Using a flash for fill in sunlight.

Nikonian

Nikonian

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David
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i am currently having an issue....

when i find somthing outside, in the shade and i want to take a shot of it, but still want to include the sunlight background in the shot ie) a person off in the shade with sunlight mountains behind that person, when i set my flash up, everything is over exposed. are there basic daytime settings for flash? when i down the power on the flash, its not really filling anything.

i know when using my flash inside and still wanting to keep some window light on the subject as well as keeping background detail i simply slow down my shutter. but what to do outside?

this may sound like a real newbie question but i feel the only stupid question is the one that doesnt get asked.

thanks
 
is this on camera built in flash?
if so is it on manual or iTTL?
 
Don't slow the shutter down! use the camera in manual exposure mode and speed it up to your maximum sync speed. Experiment with the power of the flash to try and balance out the under exposed area's.

And remember the shutter speed affects ambient light or the day light, faster gives you a darker background and aperture affects the flash and ambient so use this to control the flash. start off using the lowest iso setting and up it to get the desired results.
 
i am running an sb 800 off camera in remote. if 250sec is the fastest sync for the camera, is that what i set the shutterspeed to? the exposure ive been messing with is iso 200, f8, 250sec. i have a wedding to do and there isnt enough extension cord in the world to allow me to get my softboxes down there.
 
It really does depend on what the light is like on the day. If you are shooting in blazing sunshine then it is highly likely that your sync speed might not be enough to expose the sky properly and you would then need high speed sync to gain a nice blue sky and correctly exposed subject. but if the sky is overcast anyway then you are not losing much if it gets overexposed slightly then you can concentrate on exposing for the background and main subject. If this is for a wedding I highly suggest you go out and practice lots to get the hang of it...
 
tell me more about this "high speed sync"
 
and yes i have been playing with it alot lately, about an hour a day
 
Have you read the D200 and SB-800 manuals? Seriously - best place to start.
 
i just finished reading both manuals and this is what the d200 manual reads...
(someone feel free to put this into plain english for me)

"FLASH SYNC SPEED
this option can be used to enable Auto FP High-Speed sync (optional sb800 or sb600 or sbr200Speedlight required; not available if the built in flash is fired) or to limit the fastest sync speed to a speed that is slower than 1/250. To fix shutterspeed at sync speed limit in exposire modes S and M, select the slowest setting after 30s or bulb. an x will be displayed in the flash sync indicator in the control panel.
 
thanks for the link. after reading that, im still thrown for a toss around....

"If a greater distance than 10 feet is needed in bright daylight, there is no choice except to use regular flash sync and accept the requisite smaller aperture. This happens frequently when shooting a party outdoors, where I typically shoot in camera S mode, regular flash sync, ISO 100, 1/250th, and f/7, and I get acceptable fill out to 20 to 30 feet or so."

so it sounds like i wont be needing the high speed sync? im lost :bang:

as noted, when i set the camera to 250x, what else is there i need to know/do?
 
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