Navy backround using flash?

[bar-elo]

Hi, I have a question about how to take a pic.
I was given an assignment of taking an outside picture on a sunny day using a regular flash.
The person/subject has to be illuminated perfectly with the flash meanwhile all the background and surroundings have to be left in a navy blue color.

This is possible, but I don’t know how to make it (not using Photoshop). The only hint I got is that the solution to this scenery is related with the Theory of Color and not related with color temperature.

Thanks in advance.

 

[bar-elo]

http://photodoto.com/index.php/2007/10/09/workshop-at-the-ranch/
← This is the technique I’m trying to create. If these pictures where taken in regular day light then this is the result I want to achieve. Anyone have an idea of how to do this?

 

[Big Mike]

You need to underexpose for the background but then use flash to properly illuminate your subject.

 

[Garbz]

Really because that looks 100% colour temperature to me. If you put a CTO (colour temperature orange) gel on your flash to bring it tungsten white balance, set the camera to tungsten white balance then you get that effect with no photoshop at all:

In this case I set the camera to tungsten -2 so it's not quite as blue as it could be.

 

[JerryPH]

You will note that Garbz used a very small paerture (numerically high) to force a low background exposure. He then flashed on the subject to get them properly exposed.

I think that if the sun were not there, it would be a lot bluer becuase background light would be much less.

Garbz... good example and I love your model!

 

[Garbz]

I was fresh out of bikini babes :lmao:

 

[bar-elo]

LOL thanks for all your help, ill see if i can do this!

So basically if I understood right, I use the orange gel on my flash (or any other organe “filter”) that’s to create a warm color for the model/subject.

I set my white balance to tungsten (the thing is, I have to create this effect with a basic SLR non digital camera, so I can’t really play with the white balance)

Then I set my camera on a high fstop (closed diaphragm)

What speed should I use? Also, do I still force a underexposed pic?

Thanks for the help!

 

[brileyphotog]

Garbz is right again. I clicked on your link and in the first paragraph it explains that he is using warm colored gels on his Speedlight to achieve that effect.

Since you are using a film SLR it might take a roll to get it right. Make sure you right down you settings for every shot, so when you go back and compare you can find the one that is closest and tweak your settings from there.

 

[Garbz]

Ignore the aperture. The point of that was that I was shooting into the sun.

To do this on film either get tungsten balanced film which will naturally make a flash with a CTO gel appear white and the sky blue, or put a cooling filter on the lens.

To get the background dark use the fastest shutter speed your camera can sync at (my case it was 1/250th). Then set the aperture to get the background as dark as you want it. Finally set the flash power to correctly expose for the subject.

You're balancing multiple lights here (flash and sun) by adjusting your shutter speed, camera aperture, and flash power. This will be a pain on film.