ITTL help please

[MIKEROPHONICS]

I usually shoot manual with my sb700/900 Nikon flashes in manual (YN 622 TX and receivers).

Tomorrow I have to do a run and gun exterior dusk event thing (for my son's school) second shooting, alongside a pro.

I am planning to shoot iTTL as the subject distance will be erratic. On my d7000 I will set exposure for ambient manually, and let the ITTL do the flash power calculation. If I decide I am happy with ambient exp, but want to boost or dim the flash a bit, do I use FEC to adjust?

Any advice will be gratefully received.

 

[Scooter]

Yes, you do, but adjust the FEC on the YN622TX, not on the camera. Also, remember that whilst TTL flash is great for varying flash distance, it will get wildly different outputs if you change your shooting angle versus the light (eg you shoot with the light front lighting the subject mostly, and then move around the side, it will see less reflected light form the subject and ramp the power up). As long as you treat one FEC setting as good for one light direction, it will pretty much work shot after shot. I shoot environmental corp portraits like this - but with ambient metered in aperture priority too.

And of course, with TTL flash:-

• Aperture controls ambient only
• Shutter speed controls ambient only (up to x-sync)
• ISO controls ambient only

(ie nothing affects the flash exposure except FEC.....unless you ask the flash to supply more light than it has inside it )

 

[MIKEROPHONICS]

FEC on the flash? Via the 622TX?

 

[Scooter]

Yes - you set the compensation on each group (A, B, C) on the YN622N-TX just like you set the power for each group in manual.

 

[MIKEROPHONICS]

Thanks. Shoot went ok. Will post an image up this weekend if I get a mo

 

[MIKEROPHONICS]

here's an example - not art I know, but gives an idea of the event style...
DSC_6971 by mike.aiton, on Flickr

 

[Scooter]

Nice - he's popping out of the background nicely. That's the beauty of TTL flash: run and gun, bung up the light on a stick and shoot!