Balancing ambient and flash....

[gsgary]

Once you get the hang of flash you can do lots with it, here's one where we were in a cave so i made the flash very similar to the ambient

Nice one, Gary!! Im really wanting a flash with ttl, but DH says my gear fund is empty for a while. *cry*

Flash was on manual I hardly ever used ttl

 

[beachrat]

Once you get the hang of flash you can do lots with it, here's one where we were in a cave so i made the flash very similar to the ambient

Nice one, Gary!! Im really wanting a flash with ttl, but DH says my gear fund is empty for a while. *cry*

Once you get the hang of the ins and outs of your flashes,I think you'll find that manual is more consistent and satisfying than ttl.

 

[D-B-J]

Once you get the hang of flash you can do lots with it, here's one where we were in a cave so i made the flash very similar to the ambient

Nice one, Gary!! Im really wanting a flash with ttl, but DH says my gear fund is empty for a while. *cry*

Once you get the hang of the ins and outs of your flashes,I think you'll find that manual is more consistent and satisfying than ttl.

Im not sure I agree. Manual is great for situations where the lighting won't change, but not so much for situations when the lighting changes often.

 

[gsgary]

Here you go one with off camera flash and one with it turned off, yes that is me on the bike, second shot is James Ellison (Motogp rider/world supersports/world superbike and now British superbikes

James Ellison and his Texas wife

 

[gsgary]

Once you get the hang of flash you can do lots with it, here's one where we were in a cave so i made the flash very similar to the ambient

Nice one, Gary!! Im really wanting a flash with ttl, but DH says my gear fund is empty for a while. *cry*

Once you get the hang of the ins and outs of your flashes,I think you'll find that manual is more consistent and satisfying than ttl.

Im not sure I agree. Manual is great for situations where the lighting won't change, but not so much for situations when the lighting changes often.

If the lighting changes i just alter my aperture or flash power simple, if i want to alter the background to make it darker i up the shutter speed if i want it lighter i slow the shutter speed

 

[pgriz]

Once you get the hang of flash you can do lots with it, here's one where we were in a cave so i made the flash very similar to the ambient

Nice one, Gary!! Im really wanting a flash with ttl, but DH says my gear fund is empty for a while. *cry*

Actually, it's easier to do this kind of mixing with manual flash. Set your shutter speed to the sync speed (say 1/200 sec). Set your aperture for the ambient (say, f/8, but that obviously depends on the amount of ambient). Now do a test fire of your flash at full power. If everything is blown, reduce your flash power by 3 stops (from full to 1/8 power) and try again. Once you're in the general area, fine-tune your flash power exposure, up or down depending on what you need. With this approach, you'll have the ambient properly exposed, and the flash will provide the right amount of fill. If you're bouncing the flash, then more light is "wasted", and you will need a higher power setting than if you do a direct flash. As long as the flash-reflector surface-subject is more-or-less the same, the same power setting on the flash would be appropriate.

 

[D-B-J]

Once you get the hang of flash you can do lots with it, here's one where we were in a cave so i made the flash very similar to the ambient

Nice one, Gary!! Im really wanting a flash with ttl, but DH says my gear fund is empty for a while. *cry*

Once you get the hang of the ins and outs of your flashes,I think you'll find that manual is more consistent and satisfying than ttl.

Im not sure I agree. Manual is great for situations where the lighting won't change, but not so much for situations when the lighting changes often.

If the lighting changes i just alter my aperture or flash power simple, if i want to alter the background to make it darker i up the shutter speed if i want it lighter i slow the shutter speed

But what if you want the settings you have? Then you have to dial it in on the flash? No, awefully slow and cumbersome when trying to shoot quickly. Use TTl and exposure comp on the flash for perfect flash all the time in quickly changing or fast paced situations.

 

[pgriz]

I use TTL when the light is changing, the subject/flash distance is changing, and if I'm mixing direct and bounce. Life's way too short to keep adjusting the settings. However, if the subject/reflector/flash distance is more or less the same, and the ambient isn't bouncing all over the place, then manual gives more control and consistency. Use the appropriate tool for the right problem.

 

[gsgary]

Once you get the hang of flash you can do lots with it, here's one where we were in a cave so i made the flash very similar to the ambient

Nice one, Gary!! Im really wanting a flash with ttl, but DH says my gear fund is empty for a while. *cry*

Once you get the hang of the ins and outs of your flashes,I think you'll find that manual is more consistent and satisfying than ttl.

Im not sure I agree. Manual is great for situations where the lighting won't change, but not so much for situations when the lighting changes often.

If the lighting changes i just alter my aperture or flash power simple, if i want to alter the background to make it darker i up the shutter speed if i want it lighter i slow the shutter speed

But what if you want the settings you have? Then you have to dial it in on the flash? No, awefully slow and cumbersome when trying to shoot quickly. Use TTl and exposure comp on the flash for perfect flash all the time in quickly changing or fast paced situations.

Earlier you said you bounced flash what off ? if that distance changes what do you do, ttl is not that clever you would still have to check and adjust

 

[D-B-J]

Once you get the hang of flash you can do lots with it, here's one where we were in a cave so i made the flash very similar to the ambient

Nice one, Gary!! Im really wanting a flash with ttl, but DH says my gear fund is empty for a while. *cry*

Once you get the hang of the ins and outs of your flashes,I think you'll find that manual is more consistent and satisfying than ttl.

Im not sure I agree. Manual is great for situations where the lighting won't change, but not so much for situations when the lighting changes often.

If the lighting changes i just alter my aperture or flash power simple, if i want to alter the background to make it darker i up the shutter speed if i want it lighter i slow the shutter speed

But what if you want the settings you have? Then you have to dial it in on the flash? No, awefully slow and cumbersome when trying to shoot quickly. Use TTl and exposure comp on the flash for perfect flash all the time in quickly changing or fast paced situations.

Earlier you said you bounced flash what off ? if that distance changes what do you do, ttl is not that clever you would still have to check and adjust

Yes cause of course that's the ONLY way I use flash... And obviously you compensate. Nothing's perfect 100% oh the time. But I've found TTL highly useful in fast paced shooting conditions.

 

[gsgary]

All I have to do to adjust the power of the flash is turn the wheel one way or the other

 

[Braineack]

trying to decide who's more attractive.

Random balancing act pic:


Mike and Brian by The Braineack, on Flickr

 

[pixmedic]

trying to decide who's more attractive.

Random balancing act pic:


Mike and Brian by The Braineack, on Flickr

definitely the guy with the bike.
although, the guy with the beard in the other picture is a close second.

 

[gsgary]

I'm back just been developing a roll of Fomapan400, I'll take the chick every time

 

[pixmedic]

I'm back just been developing a roll of Fomapan400, I'll take the chick every time

she can most certainly join in