Off camera flash practice.

[ronlane]

I have to admit, that I have only take one photo (a snapshot) in 2015 and that was the photo of me with my Secret Santa gift.

Well, I did have my 24" softbox out and my stuff laying here, so I decided I would try something different for me. When using OCF, I had always used Manual on the camera to set everything up. It would take some trial and error for me to get things close to right because I don't have a light meter yet.

I had heard someone say that you can use a flash (non-ttl) while using aperture priority or shutter priority, so I thought I would test this out.

I got a couple of new models to do this test. They didn't complain at all while getting things set up and while I shot the test. The best part was the cost.

Here are the settings. Canon 7D with a 70-200mm f/4L at 70mm, ISO 1000, 1/60 shutter, f/5.6, exposure compensation was like -5, Sunpak flash with Photttix Atlas II triggers. 24" softbox camera right up about 45 degrees at 1/16th power. I did not get out the reflector for fill on the camera left.

Post - I started in LR5 with basic adjustments and cropping, then I sent it to CC to do some spot healing on the chair to remove some lint and cloth fibers. Then I used Nik collection Define for noise reduction, use Color effex for the pro-contract and then sharpener pro for sharpening.

 

[Vtec44]

You're off to a great start!

 

[ronlane]

Thanks Vtec44.

 

[Vtec44]

Play with f9, 1/125-1/200s, and whatever the lowest ISO possible. I usually stay below 800 for studio work but that's just my personal preference. Slowly add more lights and soften/increase the shadows to see what works for you.

 

[ronlane]

I typically do that too but like I said, I'm usually on manual when I do things. I was playing with AV and the flash today. I typically have my settings at ISO 400, f/7.1 or 8 at about 1/200 or at 1/focal length. At those settings, I typically use the OCF at about 1/8th or 1/16th power.

I wished that I had TTL and then I could compare what it was doing to what I have been doing to see about getting things correct or better.