How to make backgrounds bright when using flash

[StaceyMay]

Hello photographers!
I am very happy to be joining this community right now !
I have been taking photos for about a year now and have been taking some classes as well. (So I don't know if you'd concider myself a begginer or not, but I think I am compared to some other amazing photographers out there lol)
I have started looking at HighlightYourWinkles photo channel on YouTube and I fell in love with the style of photos she does. My budget does not allow me to get all those fancy flashes and stuff, so I went out and bought an SB-500 flash. I also got a soft box for it, and ordered a lightsphere.
I went out to shoot some test shots today against the sun but the photos turned out ok but with a very dark background. I used a light box and a cord so that I could direct the flash to the side of the subject. And I also attempted to use a reflector.
Any ideas how to make the photos nice and bright ?
I am going to the forest and a river in 2 days and i really want to create nice and creative photos there.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!

 

[480sparky]

Toss up a sample for us to see. We'll get you more relevant answers that way.

 

[Derrel]

SB-500 has an ISO 100 Guide Number in Feet, of let's call it 78; so, at 10 feet, with the ISO set to 100, the f/stop needed will be f/7.8, which is very close to f/8. Let's set the ISO to 125, and round the aperture to f/8 on the nose.

In bright sunlight, at 1/250 second, the backdrop will be fairly bright at ISO 125 with the lens set to f/8. The flash will light close-in stuff, from 8 to 15 feet, but beyond that, not too much light will come from the flash, and the backdrops will tend to be bright, in sunlight, at 1/250 second and f/8 at ISO 125.

One flash basic: outdoors, the FLASH lights Up the FOREGROUND... (Flash, Foreground, both begin with F) and for the distant parts of the picture, where the flash's output does not reach to---the Shutter Sets The Scene With its Speed!

You can "brighten up" the "scene" by Setting the Shutter Speed Slower...like at 1/160, or 1/125, or when indoors, you could use a very sloooooooow shutter speed like 1/6 or 1/8 second, which is called "dragging the shutter" when using the flash to light the foreground. Slower shutter speeds make backgrounds brighter.

 

[StaceyMay]

Hello again and thank you to you two for your replies! I will try to upload a photo once I take one again, 480sparkey.
Thank you Darrel for the heads up about the distance stuff. I found a chart about that on an online manual after I saw what you wrote. I will keep that in mind.

In a video I watched a couple days ago a guy was talking about how you must make your camera take a picture with the background bright, and subject dark, which would work well when the flash will later brighten the subject. Do you think this works? What settings do I use to achieve this? And this would work for bright backgrounds only, right (ex: it would work against sunset, but won't work against forest background)?

Thank you once again and hope to hear more!

 

[weepete]

Yes, it works quite well. Generally speaking you'd want to underexpose the backgound by 1-2 stops and have yoir subject "pop" by having them propery exposed. This will throw more light on your subject and separate them from the background a bit and you can get some dramatic results. If you want a more high key look you can go the other way and overexpose the background a bit or for the times you want an even exposure then you can do that too.

Here is some good reading on flash photography
Strobist: Lighting 101: Introduction

 

[Designer]

In a video I watched a couple days ago a guy was talking about how you must make your camera take a picture with the background bright, and subject dark, which would work well when the flash will later brighten the subject. Do you think this works? What settings do I use to achieve this?

The instructor is trying to show you how to set up the shot in two stages; one "before" and one "after" the flash is turned on. Eventually, you will learn how to estimate the flash power needed and where to set it as a good starting point (assuming you have no portable flash meter).

This is usually referred to as "fill light". I don't know if your camera and flash have the capability to do this automatically, but I'm guessing not.

Essentially, you need to go to manual control, not automatic anything. Set your camera to make a good exposure for the background, and then adjust the flash to give just a bit of light. You might even want to consider shooting through a diffuser which would also help to cut down on the light power.

Learning how much power to dial in on the flash will take a bit of experimentation, so take your time and consult the histogram between shots.

Don't crowd your subject with the flash, keep it back at a respectful distance to avoid blowing out the subject.

I'm guessing you don't have a light meter (I don't either) so it's going to be a lot of guesswork until you get a feel for how much light a particular setup will need.

 

[KmH]

How to make backgrounds bright when using flash
It's called "dragging the shutter".
dragging the shutter - Yahoo Search Results

 

[Derrel]

Many times a lighter subject and a DARK background looks good-- moody, dramatic, poignant. Many times a lighter toned subject will "pop!" When shown in front of a darker Background.

 

[KmH]

From which stems the couple thousand year old visual art truism - Light advances, dark recedes.

 

[Bob Peters 61]

Am I too new here to recommend You Tube channel Snap Chick? She has a lot of how-to videos about lighting.

 

[Peeb]

Many times a lighter subject and a DARK background looks good-- moody, dramatic, poignant. Many times a lighter toned subject will "pop!" When shown in front of a darker Background.

rose- after post processing by peeb, on Flickr

 

[benhasajeep]

She is exposing for the background and using fill light for the subject. She is only using 1 mono-light in the videos I watched of her. Going by the sound and some of the actual pictures she's posting, she's not dragging the shutter. The difference is, she is using a fairly powerful mono-light and big soft box. This light was about 10-15' back from the subjects. Much more powerful light than your SB-500. I am guessing the monolight was in the 800 to 1200 ws range. The SB-500 would need to be much closer but still could be used. Or another option without spending too much money is to use more flashes in the one location. They make 2, 3, 4 flash mount brackets. And umbrellas or soft boxes that works with them.

Other choice is to go ahead and buy a mono-light and battery system (battery needed for outdoor location shooting). You don't have to start with the big named expensive ones. But the cheaper ones may not last long being dragged around everywhere.

There are many many lighting options. I myself have multiple flashes and 3-way, 2-way, and single flash brackets. I have silver umbrellas, white translucent umbrellas, and large soft box that fits any of the combinations I need. I have a studio monolight set, but rarely use them outdoors. Flashes are so much easier to carry. I can carry 9 flashes, brackets, loads of batteries, and radio triggers in a single large shoulder bag. Probably the most flashes I have used at a single time is 6.