shutting with the sun right in front

allendehl · Dec 20, 2008

Hi friends, I was trying to create some nice effect shutting in front of the sun.
This is all I got. Any tips on what to do in this case?

1/200; IS0 100; f5.6

1/800; ISO 100; f6.3

1/1250/ISO 100; 6.3

I can't recall now if I was using the telephoto or the wide angle lens...I'm pretty sure was the wide angle though.

Thanks a lot

ksmattfish · Dec 20, 2008

Use fill flash.

Canon Digital Learning Center - Fill-Flash use with EOS cameras and speedlites

ANDS! · Dec 20, 2008

What effect where you going for? Generally in these situations you'd like a lenshood, and as the poster above said, to use fill flash so that you can expose for the sun (which you did in the last two pictures), and then use your on camera FLASH to light your subject.

allendehl · Dec 20, 2008

I'm reading the article ksmattfish posted about the fill-flash. Without knowing that technique I used it as you can see in the first pic(reflect in her sun glasses)...It didn't work out though.
I think the problem was that I was setting the focus point on her face(Is this "exposing for her"???)
After I saw the results I tried to focus in the background(sky) and as expected, AF never found a point and I had to switch to MF. Then I pointed to the sky, pressed the button half way, moved to her face and shut.(Is this exposing for the sun??...is it possible to use AF here???)

It looks like in this second shut I didn't use the flash(I don't see the reflect in her sun glasses...I cant recall exactly)...so I didn't get to combine both techniques....this could have been the point where I missed it....what do you think?

mrodgers · Dec 20, 2008

Interesting where the lens flare showed up in shot #1.... LOL

Clancyz · Dec 20, 2008

mrodgers said:
Interesting where the lens flare showed up in shot #1.... LOL

hahaha

allendehl · Dec 20, 2008

mrodgers said:
Interesting where the lens flare showed up in shot #1.... LOL

OK OK...didn't you noticed how nice is the little bird all the way in the back of the pic????? :grumpy:

..LOL...

Well ok, have fun...but help me out in return and shut a comment on how to improve it!!!!

rdzmzda · Dec 20, 2008

reflect the sunlight back onto her

gsgary · Dec 21, 2008

Expose for the sky and drop it 1 stop, set your flash to high speed sinc if you are above 1/250 and focus on the eyes

ksmattfish · Dec 21, 2008

allendehl said:
I'm reading the article ksmattfish posted about the fill-flash. Without knowing that technique I used it as you can see in the first pic(reflect in her sun glasses)...It didn't work out though.
I think the problem was that I was setting the focus point on her face(Is this "exposing for her"???)

The flash, and exposure in general, has nothing to do with focus, although depending on your metering mode where you point the camera will affect the settings the meter suggests in auto modes.

It sounds like you've got your meter lock and AF on the same button. That's the way most cameras come. If you can you may find it helpful to separate them (read your manual, look for custom functions). When you have them separated you can meter on one thing, and focus on another.

The reason the flash didn't light your subject enough is two fold: 1) In general her clothing and skin are very light; the flash is trying to make her middle gray. Dial in more power or flash comp to get the flash to light her up for brighter than middle gray. 2) The camera/flash is being confused by the very bright background. It really can't tell the difference between person and sky; it just turns everything into a math equation, and tries to get middle gray as the answer. The very, very bright sky overrides the darkness of the smaller subject.

How to get this shot: set aperture and shutter to expose for the sky (something like pic #3, but even darker to my taste. Take a test shot with the flash. If your subject is still too dark dial in positive flash comp, or switch the flash to manual power, and try a high power level. When I'm photographing backlit subjects like this it's really a lot easier to run everything in manual. The meter and flash are easily confused by where the camera is pointed.

allendehl · Dec 21, 2008

ksmattfish said:
It sounds like you've got your meter lock and AF on the same button. That's the way most cameras come. If you can you may find it helpful to separate them (read your manual, look for custom functions). When you have them separated you can meter on one thing, and focus on another.

Hi ksmattfish, thanks a LOT for taking the time to help!!

I'm looking in my manual and there is no custom func for separating the AF from the metering. I can't even find how to lock the metering. I have a Rebel XS...any tips on how to achieve this?
In the case I cannot do it with my camera...how can I lock the metering?

How to get this shot: set aperture and shutter to expose for the sky (something like pic #3, but even darker to my taste. Take a test shot with the flash. If your subject is still too dark dial in positive flash comp, or switch the flash to manual power, and try a high power level. When I'm photographing backlit subjects like this it's really a lot easier to run everything in manual. The meter and flash are easily confused by where the camera is pointed.

What do you mean with "expose for the sky"?...metering for the sky? I'm using Evaluative Metering. Reading the article you sent me it looks like I have to use Partial Metering and meter for her(get her to fill the viewfinder, try to expose correctly and read the values to use them later)....hum..a little confused here....