Low light grab portrait with flash

[Trevoreast]

These girls were at a late night barby I attended. Almost total darkness apart form those coloured lights about twice the size of christmas tree lights and a few halogens pointing at trees and plants

Manual F2.8 1/25th second ISO 800 Flash in ettl mode fitted with stofen diffuser



Trev

[colin C]

Re: Low light grab portrait with flash

Trev

I get the Photobucket notification that you have removed the image?

Colin

[briansquibb]

Re: Low light grab portrait with flash

I think I would have increased the shutter speed to ensure the sharpest and the aperture to get more DOF unless you particlularly want those lights behind the ladies?

[Trevoreast]

Re: Low light grab portrait with flash

Colin, I will try to sort that out later, not sure what I've done

I think I would have increased the shutter speed to ensure the sharpest and the aperture to get more DOF unless you particlularly want those lights behind the ladies?

Sorry,you've lost me there, do you mean less DOF ? as more would mean a slower shutter speed unless I used a higher ISO which would have been completely un-necessary in my view.

I was using a zoom lens and sadly they don't make them faster than 2.8


Trev

[briansquibb]

Re: Low light grab portrait with flash

I mean say f5.6, iso400, 1/200

If it is an eTTL flash ie EXxxx then it will increase the light output to correctly expose the photo.

Brian

[codachrome]

Re: Low light grab portrait with flash

Trev have you removed you picture from photobucket?..as this will remove it from here.

[Trevoreast]

Re: Low light grab portrait with flash

Sorry, Brian and I are the only ones who have seen the snap !
It's nothing special so dont think your missing out people.
I know what I've done, I moved the image to another gallery.
I will fix it tomorrow as Photobucket is mind blowingly slow tonight. As well as that, they have video/audio ads for washing powder thats drivning me mad.

Brian using those settings in very low light will most likely produce a very dark background and the flash will be slower to recycle.
It is essentially making the flash the main light source rather than letting the camera gather light as much as possible. Totally impractical if you want to take many shots quiclky, or a couple in quite rapid succession.

I wanted to capture some of the ambient light. I very rarely take photos without the flash and I'm very comfortable with
canon speedlights. I apprieciate you were trying to help, all the same.

I set the camera up 1 stop under for the ambient light , then I spot metered the girls faces to lock in the flash output.
Trev

[briansquibb]

Re: Low light grab portrait with flash

[QUOTE=Trevoreast;22029
Brian using those settings in very low light will most likely produce a very dark background and the flash will be slower to recycle.
Trev[/QUOTE]

I did ask if you wanted to keep the ambient light

[Trevoreast]

Re: Low light grab portrait with flash

Yes sir

A lot of the time I skip FEL as it fires the flash sometimes your victim thinks you have taken a snap causing them drop their pose or move.

I'm sure you are all too familiar with these things Brian, sorry to ramble

Trev

[briansquibb]

Re: Low light grab portrait with flash

I often use FEL sometime before I take the picture as the preflash often causes the subject to blink, just when you take the picture