Still struggling to get my head around this flash photography lark

ndwgolf

ndwgolf

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Neil Williams
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Just spent a month on an Oil rig and its like I have forgotten everything you guys taught me in January.
I took this picture today using the B1 with a beauty dish grid and translucent cover. My first picture I used TTL and then switched to manual but still it looks like her picture has been pasted in the background via photoshop..............The first picture showed that the B1 was putting out 8.5 so I reduced it to 7, 6, 5, then set the camera to underexpose the flash by a full stop but still can't figure it out. I am going to a flash photography class on the 28th so hopefully that will help some.
Picture right out of the camera with the meta data below
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View attachment 32685
 
If I'm honest I don't really bother with ttl unless I'm shooting on the fly, I tend to prefer manual flash manual camera, I find ttl can be too temperamental and inconsistent. But that's probable me.

With regards to the image above, I think the "stuck on" feeling is more down to the depth of field rather than the lighting. One thing you haven't mentioned is the position of the light. To me it looks heavily side lit and the gridded beauty dish is creating the hor spot on her right hand side (left as you look at it). You may be better moving the light further round towards the camera position so that the flash highlights her whole face.
 
Chris
The light was about 4 ft away and about 45 deg to my right, there was strong morning sun hitting her on my left side and yes I forgot about the DOF. in hindsight I should have taken the grid off but hindsight is just that (I forgot)............thanks for the feedback, I am contemplating getting a light meter but worry that will really $%$£ my head up :)
 
I think I would try and slow the shutter speed down to say 1/60 to allow more ambient light into the scene. Matching ambient and flash lighting is never easy if you want it to look "natural".

Use a ND filter to ensure you are not ending up with a small aperture, as this obviously will spoil the bokeh in the portrait.

(If you have a smart phone, there are adequate light meters that are downloadable as a stop gap until you get a proper meter)

HTH
 
The shot looks wrong because the sun is so bright on her right side, I think the easiest solution would have been to use a diffuser to reduce its intensity because if you just adjust your settings to allow more ambient and balance your flash so she looks evenly exposed the background will still look look comparatively under-exposed.

Don't forget the fundamentals, the shore not being level also spoils it a bit.
 
When balancing with the sun, you're walking a tightrope.

You're using flash to isolate your subject, but if you do too good a job of it, you end up with the above.

It's a concept thing, there's nothing to anchor her to the background and the light is a different colour, subtle but important.

It's not just about balancing the EV (often that too is unimportant), it's about creating a believable image, you are juggling the same issues you'd juggle if it was a composite, but it's a slightly more straightforward process. You might have got it to work by warming the flash, but a different composition would tie her into the background better.
 
I have to agree with Phil. Sun on one side, flash on the other.... the sun is a hard light source, yet you've used a soft light source for flash. The colour temps are obviously different as well. I'd have either just used flash purely as fill in here instead of trying to "light" her, or turned her around so you're shooting into the sun, and totally lit her, with just the sun as a rim light (assuming you have the flash power from the B1, as that would need a small aperture, minium ISO and probably maximum sync speed)... latter would have needed a couple of flash heads most likely though. You only got the single B1?
 
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Pookeyhead said:
I have to agree with Phil. Sun on one side, flash on the other.... the sun is a hard light source, yet you've used a soft light source for flash. The colour temps are obviously different as well. I'd have either just used flash purely as fill in here instead of trying to "light" her, or turned her around so you're shooting into the sun, and totally lit her, with just the sun as a rim light (assuming you have the flash power from the B1, as that would need a small aperture, minium ISO and probably maximum sync speed)... latter would have needed a couple of flash heads most likely though. You only got the single B1?
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Pretty well as above, except that I wouldn't describe a beauty dish (unless a large one used close, which doesn't apply here) as a soft light.

More to the point, you have hard lighting on your subject and flat lighting on your background, which inevitably makes it look false and unnatural.

And sticking a light source off the the side like that is very unflattering to your subject anyway - a beauty dish is specifically designed to be used directly in front of where your subject is facing, and needs to be high enough to emphasise the shape of the face by creating the right shadows in the right places, which is the opposite of what you've done here.
 
Cheers Garry
Thanks for the advice on the correct way to use the beauty dish and I will try and keep that locked in the memory bank.
 
Garry Edwards said:
Pretty well as above, except that I wouldn't describe a beauty dish (unless a large one used close, which doesn't apply here) as a soft light.
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He doesn't say how big it is... and visibly it IS much softer than the sunlight on the opposite side.

ndwgolf said:
I played with it and this is the best I can get it.............will continue to try and get my head around this and once again thanks again for all the help.
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You can't fix lighting in post... you have to get it right in camera.
 
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Pookeyhead said:
He doesn't say how big it is... and visibly it IS much softer than the sunlight on the opposite side.



You can't fix lighting in post... you have to get it right in camera.
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David
The Beauty dish is the profoto 52 centimetres and I understand you can't fix it in post so that is why I am asking for some help in trying to get it right.........thanks for the reply
 
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