13 in meter (40 in feet). Big flash: GN=50 (155 in feet)
f x d = GN (f is f-stop, d is distance to subject)
d = GN/f
d = 40/4=10 feet
| Build-in flash (GN = 40) | Big flash (GN = 155) | |
| Farthest effective distance at f4 | Farthest effective distance at f4 | |
| ISO 100 | 10 feet | 40 feet |
| ISO 400 | 20 feet | 80 feet |
| ISO 1600 | 40 feet | 160 feet |
2. Avoid ghosting effect by limiting existing light exposure (usually underexpose a bit).
3. Absorb small amount of existing light to avoid unnatural darkness in background.
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| Flash showing ghosting subjects (subject movement) | Flash showing ghosting subject (camera movement) | |
4. Use M mode to select exposure or use Av mode with " -1 or -1.5" in compensation.
5. Use bounce flash to even out the whole environment (only works in medium size room).
6. Use flash to freeze action in low light environment. Flash fires with a very short duration at about 1/1,000s to 1/40,000s.
1. Distance light required to travel will increase a lot (to be precise, it is spreaded out),
2.
Most bouncing materials absorb light,
3.
Reflected light carries color from bouncing materials,
4. Angle of light span should avoid hiting the subject directly (burned).
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| Direct flash creates hard edge shadow and uneven lighting | Bounce flash looks more natural and even out lighting | |
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| No fill flash applied. Face looks dark. | With fill flash, both subject and background achieve proper exposure. | |
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| Subject in shade, no fill flash. | Fill flash applied to fill in the shadow to match the brightness of background. | |
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| Fill flash to freeze subjects' action in a dim light environment. | Flash used to bring out the important subjects in the shade. | |
1. Get exposure reading (f-stop & shutter speed) from background by pointing your camera to background, remember it.
2. Recompose the subject, adjust your camera exposure setting (any shooting mode) to as close as possible to the background exposure.
3. Made sure your flash is on and then, shoot the photo.
(if your f-stop or shutter speed indicator keep blinking, you will need to read the following)
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| Subject in shade, background very bright, should have used fill flash. | Subject in shade, background very bright, should have used fill flash. | |
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| Subject partially under the sun. No flash used. | Subject received flash, shadow area being lit to brighter. | |
Bright sunlight could easily force shutter speed to higher than 1/200s. Flash can only be used below 1/200s. Overexposure could happen!
1. Basically the same concept as before. But most cameras have a sync. speed limit to less than 1/200s. Sync. speed means the highest shutter speed a camera can use when using flash. So, pay extra attention to your shutter speed when shooting under bright sun light.
2. If shutter speed go over 1/200s, reset your exposure combination to get a exposure setting to under 1/200s (such as using a smaller f-stop or use slower ISO).
3. When shooting under bright sunlight with flash to fill shadows, setting a Tv (shutter) priority at 1/200s could ensure getting a proper exposure on existing light. Another advantage is to ensure actions will be freezed.
4. To achieve natural look on fill flash under bright sunlight, photographers sometimes adjust flash output to -.5 or -1 to easy off the light on the shadow areas of the subject. Most SLR cameras can have control on flash output. See example below.
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| No flash | Flash too strong | Flash set to - 1 |
You need to use flash to successfully take the following 4 photos (subject can be someone you know, no caption needed).
For all 4 situations, take one without flash first before taking the ones with flash. Turn-in the no flash ones with your "flashed" ones with similar file name (e.g. lowlightstationary_a, lowlightstationary_b).
1. (Low light stationary) Subject is stationary and under low light environment (under f4, 1/30s at ISO 1600) with background just a little bit brighter than the subject, use direct flash to light up your subject so that both subject and background details are visible. Background environment need to be at least 10 feet away.
2. (Low light freezing) Subject moving very fast (quick action) and under low light environment (not brighter than f4, 1/100s at ISO 1600) with some background lighting (not total darkness), use direct flash to light up your subject so that both subject and background details are visible. Background environment need to be at least 10 feet away.
3. (Low light bounce) Subject is either stationary or moving at low light indoor environment (under f4, 1/30s at ISO 1600) with some background lighting (not total darkness), use bounce flash to light up your subject so that both subject and background details are visible. Background environment need to be at least 10 feet away.
4. (Bright light fill in) Subject is at outdoor under bright sunlight but part of the face is in shade or subject is at indoor but with back facing bright outdoor environment. Use flash to fill in the shadow so that both subject and background details are visible. Background environment need to be at least 10 feet away.
Write a critique describe your findings on using flash. Tallk mainly on what works, what doesn't work and what did you learn from this assignment.
Assignment due next (Wed/Thur, depending on which class you are in) when class starts.