Flash - Behind the scenes

[Don Hoey]

Well I learned a bit today.
Of my 35mm cameras I have only ever used the F2 or F3 with the studio unit so surprise No.1 was realising that the D100 has no old style flash connection ( I've only had 3 years ). No.2 was when I used the built in unit to trigger the big one. I had taken a flashmeter reading of f22 and the only decent exposure I got was at f5.6 on camera on manual ?????. The SB80-DX worked OK but I was now one light down on what I thought and I could not be bothered to read the manual in case I was doing something wrong. What I wanted was in my head so the fewer distractions the better but I will have to gen up or I may end up looking like a technophobe.

Setting up the model involved rummaging through my vacuum cleaner for a bit of fine background swarf. Normally this vac is only used for metal but there was a lot of sawdust in there from another job. I found a bit of brass swarf ( adds a hint of colour ) that was placed with tweezers. Flash would pick them out quite brightly so it was important not to overdo this.

I tried a few pics using the 28-105 but viewing them on the computer sharpness was an issue ( and I know I would get some stick from wolfie ). I tried moving the flash units back to see if a wider aperture may be sharper, without much luck. Dug out my 80-200 as I know this is a sharp lens. Set myself up only to find the Metz battery had now run flat, so now I was down to 2 flash units. The Metz does not have stand-by and I forgot to switch it off in between test shots.

The setup in the attatched photo's shows the general scheme of things.

The studio flash was used as I needed a big light as there was no ambient daylight and the softbox is 30" x 30". The studio flash head is inside without any relectors fitted and faces away from the subject. The other big advantage is it is mains powered and recyles amazingly quickly.
The SB80-DX was the trigger flash for the big one and is connected to the camera by a lead. This unit was set to manual so balancing the output of the two was a case of moving them nearer or further from the subject. The effect each would have was calculated by assessing each flash unit effect individually before combining them for the final result.

The camera was set to manual and the final exposure was 1/125 @ f14.

The only other important bits of kit were the black card for the background and the polystyrene reflector to bounce light back - primarily from the SB80-DX as without that the big ' Bull gear ' at the back of the model would not have been picked out.

Other considerations were - The positioning of the micrometer. Even though it is dressing and was going to be out of focus, set at a lesser angle to the lathe the ' hard light ' from the SB80-DX which was set to graze the scene would have ' blasted ' any detail. Positioning of parts of the lathe ( handles ) to ensure they would not be lost against the mill bed.

I have attatched a compressed image of the shots because these open in a seperate window you can put up all images at once if you wish.

Don

PS Before clearing up and following wolfies post, I thought I should post pics showing the effect each flash has on the final picture.

[wolfie]

This is really good Don, I'm sure this will be of immense value to newcomers to flash photography.

Harry

[Don Hoey]

Into the workshop to tidy up this morning and thought of wolfies post as I regard him as a master of flash, and thought I ought to post the missing info from my previous post.

The camera angle may be a smidge out as I did not think to do this at the time. The flash units were however in position.

Picture 1 shows the effect of the SB80-DX. As it is direct ( no diffusion ) it has a hard light. Any shadows would therefore be quite harsh. This flash was the main ( key ) light.

Picture 2 shows the effect of the Multiblitz studio flash. Although a far more powerful unit it was used to provide some gentle fill light and provide catch lights on the shiney surfaces.

Note 1. If you are into coin photography ( archeological recording etc ) using a flash as in Picture I where it grazes the surface is great for highlighting delicate details that would be lost using soft overhead light.

Note 2. The sheer size of the light comming from the Multiblitz and the use of 2 side relectors could have been used to swamp the image in a soft light the equivalent of outdoors on a totally overcast day. The final image would show all the detail but would not have the same impact.

Oh no, only got one browser window open so I will have to edit to get the link. That will be to my first picture of the model taken with diffused light only

Don

PS That wont work so I will have to do another post

[Don Hoey]

The miising link mentioned in my last post. http://www.worldphotographyforum.com...to=675&cat=508

Don

[embe]

Thanks Don. have been copy and pasting while i have my morning cuppa, this is great stuff thanks for your effort warm regards embe

[Don Hoey]

Hi embe

This thread will grow in time as I will post any flash related info here. I remember how tricky a subject it was to get to grips with, so I hope to do a bit of demistyfying and take out some of the fear for those that are just starting out.

I am still learning and I have been into photography for years.

Post any questions you may have and I will do my best to help.

If when you are in the gallery and you look just below a picture, you will in a lot of cases see the exif - that is details of camera, lens, etc. These will show if flash has been used. The fun for me is trying to work out how it was used.

There are images where it has been very subtly used, ' wolfie ' springs immediately to mind - dont know why Truely inspirational stuff.

Don

[Canis Vulpes]

After reading this superb thread, I quickly realised I was doing everything wrong

I really want to capture my little boy in his development and the purchase of my flash was purely so I could photograph him at night or when the light was bad. I now have a second flash and can be triggered remotely.

Here is the first attempt using two flashes, what do you think?

[Canis Vulpes]

Oh, forgot to mention.....

Bounce flash used on the master on-camera flash a second slave is placed directly behind James with a kitchen towel diffuser.

Take a look at the EXIF in Nikon Capture for flash and camera settings.

[Don Hoey]

Originally Posted by Stephen Fox

I really want to capture my little boy in this development and the purchase of my flash was purely so I could photograph him at night or when the light was bad. I now have a second flash and can be triggered remotely.

Here is the first attempt using two flashes, what do you think?

Hi Stephen,

Are you sure you don't want to take over on this thread ??

Truely very very good.

Not a trace of hard shadow to be seen. James is superbly in focus yet not excessivly sharpened and the lighting has that soft cuddly feeling that show children to their best. The diffused light behind James is perfectly balanced as there is no obvious sign that you did that.

Not so with this image but now for ......... Lesson 2. Catch lights in the eyes.

In any picture like this were there is an eye contact, when you view the image that is the first place your eye goes. A lot of proffesional photographers use a studio flash in a large softbox. They will aim to put a catchlight in the eye ( reflection of it ). A large square or round from a brolley is far better than a sharp pin point from an undiffused on camera flash. It does bring the eye to life.

When you first look at an image before working on it go to the eyes and check how the catch light looks.

Yes I know problems, problems. When you think you've got to the top someone puts another hill in the way.

Well you had better put this in your gallery now.

Don

[Canis Vulpes]

Don,

Thanks for those good words of encouragement. Sarah and I have spent ages squinting at the screen trying to decide exactly what that reflection actually is...

Providing the screen grab from Nikon Capture helped us all see what the lights looked like in detail. Eventually we decided that the lights were the flash pointed upward with flash output at the top of the pupil (black thing in eye) and a flash output leak (from the hinge) in the middle of the pupil. The black rectangle is the top adjustable part of the flash head.

I agree the eyes do look quite odd, I could clone or PS something to improve but I prefer to get the image correct first then use PS simply to finish or enhance the photo.

Any homemade tips on how I can improve the catch lights in James's eyes?