Tips for event with manual flash

gaz87 · Aug 27, 2013

Hi all,

I have a family function / party which I have been asked to photograph. I have only a manual flash however, so was hoping for some tips on how make it work well in a dynamic situation without constantly having to check the photos and tweak the power setting.

I can perhaps try to always keep a constant distance between myself and the object i'm photographing, or maybe that would be too hard.

Advice is welcome

I will be using a Canon 600D with 50mm f1.8 and 18-135mm

Dao · Aug 27, 2013

- Indoor party? Low white ceiling? High dark ceiling?
- Outdoor party? During the day? At night?
- Formal type that everybody sat down and say cheese? Candid type shots that capturing what's happening in the event?

gaz87 · Aug 27, 2013

Wow how did I forget to mention all that.
It will probably start just before sunset, both outdoor and indoor. There will be a ceiling low enough that I can bounce the flash off.
Its not very format at all, probably a walk around and take pictures type thing. There will be a belly dancer show...

amolitor · Aug 27, 2013

Is it really a manual flash, or an "auto" flash with a thyristor or similar? There's techniques you can use here to balance ambient and flash for an "almost-TTL" experience.

If you're truly manual, shoot RAW and use every ounce of exposure latitude available, and then chimp a lot.

gaz87 · Aug 27, 2013

The flash is actually a YN-560 III

amolitor · Aug 27, 2013

Looks like "no auto" as far as I can tell. That's a kind of an old school feature, these days.

Good luck

Buckster · Aug 27, 2013

Get to know your flash and its power and reach as soon as possible. It's very easy to do:

Set up an object to test with or, if you can, get a friend to help you. He, she or it will be the subject.

If you have the gear, get the flash off the camera by putting it on a bracket or holding it with your hand off to the side or up higher than the camera, connected with a cord or remote trigger. Holding it while operating the camera one-handed takes practice and may tire you out fairly quickly, so a bracket is recommended. It's actually fairly easy to make one from common hardware parts, a cold shoe, and a cord or trigger, or you can get an inexpensive 3rd party bracket online.

Whether you use the flash on a bracket or in your camera's hot shoe, put the subject about 5 feet from you. Get a feel for how far away that is from you in real life. Now shoot a few photos with the flash, adjusting the aperture on your camera until it looks good to you. Write down or, if you have a really good memory, remember that aperture setting for subjects 5 feet away from you.

Now put the subject 10 feet away, and do the same thing.

Now put the subject 15 feet away, and do the same thing.

Do this until you have covered the distances you think you'll need.

It can be really handy to write these settings down on a piece of paper, and tape them onto the flash or camera where you can see them and easily refer to them, so you don't forget.

For more information about this technique, read up on the subject of Flash Guide Numbers.

That will cover your flash settings.

Remember - control the flash power with aperture. To adjust how much ambient light is also in the photo, adjust the shutter speed appropriately while shooting.

Edit: I see after posting that the flash is a YN-560 III. That being the case, you can also use different power settings on the flash to help you achieve the correct flash power output. Generally, you will only need the full power at the furthest distances to your subject. In any case, you will use the same techniques as above, but with one extra thing to write down: the flash power settings along with the distance to subject and aperture.

With a little practice, you'll know instinctively what aperture and power setting to use based on your distance to the subject.

Big Mike · Aug 27, 2013

Avoid straight on flash...bounce it up and/or behind you (when there is something to bounce off of).
Think of it as super charging the ambient light.

Just a guess, but I'd start with the flash at 1/4 power (give or take). Then adjust your ISO or aperture to get the exposure you want.

Dao · Aug 27, 2013

I think it will be a little bit easy for the indoor shots since you can bounce off the ceiling. I think you can do some practice at home right now. For event shots, I think you can shoot with aperture around f/5.6 or f/8 and flash power of 1/4 and match that with the ISO settings. Not using full flash power so less time for the flash to recycle and you can fire more flashes before you need to change the batteries.

I found this site regarding flash photography is quite useful. Take a look at the section about dragging the shutter as well.