what do you guys think?

[goodoneian]

i was messing around with my flashes this evening trying to balance the flash with ambient light to make the the picture appear as natural as possible you could say, and this was my best result.

i wasn't really going for any kind of composition, just more of getting more familiar with my flashes. i had two sb-600s about 6 feet up bounced off the top of the patio cover for this.

the one thing i do not like is how the roof is partially blown out, and i haven't really found a solution for this. any suggestions for next time?

 

[JerryPH]

I have one word for you... Diffusion. Use an umbrella. There is a nice big hotspot right on the subject's forehead. Other than that, not bad.

 

[youbetcha1018]

Ohhhhh... I like the photo, honestly, it was like edited. But I love it.:thumbup:

 

[goodoneian]

thanks . yeah i really want to get some umbrellas before too long since i usually have hot spot issues. i used omni bounce diffusers but they didn't really effect the image too much. after i get my v2s (which should be soon) i'll order some umbrellas

and to youbetcha, i'm not sure you were implying that it was edited or not, but if you were it's not haha

 

[Mike_E]

If you are using stands already, build 2- 2foot by 2 foot frames and stretch some white rip-stop nylon over it and shoot through them.

Set the SBs to manual and just move them in and out to adjust the power. I'm sure you will like the effect and you don't have to blow out the ceiling (or your subject).

 

[goodoneian]

If you are using stands already, build 2- 2foot by 2 foot frames and stretch some white rip-stop nylon over it and shoot through them.

Set the SBs to manual and just move them in and out to adjust the power. I'm sure you will like the effect and you don't have to blow out the ceiling (or your subject).

thanks, i'll try that out. i still plan on getting umbrellas though, but i could use this method for now

 

[orly_zailer]

hey, you sould try and use a soft box to soften the shadows, than it will look more natural and the roof won`t be so blown out.


www.orly-zailer.com

 

[lockwood81]

the one thing i do not like is how the roof is partially blown out, and i haven't really found a solution for this. any suggestions for next time?

Crop the ceiling out.

No really, like what they said above...soften it up.

 

[Big Mike]

As the others have mentioned, a softer light (via diffusion) will help to improve your results.

You said that you were trying to balance the ambient with the flash...but in this shot, the background (ambient) is underexposed and the subject is well exposed, maybe slightly overexposed. It's a pretty good image the way it is, but it could be more balanced which would probably help it to look more natural.

Just slow down the shutter speed to record more ambient, that should do it.

 

[goodoneian]

thanks for all the responses. i understand that i need to diffuse my light, and i'll keep in mind that to balance the background i should leave the shutter open a little longer