first attempt with a flash

[chris91387]

nothing exceptional here to look at picture-wise, but i shot a little test last week at my daughters' school and am fairly pleased with the results.

leica m4 with sunpak 383 flash set to 1/4 power and aperture fixed at 5.6.

boy was it tough to focus.

- chris

 

[Andrew Sowerby]

That last one's my favorite. For focusing, try 35mm or shorter lens, f/8 and estimate.

 

[chris91387]

thanks, andrew.

i was using a 35mm but it was still tough. maybe i'll try the 28mm if i do something like this again.

upon further investigation, i kept the flash at a pretty low power (1/4) because i wanted my foreground/subject to "pop" and stand out from the background but i probably could have used more light. it falls off pretty fast and creates too large a dark void in the background.

 

[samoksner]

Hard to focus?

Hard to focus?

Why would it be harder to focus because of a flash? Or do you mean it was dark and hence hard to see contrast on the vf patch?

 

[chris91387]

yes, too dark to focus. i've never really ran around a dark location before and tried to focus. the flash, obviously, had nothing to do with my inability to focus quickly. just two random thoughts spewing off my finger tips.

 

[oftheherd]

Really nice shots. It isn't as difficult many think to use flash in open areas, but it takes some knowledge of GN and a little practice. Yours are very nicely done!

 

[swoop]

I use a manual flash. If you keep things consistent, eventually you'll just be able to figure out exposure and distance from the top of your head.