Fill flash outdoors

[TunedPerception]

So I'll be doing a photoshoot for a friend and his 4 year old daughter this coming weekend. I have a Canon 550EX flash that I'd like to use.

What tips can you offer when shooting with flash outdoors? Should I power down the flash or just let the camera control it all with ETTL? Should I point the flash directly at them, angle it slightly, or use a diffuser?

I'm pretty new to flash photography, so any tips are appreciated.

[Tom]

Get the flash off the camera.

Strobist

Go through lighting 101.

[tukaniray]

Yup ... some strobe time and will look great.

When I first got into taking the Flash off camera ... I was amazed at the results.

IF you are on a budget and just want take some good pics outside with onCamera flash.
I recommend you diffuse it. Look into a Gary Fong also ... great diffuser for add on flashes.

Have Fun with your little shoot.

-Ray-

[Coogie]

For outdoor fill when I'm using a speed light I usually use direct flash whether it's on or off camera and just stick with TTL...maybe -1EV depending on the sunlight. In an ideal world someone would be holding it with a shoot through umbrella to diffuse it (in a really ideal world someone else would be diffusing the sunlight too) but I'll advise against using a light-sphere type modifier outside.

The reason is all those things do is simulate a bare bulb which would work indoors with a lot of things for the light to bounce off of. Outdoors, it does nothing to increase the apparent size of the lightsource which strokists drool over. The result when you use it outdoors is it will waste a ton of power from the flash. I've heard some people swear that it gives a softer light than direct flash and even show examples, but they could have got the exact same result had they powered down their flash.

Remember, all you want is a soft fill to counter the sun's harsh specular light. The flash is not going to be your main light in this case. In some other cases it might be and you'd need a ton of power that a single speedlight probably can't overpower, but in this case the sun is going to be the main light and you just want to get rid of harsh shadows so in my opinion you can keep it simple. The strokist stuff is helpful to know, but it's not a religion. In a fast paced shoot it might be easier to just keep things simple and worry about the poses.

*edit*I've had a lot of issues with squinting when shooting outside,but one trick i've found that works well is not have them face the sun (seems like a "duh" moment) but if they face the fill side, they're less likely to squint.

[bondarnes]

First, if possible I would suggest that you work in the shade. That alone will solve 90% of your lighting problems. If you can't do that, then I suggest putting the sun at their backs as a hair light and use your flash off camera to give some direction of light from the front. I would use ettl at -2/3 stop to balance with the available light. If you don't have a hand held meter use a gray card and set you camera exposure manually.

[johnstodd]

I'm a Nikon guy however when I shoot outside with Fill-Flash...The flash is aimed straight at the subject and I usually start at about -1 to -1.7 exposure compensation. You want just enough flash to "lift" the shadows off your subject without looking obvious you used a flash. A diffuser does nothing outside but cause your flash to drain the batteries faster. Shoot in the shade is much easier if possible. Anytime you can minimize "contrast" you're better off. Remember I'm a Nikon guy so Nikon's flash system is a separate system from the camera exposure system. Distance information is only used in TTL/BL mode when the flash is pointing straight at the subject. I do not know if Canon's flash system is similar. For me, understanding the Camera Exposure System and the Flash Exposure System...how/when they work together and when they do not has been most helpful to me. Read, practice and experiment. Good Luck.

[bryanlindsey]

If you must use on-camera flash, take several test shots and adjust the flash power manually (probably down) until you get what you want. It's ok for this process to take a few minutes (and several test shots).

[Wil_Bloodworth]

Originally Posted by johnstodd

I'm a Nikon guy however when I shoot outside with Fill-Flash...The flash is aimed straight at the subject and I usually start at about -1 to -1.7 exposure compensation.

John meant to say "flash" compensation here instead of "exposure" compensation. That's what he was thinking... he just slipped and said exposure instead of flash. I do it all the time.

- Wil

[Wil_Bloodworth]

William,

I don't know you or your level of knowledge so I hope I don't offend you by being really "basic" with what has been said above. I'm only doing so because if you're not familiar with exposure and flash compensation, the threads above may have been a bit confusing.

What everyone has (nicely) stated above is that you can use the strobe (580EX) in TTL mode mounted directly on the camera or off (Canon can do that right? Nikon can for sure). What may be a bit confusing is the EV (Exposure Value) compensation everyone keeps mentioning.

There are two kinds of compensation. FLASH and EXPOSURE. Exposure compensation is when you shoot in a camera mode where the camera figures out the correct exposure (such as Aperture or Shutter priority)... stay with me... The camera knows (or should know) what the exact settings should be to correctly expose the image. So, when you use EXPOSURE compensation, you're telling the camera, "I know you know what the correct exposure for this scene should be but I want you to take that exposure and darken it (by applying a negative EV value) or brighten it (by applying a positive EV value).

FLASH compensation does NOT alter the overall exposure of the image. When you set flash compensation, you're telling the camera, "I know that you know how much FLASH should be applied to this scene, but I want you to reduce the output of the flash (by applying a negative EV value) or increase the output of the flash (by applying a positive EV value). The camera will still expose the image as it should... it will only alter the flash output according to what you set.

If you already knew this... my apologies.

- Wil

[Coelus]

Wouldn't hurt to try out a reflector either.

[johnstodd]

Hi Wil,

Good catch. Don't want to send someone down the wrong path. I did mis-speak. Certainly meant to say Flash compensation. It's been a real challenge for me over the years to learn and understand Nikon's Flash System. Saw this thread and thought I would share a bit of what I have learned and I hope it helps. I mainly do "people" pics and I use flash almost all of the time - indoors/outdoors ...day/night...except at certain times like during weddings when flash would not be appropriate. My camera would feel "naked" without a flash on it. :)

[TunedPerception]

Thanks for all the replies everyone. I guess I just need to sit down and PRACTICE with it, which is what I'm doing right now. Taking sample pics, changing a setting, understanding why it's affecting the exposure, etc.

[49884]

As I was writing a long spill on suggestions I realized that the weekend is over and so is your photoshoot. How did it go? Can we see any results?

[TunedPerception]

Ended up not using the flash at all. Here's a shot from that day.

[tukaniray]

Natural light is great ... and that is a nice photo of the moment between the 2 in your photo.

-Ray-