My daughter is a blinker

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Gryphaea

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Nigel
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My youngest ( 10 yrs old), seems to be ultra flash-sensitive. If Itake 40 pictures with her in using Flash, she'll have her eyes closed in 39 of them - and won't be smiling / looking at me in the 40th. My other children are no problem.


Any suggestions how to get around this ? I've tried aiming the flash at a photographic umbrella with no improvement.


Camera : Sony a300, with HVL42AM flash
 
Gryphaea said:
My youngest ( 10 yrs old), seems to be ultra flash-sensitive. If Itake 40 pictures with her in using Flash, she'll have her eyes closed in 39 of them - and won't be smiling / looking at me in the 40th. My other children are no problem.


Any suggestions how to get around this ? I've tried aiming the flash at a photographic umbrella with no improvement.


Camera : Sony a300, with HVL42AM flash
Click to expand...

I dont know much about the Sony but do you have an option for 1st or 2nd curtain flash?

I did a wedding with it on 2nd and i had loads of blinkers. The nextx wedding I put it on 1st curtain and there were no blinkers.

However, my eldest son is a blinker whereas the others in photos of him arent!!
 
Janice said:
I dont know much about the Sony but do you have an option for 1st or 2nd curtain flash?

I did a wedding with it on 2nd and i had loads of blinkers. The nextx wedding I put it on 1st curtain and there were no blinkers.

However, my eldest son is a blinker whereas the others in photos of him arent!!
Click to expand...


Don't recognise the term "1st or 2nd curtain flash" - can you elucidate on what it means ?
 
I'd have to disagree, it's not technique. Children have a much faster reflexes and a not inconsiderable number will blink on the pre-flash of an eTTL/iTTL exposure. You can go for 1st curtain flash or alternatively use flash exposure lock or go manual to avoid having the pre-flash.
 
Turn off ttl and run it in manual.

The ttl pre-flash is making her/him blink which is showing in your exposures.

Edit - I know sod all about Sony flashes, so dont know if this is possible. It should be.
 
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Use Flash Exposure Lock (FEL) to get the flash metered, then shoot without preflash going off for each frame?
 
They manage to blink even when you shoot manual with studio flash? :O
 
I seem to recall Sony flashes are prone to this. One of my subjects had the same problem and I nearly wasted a day with her (and a Sony flash) until I recalled the trick Gary suggested.

Another I use with my own daughter is to take two shots very quickly (obviously the flash needs to be on low power). If she blinks on the first she usually doesn't on the second. Of course, the first shot is always the best apart from the closed eyes...
 
Kris said:
Turn off ttl and run it in manual.
Click to expand...

if you use manual flash, does that mean that if the subjects move between each shot that you take, or the light is different you would have to take one shot and see how the exposure is, then adjust the flash, then another etc.

doesn that make things a bit time consuming in a real life situation??
 
Theoretically, yes.

But you have more latitude than you think.

Manual is consistent. TTL isnt.

Manual doesn't give you a pre-flash either.

Actually, its far less time consuming if you know what you are doing and are experienced in using manual flash.
 
Janice, yes.. Or use a light meter. Or FEL :)

But as Kris said, it's not like you have to re-meter for every shot, especially if you are bouncing / diffusing the flash..
 
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Thanks guys. seems i made a bit of a ****-up when buying the flash to use with the GF1! I researched and ended up with a Metz 36 which is ettl only.
I couldve had a Yongnuo but they are manual only and the ones that did both were out of my price range.

Looks like I shouldve got the Yongnuo :shrug:
 
Are you triggering the flash wirelessly in master mode with a remote slave?

If so, this takes a little longer than normal auto-TTL because with wireless there is an additional sequence of master-coded flashes that go out after the pre-flash to instruct the slave, before the main flash fires.

All this happens at incredible speed but in theory it's possible for some people to react to the pre-flash and I have an idea (and it's only an idea) that the extra delay when shooting in remote wireless mode is sometimes enough to cause this problem.

If the flash is on camera or hard wired by cord, ie no wireless communication, it's less likely.
 
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If ttl remote, use a Sony equivalent of the ST-E2 (if there is one).

This does not emit visible light as the preflash.
 
Kris said:
If ttl remote, use a Sony equivalent of the ST-E2 (if there is one).

This does not emit visible light as the preflash.
Click to expand...

That's a very good idea Kris :thumbs:

Or if you are using a separate flash as a master-only (ie it is not providing any contribution to the exposure, just triggering and controlling the other unit/s) then a semi-IR filter over that would also do the trick.

Nikon makes one for this, but you can also do something similar with the cellophane wrappers off a box of Quality Street. Might be good enough.
 
Even if you use the ST-E2, all the remote flashes will emit a pre-flash.. that's how the light is measured Through The Lens.. All the flashes have to fire so that the camera can meter how the subject is lit by them?
 
Is she reacting to the sound of the camera rather than the flash itself ?

To react to the light would take ultra fast reactions (am sure somebody may tell me it's possible) but isn't a flash something around 1/4000 of a second in duration ?

Try photographing with a Ipod on for a test of my theory! :)

www.timothycook.co.uk
 
vaizki said:
Even if you use the ST-E2, all the remote flashes will emit a pre-flash.. that's how the light is measured Through The Lens.. All the flashes have to fire so that the camera can meter how the subject is lit by them?
Click to expand...

You're quite right, I wasn't thinking straight. It would kill the master control pulses, but that's no help :( Apologies.

Harrogate Photos said:
Is she reacting to the sound of the camera rather than the flash itself ?

To react to the light would take ultra fast reactions (am sure somebody may tell me it's possible) but isn't a flash something around 1/4000 of a second in duration ?

Try photographing with a Ipod on for a test of my theory! :)

www.timothycook.co.uk
Click to expand...

The pre-flash goes out before the mirror even rises, as flash metering is done in the pentaprism.
 
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