Miss Jeneya and Miss Aubriella

[tirediron]

Thanks for all the replies and I appreciate it but sometimes the critiques get to be alittle insulting. Im working hard at learning fill flash and had every intention of using flash off camera but i dropped my transmitter and it broke into a million pieces as soon as I arrived .

Unfortunately one of the problems with Internet communication is that mood doesn't always come through; that was said totall tongue in cheek, and was not meant to be insulting. I apologize if it seemed so. Broken gear sucks; broken, brand-new gear sucks even more (A brand-new light just arrived at my house with a broken flash-tube; I'm waiting for the replacement, I feel your pain!). That said, okay, you're stuck with on-camera-flash? Fair enough, you have to play the hand you were dealt, but there are things you can do; for instance, if all you have is the pop-up flash, slip a piece of toilet-tissue in front of the flash to act as a diffuser which will help reduce the "flashed" look and eliminate those dead-centre round catchlights.

 

[squirrels]

Apologies for being a jacka$$, and missing you post sharing your frustration. I'm still struggling with flash bounced or off camera especially when you throw kids in the mix. Hang in there I think you are doing great.

 

[DiskoJoe]

Okay; rule #1: The hot-shoe on your camera is ONLY to be used as a support mechanism for triggers and NOT to mount a flash. The built-in pop-up flash is ONLY to be used in case of sudden Sasquatch sightings or unexpected alien encounters!

or you can use the pop up to trigger an off camera flash. This is handy if you are using a long enough focal length where the the pop up flash will not be super close to the subject.

 

[joylyn]

Again thanks I guess im just alittle sensitive today everything that could go wrong did that day and well it was a real challenge. I was just so happy to get some beautiful images out of the session.

Do you ever work with reflectors? That's an easy way to get fill (not saying to give up on flash, just an alternative) and it's much less harsh.

I had a reflector with me but did not use it Aubriella was so full of energy every time her mother would try and hold her she would cry and well when she finally let her I just pressed that shutter button and held my breath She really wanted to get that picture of them 2 together. I have learned alot from this experience . Every new challenge leads to learning something new .

I do have a question how in the world do you manage to use off camera flash or reflector while chasing an 18 month old around?

 

[joylyn]

Sorry to post again but didnt realize more had responded . Its really ok and I do appreciate all of it the good the bad and the ugly . I am here to learn

or you can use the pop up to trigger an off camera flash. This is handy if you are using a long enough focal length where the the pop up flash will not be super close to the subject.

I would have used pop up to trigger but when I have used it in the past the pop up flash goes off as well as the off camera flash and isnt that overkill also ?

 

[Derrel]

I have to disagree that on-camera flash is always bad for fill. In fact, the classic place for fill light to come from is "as close to the lens axis as possible". Not off to one side, creating a second main light, and creating cross-lighting and weird shadows...but fill light that's right NEXT to the lens, aimed...straight ahead... that's the classic way to use a fill light.

Strobist: On-Axis Fill: Run-and-Gun Version

However, in shot #1, the flash is so strong that it's not fill light...it is the main source of light, and it does not look good in this case. If, however, you had dialed the on-camera flash down to about Minus 2.7 EV, it would have made a better picture I think.

Picture #2...cute!!! The background is great at the bottom,,,fantastic in fact, but the buildings at the top kind of hurt it from being a world-class image. Her expression and body language are both just precious.

 

[amolitor]

There's also an interesting fashion look in play these days that's basically the hotshoe flash look. I think of it as the facebook look, or the paparazzi look. It can be pretty effective, but you really need to be hitting people with strong features with it, I think.

 

[Derrel]

I think of it as the Terry Richardson look. He's been going to the well on it every day now for several years. Earning big bucks with it too, shooting major models and stars for high-prestiege clients. Many of his subjects are super-fit, trim and are model-y types, entertainers, and so on. years ago, Weegee made a career with on-camera flash for the most part. It has its unique attributes, especially in B&W, where it looks better, I think, than it does in color. Again though, we need to differentiate between on-camera FILL lighting that does little more than lighten the shadows and eye sockets, and using on-camera flash that's so bright it acts as the MAIN light source. Big difference.

What's odd is that 25-30 years ago, the OP's first shot might have been viewed as "good", and "trendy", because on-camera, TTL balanced flash was the hot, new thing. Then came the "portable softbox with square catchlights in the eyeglasses" look. The visual language now has shifted to the point where some people just absolutely think flash MUST come from off-axis angles, and nowhere else,in all cases, which is not a position I agree with. The decade old internet joke, "Needs fill flash," C&C comment has now been supplanted by militant assertions of "Needs Off-camera Flash." No offense is meant to either the OP or to those who responded to her--I'm just commenting on how trends come and go, and expectations shift and change...and sometimes, go BACK to the old ways...

 

[ghache]

Fill flash from camera look arsh because the light source is too small, not because it comes from the camera.....i use my ring flash to fill all the time and its mounted around my lens