First attempt at off-camera flash! CC Welcome!

jmtonkin · Feb 21, 2012

It finally came! I got my SB-900 today in the mail, so I decided that it was time for me to practice and to attempt some self-portraits! I shot this with the flash on manual, but I can't remember the exact settings.

Exposure Time	1/250
F Number	10.0
Exposure Program	Manual
ISO Speed Ratings	200

Flash	On, Return not detected
Focal Length	18.0 mm
White Balance	Auto

I really like the details brought out in this picture. I also love the way the eyes pop. I'm not sure why, but when I uploaded it to Flickr, it looks a little over-sharpened...

rexbobcat · Feb 22, 2012

Not too good.....

It's almost entirely flat, and it's very harsh. It causes the oil on the skin to glisten in an unattractive way. The photo is also wayyyyyy oversharpened.

It's also cropped really, really tightly, so it's hard to understand where the flash was relative you to, because we don't have a reference. It seems like maybe it was too close, or you gave it too much power?

If you aren't going for dramatic lighting, try to soften the flash with reflectors and softboxes so that it will give a nice even glow across the face. The light will be a pleasant gradient, in stead of seeming IN YOUR FACE like the lighting in this photo.

2WheelPhoto · Feb 22, 2012

Its so oversharpened, why you want to do yourself like that

jmtonkin · Feb 22, 2012

I think I figured out why it is so sharp. When I did the PP, I made it sharper so keeping in mind that I'd need it sharpened for printing, not that I really want to print it. When I exported it from Lightroom, it sharpened it more. I think that's why it was so sharp.

Unfortunately, I do not have a softbox or reflectors, just the flash. Its only a matter of time before I get one, but as it is, I'm out of money...

As for the oily skin, its actually sweat. Something went wrong with the heat in my dorm and it was unbelievably hot.

This is a pretty tight crop of the original. Because of the small dorm room, I had my camera on my tripod about three feet away from me with the flash at roughly 45 degrees and a little higher than my camera.

I'm going to go back and re-edit this shot and make it not as sharp and I'll post that one along with the original later today.

jwbryson1 · Feb 22, 2012

jmtonkin said:
I had my camera on my tripod about three feet away from me with the flash at roughly 45 degrees and a little higher than my camera.

Can you explain this statement about the flash? I assume that the flash was on a cold shoe stand and it was wirelessly triggered by your camera? 45 degrees from what? Did you put the flash 45 degrees to the right of the camera but point the flash directly at yourself? Have you tried to bounce the flash off of the ceiling or off of a wall to soften it a bit?

jmtonkin · Feb 22, 2012

I had a cord attaching the flash to my camera. I had the camera at a 45 degree angle to the right of my camera pointing down at me. Not sure if that makes any more sense...

jwbryson1 · Feb 22, 2012

jmtonkin said:
I had a cord attaching the flash to my camera. I had the camera at a 45 degree angle to the right of my camera pointing down at me. Not sure if that makes any more sense...

The head on your SB-900 swivels up and down, and left and right. It sounds like you did not swivel the head to point the flash away from you but instead had the light from the flash aimed directly at your face. This causes harsh flat lighting.

Try the same setup but tilt the head of the SB-900 up 45 degrees so the light from the flash hits the ceiling and bounces back down on you, or swivel the head of the SB-900 to the left or to the right and bounce the light off a wall and back onto your face.

This will dramatically improve the light. Repost when you take another shot.

Redeyejedi · Feb 22, 2012

jmtonkin said:
Unfortunately, I do not have a softbox or reflectors, just the flash. Its only a matter of time before I get one, but as it is, I'm out of money...

sure you do, ceilings, walls, poster-boards, roommates with white t-shirts etc can all make bounce surfaces. aluminum foil can be a reflector.
the flash you have rotates and tilts. try rotating flash 90 degrees to right or left and bounce off wall, or 180 degrees and angle flash to bounce off wall behind you and ceiling.

Bounce your Flash off the Ceiling – Speedlight Flash Tips

shortpants · Feb 22, 2012

You can still do plenty with a bare flash. I agree with all the things already mentioned. I would find someone to practice on rather than yourself. Self portraits are difficult enough to compose, you'll learn faster if you see what you're doing right away. Get a friend and head outside somewhere or find a room with more space.

jmtonkin · Feb 22, 2012

I thought I'd post a couple pictures of the set-up I used on these shots; try to clear things up a bit.

Here is the view from where I was sitting on the chair. You can see the flash sitting on my bed frame pointed directly onto me.

Back up a little bit and this is the view.

And finally, this is shot, obviously, behind the camera. You can see how far away the chair and flash was from the camera.

I hope this helps clear the set-up up...I'm not sure how to describe most of the set-up, and as we know, a picture is worth a thousand words!

bazooka · Feb 22, 2012

Turn that flash around and bounce it off that white ceiling or those blinds. Those would make great umbrellas. But leave the flash physically in the same place. Once you do, compare both shots. It'll be your first lesson in light quality!

One more thing to note that I didn't see mentioned, the white balance is on the blue side. You might want to warm it up a bit by adjusting the white balance in post.

jwbryson1 · Feb 22, 2012

bazooka said:
Turn that flash around and bounce it off that white ceiling or those blinds. Those would make great umbrellas. But leave the flash physically in the same place. Once you do, compare both shots. It'll be your first lesson in light quality!

One more thing to note that I didn't see mentioned, the white balance is on the blue side. You might want to warm it up a bit by adjusting the white balance in post.

^^^ +1,000,000

Just what I've been saying. Plenty of places to bounce that flash.