to flash or not

[zbo2408]

These 2 photos were taken with my xsi 18-55 with 430EXII with a mini softbox attached on the flash LumiQuest Mini SoftBox - for Shoe-Mount Flashes LQ-108 B&H Photo

I had the camera set on Av set the aperture to f/5, focal length 37, ISO 200, shutter came out at 1/100 ... And the flash was set for ETTL ... The first picture was taken with the flash and the second was immediately after before the flash had time to reenergize.

Why did the shot that was supposedly optimized for flash come out over exposed / subject washed out and the one that was w/out the flash but "set for it" come out looking proper?

1. with flash

2. w/out flash

any additional C&C would be appreciate

 

[Village Idiot]

What metering mode are you using? It looks like the camera metered for the black in the scene and the flash fired to properly expose the black, which it did. To expose the black, it had to fire at a higher power than the overall scene needed, this makes for a generally overexposed image.

Ed: Duh...feeling like a retard right now.

 

[Karri]

What metering mode are you using? It looks like the camera metered for the black in the scene and the flash fired to properly expose the black, which it did. To expose the black, it had to fire at a hire power than the overall scene needed, this makes for a generally overexposed image.

:thumbup:

 

[KmH]

You wasted $25.

The attachment is virtually useless, because it is way to small. All it does is use up 1 stop worth of light so you use up your batteries faster.

Nice strobed (flash) lighting is made by making a light source apparently large. For a head and shoulders shot like that, about 3 feet large rather than 3 1/4" x 4 1/2".

 

[zbo2408]

What metering mode are you using? It looks like the camera metered for the black in the scene and the flash fired to properly expose the black, which it did. To expose the black, it had to fire at a higher power than the overall scene needed, this makes for a generally overexposed image.

Ed: Duh...feeling like a retard right now.

I am not sure what metering mode it was in. What would of been the proper metering mode? I have read this section of my manual multiple times and I just have not been able to grasp the appropriate situations for each.

Looking at this photo do you even feel flash was needed in the first place?

 

[Derrel]

Why did the shot that was supposedly optimized for flash come out over exposed / subject washed out and the one that was w/out the flash but "set for it" come out looking proper?

Canon's color-blind flash metering is a good place to start placing the blame.
It cannot tell what colors the subject in front of it are...it's expecting that the subject is roughly 18 percent gray...but she's dressed in black, and has fair skin...a dumb, color-blind flash metering system doesn't stand much of a chance at nailing the flash exposure.

 

[Village Idiot]

Why did the shot that was supposedly optimized for flash come out over exposed / subject washed out and the one that was w/out the flash but "set for it" come out looking proper?

Canon's color-blind flash metering is a good place to start placing the blame.
It cannot tell what colors the subject in front of it are...it's expecting that the subject is roughly 18 percent gray...but she's dressed in black, and has fair skin...a dumb, color-blind flash metering system doesn't stand much of a chance at nailing the flash exposure.

Oh, hey look, Nikon fan boy doing nothing to help the situation.

 

[Village Idiot]

What metering mode are you using? It looks like the camera metered for the black in the scene and the flash fired to properly expose the black, which it did. To expose the black, it had to fire at a higher power than the overall scene needed, this makes for a generally overexposed image.

Ed: Duh...feeling like a retard right now.

I am not sure what metering mode it was in. What would of been the proper metering mode? I have read this section of my manual multiple times and I just have not been able to grasp the appropriate situations for each.

Looking at this photo do you even feel flash was needed in the first place?

The most you could have done was under expose the ambient by another stop and used the flash then. This would have probably cut down on the intensity you're getting on the leaves in the background from the sun. Other than that, the second photo looks fine.

 

[CNCO]

I know the purpose of photography is to take the image correctly. You can always layer these two in ps then mask out the over exposed area.

 

[zbo2408]

I guess I didn't really need to use flash in this photo and that was a big part of why its no good?

I know the purpose of photography is to take the image correctly. You can always layer these two in ps then mask out the over exposed area.

Yeah outside of making minor adjustments to white balance and auto exposure (for raw shots) I'm not into editing

 

[Village Idiot]

I guess I didn't really need to use flash in this photo and that was a big part of why its no good?

I know the purpose of photography is to take the image correctly. You can always layer these two in ps then mask out the over exposed area.

Yeah outside of making minor adjustments to white balance and auto exposure (for raw shots) I'm not into editing

Not necessarily. It would have just been a different way of doing it.