Help me use my new Canon speedlite 430ex11

[sprout44]

Hi there, i just got my new canon speedlite 430ex11. I tried using it on the auto setting of the ettl with the auto setting on the camera . I tried bounce of the ceiling and it came out nice but direct flash has very cool colours in the skin. I am not great yet at using the manual setting as i find it very complicated espically with the shutter speeds. Bascially i just want nice warm skin tones of my children indoors , what setting s are best for this. It was such an expensive purchase i want to get good use of it and not use it automatically all the time. The simple terms the better . Does a lot of use your flash outdoors, if so for what type of shot, would it be good for days that are grey and overcast.
Thanks in advance

 

[Big Mike]

Welcome to the forum.

Manual doesn't always mean better. I would recommend using your flash in E-TTL mode most of the the time, especially when bouncing it off walls or ceiling. However, I would recommend learning to use your camera in manual mode.

When I shoot with on-camera flash, I almost always have the camera in manual and the flash in auto (E-TTL). You set the aperture for the depth of field that you want, you set the shutter speed and ISO for the amount of ambient exposure you want. The flash will use a pre-flash to determine how much power it needs, taking into consideration the aperture and ISO that you have set.

If you don't get enough flash exposure, then you can dial up the FEC (flash exposure compensation). If you get too much, dial it down.

As for the skin tones, that has to do with your white balance setting. The best option is to shoot in RAW, which gives you the ability to change the WB setting, on the computer, rather than before you take the photo.

 

[Zrock]

I could be wrong on this but im pretty sure the auto mode on the 430 does not work when the flash is being used in a bounce position. Only time it works is when its pointed strait forward i know i read it in the manual some ware. I found the best setting when using mine is i bounce it just straight up and slightly behind me. I also have a bounce dome on mine to soften the flash a bit.

 

[Big Mike]

I could be wrong on this but im pretty sure the auto mode on the 430 does not work when the flash is being used in a bounce position. Only time it works is when its pointed strait forward i know i read it in the manual some ware. I found the best setting when using mine is i bounce it just straight up and slightly behind me. I also have a bounce dome on mine to soften the flash a bit.

That's wrong. E-TTL mode works no matter the flash position.

What you read, was that the 'auto zoom head' doesn't work when the flash is not pointed forward.
When the flash is forward, the head zooms so that the spread of light matches the field of view of the lens...so that no light is wasted where the lens won't see it. But when you're bouncing, that goes out the window, so the flash defaults (I think) to the 50mm zoom setting.

 

[Zrock]

hehe like i said i could be wrong...

 

[simon007]

Welcome to the forum.

Manual doesn't always mean better. I would recommend using your flash in E-TTL mode most of the the time, especially when bouncing it off walls or ceiling. However, I would recommend learning to use your camera in manual mode.

When I shoot with on-camera flash, I almost always have the camera in manual and the flash in auto (E-TTL). You set the aperture for the depth of field that you want, you set the shutter speed and ISO for the amount of ambient exposure you want. The flash will use a pre-flash to determine how much power it needs, taking into consideration the aperture and ISO that you have set.

If you don't get enough flash exposure, then you can dial up the FEC (flash exposure compensation). If you get too much, dial it down.

As for the skin tones, that has to do with your white balance setting. The best option is to shoot in RAW, which gives you the ability to change the WB setting, on the computer, rather than before you take the photo.

Big Mike,

Your last bit with regards shooting in RAW and the ability to change the WB on the computer.
Surely this can be done in most photo editors whether shot in RAW or Jpeg.
Most Photo Editors can do a lot of limited correction with images.

Simon

 

[pharmakon]

Simon,

You are correct in that the white balance can be tweaked in just about any photo editor, however there is a difference when shooting in raw as the color temperature hasn't already been modified by the camera.

Also in programs such as lightroom, if you shot in RAW you can select from many presets to get your white balance close (if not exact), whereas in jpeg you can only manually adjust or use the auto setting.

 

[simon007]

Simon,

You are correct in that the white balance can be tweaked in just about any photo editor, however there is a difference when shooting in raw as the color temperature hasn't already been modified by the camera.

Also in programs such as lightroom, if you shot in RAW you can select from many presets to get your white balance close (if not exact), whereas in jpeg you can only manually adjust or use the auto setting.

pharmakon and all,

What Photo Editor would you recommend apart from Photoshop?
I use the basic Paint.NET ( with extra plugins ) and AVS photo editor.
I did a search and found a couple cheaper and I think higher grade photo editors
than PAINT.NET and AVS photo editor. One was Corel Paint Shop Pro 4 ( other earlier/cheaper verson available )
and Serif Photoplus 5 ( earlier cheaper versions available ).
Both of these I don't expect to be as good as photoshop but do seem pretty good alternatives.
Any opinion?

Simon