flash newbie help

aztec

aztec

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Shaun
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just started with my canon 430exII on my 450d firing test shots etc my sound like daft question but is their a general rule of thumb for flash settings ie for indoor portraits set to p would you set wb for the indoor lighting tungsten/fluorescent or just set it to the flash WB. What settings would you start off using say p then go to av or tv then on to manual all very confusing to a newbie any help appreciated. Maybe good website or book ? Cheers
 
aztec said:
just started with my canon 430exII on my 450d firing test shots etc my sound like daft question but is their a general rule of thumb for flash settings ie for indoor portraits set to p would you set wb for the indoor lighting tungsten/fluorescent or just set it to the flash WB. What settings would you start off using say p then go to av or tv then on to manual all very confusing to a newbie any help appreciated. Maybe good website or book ? Cheers
Click to expand...

With the camera set to auto white balance, it switches to flash white balance automatically.

My advice to newcomers is to use the P setting (not the green square, which locks out some functions) and stick with that for a while.

It will always get you a result, even in difficult conditions, whereas some of the other settings might not without a bit of knowledge. I would be especially wary of M (manual) which will get you into all sorts of trouble if you are not sure what's going on.

Now then, this is the important bit. After you have taken a few pictures in a variety of different lighting situations, look at the photo data and note what the camera has been doing. Understand why it has done what it has.

When you understand that, you are ready to take control yourself and explore the other modes. However, you can use whichever mode suits your way of working. None gives better results than the others, they are all just different ways of arriving at the same answer, whichever suits you. Most people tend to use Av as their main default mode, but it makes no odds.

Good luck :)
 
Good advice Hoppy. Even though I think I understand what I'm doing, it's a tough learning curve using flash!
 
Thanks Hoppy, when I said newbie I meant to the flash part of photography as I have been taking pics for a number of years but never used a newer type external flash unit the ones I used in the old days had a scale on the back to calculate the f number when you put in the distance etc, just after advice so I will not find I should of been operating it in another more obvious mode thanks
 
Are you wanting to use the flash in manual mode or with eTTL.

If it's eTTL (and don't be put off by people who say manual is the only way to go!) then http://photonotes.org/articles/eos-flash/ has a huge amount of information to help you get to grips with how it works.
 
Mark just after the best pictures I can obtain on my camera I normally use M on the camera when taking pics without flash its just seems a lot harder using M with the flash attached I think I need to do a little reading and learning so I will be comfortable, nothing worse than taking pics on a decent camera to see the end result worse than a pick up and shoot.
 
I'd suggest learning to use the flash in eTTL mode with the camera in Manual.

Then your thought process goes something like this:

  1. Decide if you want the flash to be the main light or a fill-light.
  2. If it's as the main light, use the manual camera settings to set an exposure which works for the background
  3. Take a photo with the Flash Exposure Compensation (FEC) set to 0.
  4. See if it the subject is exposed correctly, and if not adjust the FEC

Alternatively:
  1. If you want to use the flash as a fill-light...
  2. Set your manual exposure so that the subject is exposed correctly
  3. Take a photo with the Flash Exposure Compensation (FEC) set to -2.
  4. If you're not happy with the amount of fill, adjust the FEC up or down accordingly

That's the basic process I work through when using the flash. With practice, you'll get better at judging what FEC you need in different situations (e.g. with a white subject +1 FEC is a better starting point.)
You'll also want to consider where the light is coming from. On-camera flash can look quite harsh as a main light, so consider bouncing it off walls/ceilings or getting the flash off-camera in some way.
 
I should have said that you adjust the FEC on the flash by pressing the Set button once (the FEC value will start to flash) and then use the + and - to adjust.
 
Brilliant Mark just what I was looking for will try with the settings you have given me and experiment to see what type of shots I am getting back in camera thanks again, now have to go out and get some xmas shopping done cheers Shaun.
 
cant add much to what people have said which is excellent advice, but some thing to keep in mind when you develop your photography skills is that if you shoot in the 'raw' setting, you can change all the white balance etc on the computer....which can come in handy!

....say if you took a shot and the WB was totally off on the wrong setting, you can change the white balance on the computer e.g. in CS4, get options on a drop down tab to change to day, cloud, indoor, flash etc etc. Its good if it was a one shot opportunity, you saved the picture then.

some thing to keep in mind :-)
 
markrichardson said:
I'd suggest learning to use the flash in eTTL mode with the camera in Manual.

Then your thought process goes something like this:

  1. Decide if you want the flash to be the main light or a fill-light.
  2. If it's as the main light, use the manual camera settings to set an exposure which works for the background
  3. Take a photo with the Flash Exposure Compensation (FEC) set to 0.
  4. See if it the subject is exposed correctly, and if not adjust the FEC

Alternatively:
  1. If you want to use the flash as a fill-light...
  2. Set your manual exposure so that the subject is exposed correctly
  3. Take a photo with the Flash Exposure Compensation (FEC) set to -2.
  4. If you're not happy with the amount of fill, adjust the FEC up or down accordingly

That's the basic process I work through when using the flash. With practice, you'll get better at judging what FEC you need in different situations (e.g. with a white subject +1 FEC is a better starting point.)
You'll also want to consider where the light is coming from. On-camera flash can look quite harsh as a main light, so consider bouncing it off walls/ceilings or getting the flash off-camera in some way.
Click to expand...

That will work fine, obviously, and is a good learning experience.

However, if you set the camera to Av with E-TTL, then the camera will adjust both the ambient exposure and the flash output to balance eachother automatically.

If you don't like the result, then adjusting the +/- compensation on the gun alters the flash exposure (power output), and adjusting the +/- compensation on the camera adjusts the background ambient exposure (shutter speed).

Same thing, just a bit easier?
 
Hi Hoppy,

I've never managed to get quite comfortable with Av and TTL flash...may just be a hangover from my Minolta days. I always thought that the Exposure Compensation on the camera affected the flash exposure too...but a quick google suggests you're right!

Still, since the OP is used to using the camera in manual, I'd say it's a better way to get used to the vagaries of TTL flash!
 
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