Reducing red eye on outdoor candid shots

Asha

Asha

Blithering Idiot
Suspended / Banned
Messages
11,274
Name
Asha
Edit My Images
Yes
Went into town last night to catch some candid shots at the opening of this years carnaval.
Set up :
Nikon D80
Nikon 80-200mm F/2.8
SB-800 flash with diffuser in place.

Struggled with red eye problems on the subjects.

Using the pre flash didn't work as the D80 throws out 3 pre flashes....By the time this is done the moment is gone and/or I have been spotted by the subject so the pose is no longer natural.
Attempted to take other shots from different angles, thus less direct on the face but still suffered from the same problem ...although the amount of red eye was less!

Being an outdoor scene, bounce flash isn't an option....

I have another opportunity to capture similar scenes tonight but wondering what to do differently.

I do have a bracket system which would allow my flash to be put at the side of the camera as opposed to being on the hotshoe.....I wonder if that is worth a try

I know that I could use the flash remotely and thus angle the flash differently but to man handle the camera and lens with one hand won't work either simply due to it's size/weight.

Without doubt I won't be the first to experience this issue, so how do you guys get around the problem?
 
The bracket sounds the way to go i think.:):thumbs:
 
Asha said:
I do have a bracket system which would allow my flash to be put at the side of the camera as opposed to being on the hotshoe.....I wonder if that is worth a try.
Click to expand...
It's not enough simply to move the flash to the side. You have to increase the angle of light between the flash, the subject and the lens. You can do that either by using a bracket to move the light further from the lens, or shoot at shorter distance and increase the angle that way.
 
tdodd said:
It's not enough simply to move the flash to the side. You have to increase the angle of light between the flash, the subject and the lens. You can do that either by using a bracket to move the light further from the lens, or shoot at shorter distance and increase the angle that way.
Click to expand...

It seems there may not be an easy way to overcome this issue.
I understand how the angle of light in relation to the lens is a key factor and thus to increase the angle is the way forward.
I am going to give the bracket a go this evening and see what happens.
I wonder if I play with the angle of the flash head if it will help at all.....
 
If you're outdoors and can't bounce off the environment then another option would be to get some sort of bounce card for the flash, aim the flash upwards and then have the light coming off the bounce card. That should give you a few more inches, maybe several, depending on the exact design.

I've never used any of their products, but HoppyUK raves about one (or more) of the Lumiquest bouncers. I'm not sure which one(s), but worth a look.

You might even be able to fashion something yourself - http://www.abetterbouncecard.com/ - originally the site was about making a simple DIY bounce card from fun foam, but things have developed a bit from the early days.
 
Last edited:
I can't say i've ever noticed "red eye" using flash but I have only shot wide angle since getting a flash so distances are generally 1m-2.5m at most, so the subject/flash/lens angle will be greater than using a tele lens at longer distances.
 
tdodd said:
If you're outdoors and can't bounce off the environment then another option would be to get some sort of bounce card for the flash, aim the flash upwards and then have the light coming off the bounce card. That should give you a few more inches, maybe several, depending on the exact design.

I've never used any of their products, but HoppyUK raves about one (or more) of the Lumiquest bouncers. I'm not sure which one(s), but worth a look.

You might even be able to fashion something yourself - http://www.abetterbouncecard.com/ - originally the site was about making a simple DIY bounce card from fun foam, but things have developed a bit from the early days.
Click to expand...

Yes, the one I use is the Lumiquest Quik Bounce, though for simply shooting outside the basic Pocket Bouncer would do just as well at raising the height of the flash, at least in horizontal format. But these things work best at close range, and also run out of power over distance.

The usual way to avoid red-eye it is to put the flash on a short extension cord, and hold it up to your left while gripping the camera tight with the right hand only. Common press technique, and generally also casts more attractive shadows.

It's a bit of a knack, and at range you have to be good at aiming the flash accurately with the zoom head on max.
 
I had a go with the bracket....made very little difference I'm afraid.
I'll get to the craft shop and see what I can pick up to make some sort of bounce card.
In the meantime, I'll revert to the "kit" 55-200mm lens which will make the camera light enough to operate one handed whilst holding the flash off camera in my left hand.
I'll lose 2 stops at the long end but at least the shots that I am able to get will be free of red eye ( hopefully)
Thanks to you all for your replies and help.
 
Another option, and maybe the best alternative given everything that's been said so far, is simply to correct it in software. That way you can shoot just how you want to without getting all tangled up and having awkward shooting. Here's an example in Lightroom. All it took was one click to start the red-eye tool and a click on each eye. Job done.

20120220_141348_000.jpg
 
My software goes back a few years ( PS elements 5) .....I'll have to take a look and see how good the eye removal tool is on there....if it works as good as your software Tim, then it's definetly worth considering.
 
tdodd said:
Another option, and maybe the best alternative given everything that's been said so far, is simply to correct it in software. That way you can shoot just how you want to without getting all tangled up and having awkward shooting. Here's an example in Lightroom. All it took was one click to start the red-eye tool and a click on each eye. Job done.

<snip>
Click to expand...

I think that's the right answer! LOL
 
Elements 5 will handle it no problem.
 
What I tend to do is to use an off camera TTL cord, and hold the flash in one hand. This way you can hold the flash as far away from the camera as you need.
Obviously this means using just one hand to hold the camera, which isn't too easy with an 80-200 on the front of it!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top