Flash and ambiant light

Roger Hicks said:
Nope. I almost never use on-camera flash.

Cheers,

R.
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I agree with this for general flash photography. But I like the on camera flash for fill flash. I read some 'expert' that said to keep you fill flash on the lens axis. I tried it and like it. I also like a ring flash for portraits sometimes:

my DIY ring flash:

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and used as fill:

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Or a Vivitar Macro 5000:

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and a shot:

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I admire GOOD fill flash (I've no doubt yours are, but the pictures aren't coming up -- this happens sometimes on my computer), but I dont admire it enough to want to try to master it. When I tried it (many years ago) I was happy only with about 10% of the pics where I used it. Besides, I can't be arsed to carry a flash, and outside the studio I rarely want to advertise it every time I take a picture.

Cheers,

R.
 
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ulrich.von.lich said:
So when flash is said to "be synchronized" with the camera, say, at the speed of 1/250, it only means that the flash will be released while the camera shutter is open, not that they will have the same speed, right? In this case I think I'll manually expose for ambiant light and see if the TTL flash could take care of the rest.
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Basically, yes. The crux of the matter is that the shutter mechanism is a two-curtain job; one shutter opens and then the other one closes. At shutter speeds faster than the sync speed the second curtain will start to close before the first one has finished opening. At speeds slower than the sync speed the first curtain is fully open before the second curtain starts to close, so that the flash can illuminate the entire frame with its very short-lived pulse of light during this window of time.

What you suggest is what I prefer to do: Expose for ambient as far as possible - probably not quite enough as I am limited by camera/subject movement, ISO and max aperture, but as far as possible. And then fill the last stop or so with flash, letting TTL do its thing. This is also easier on the batteries and lets you shoot faster, as the flash isn't fully discharged with each shot.
 
Roger Hicks said:
Besides, I can't be arsed to carry a flash, and outside the studio I rarely want to advertise it every time I take a picture.

Cheers,

R.
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As one of your English authors said, "aye, there is the rub." The equipment for flash photography is a burden that I seldom volunteer to take on. I only really like it when I am less the 20 yards from my house.
 
It is fascinating where the lines get drawn. I not only use flash, but I crop when it is likely to make the best image. I can't be arsed to be burdened by too many rules. 😉
 
Gumby said:
It is fascinating where the lines get drawn. I not only use flash, but I crop when it is likely to make the best image. I can't be arsed to be burdened by too many rules. 😉
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I think all of us are awakening to the burden of too many rules. I have a pacemaker and wear my seat belt shoulder strap under my arm so if I get in a wreck I don't die of heart failure. I got a ticket yesterday for wearing it under my arm (even though it was clicked). I didn't have a note from my doctor. What?
 
Ttl flash is always an automatic mode, never manual. The flash will control the shutter speed, setting it to the sync speed of the camera. You can have a fill flash mode but that too is automatic.
The simplest method to do this is what RonaldM suggested in post #7. This will also work outside as long as you don't exceed the range of the flash either in manual or automatic(the flash not the camera). The more accurate way would be manually but auto can sorta-kinda work if you're not too critical of the results.
 
Forgive me for going off-topic

Forgive me for going off-topic

charjohncarter said:
I think all of us are awakening to the burden of too many rules. I have a pacemaker and wear my seat belt shoulder strap under my arm so if I get in a wreck I don't die of heart failure. I got a ticket yesterday for wearing it under my arm (even though it was clicked). I didn't have a note from my doctor. What?
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Out of curiousity, I've heard that it is illegal to wear a shoulderbelt under one's arm but never found that in the CA VC or anyplace else. What specific VC number did they cite you for?
 
Landshark said:
Ttl flash is always an automatic mode, never manual. The flash will control the shutter speed, setting it to the sync speed of the camera. You can have a fill flash mode but that too is automatic.
The simplest method to do this is what RonaldM suggested in post #7. This will also work outside as long as you don't exceed the range of the flash either in manual or automatic(the flash not the camera). The more accurate way would be manually but auto can sorta-kinda work if you're not too critical of the results.
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I hope not, I would hate to have my flash photo determined by an automatic mode. I don't have a TTL flash but the ones I have seen have a, thank God, a manual override.

Here is from a review of a Canon TTL flash:

One more flash mode: Manual mode. If your subject distance is consistent (formal portraits for example), a manual flash output setting can eliminate shot-to-shot exposure variations. Using the control dial, it is easy and fast to set manual flash power output. Manual flash output can be controlled in 1/3 stop increments - 1/1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8th, 1/16th, 1/32nd, 1/64th & 1/128th. Become familiar with this mode.

and from a Nikon TTL flash review:

  • <LI class=style10>i-TTL Balanced Fill-Flash with Nikon D2 series <LI class=style10>D-TTL Balanced Fill-Flash with Nikon D1 series or D100
    <LI class=style10>TTL Auto Flash with many film SLR's, including the Nikon F5, F100, F80, F75, F65 and FM3A
  • Manual Flash
They have manual mode because pros insist on it. Also they insist on power control.
 
charjohncarter said:
I hope not, I would hate to have my flash photo determined by an automatic mode. I don't have a TTL flash but the ones I have seen have a, thank God, a manual override.
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I know nothing of digital cameras, but the TTL flash metering on F3 is automatically set to synch speed UNLESS the camera is set at lower speed... then it synchs at the lower speed.
 
Gumby said:
I know nothing of digital cameras, but the TTL flash metering on F3 is automatically set to synch speed UNLESS the camera is set at lower speed... then it synchs at the lower speed.
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Maybe you should read the 50 page manual that comes with it. I'm not telling you guys what to do, and I do use my auto settings on my 8-10 flashes, but if you want repeatable results you should learn at least the basics of guide numbers, manual flash, the inverse rule of light. TTL can be fooled just like the original auto flash. If you are interested in the best results, which maybe you are not, you have to know the simple rules of flash photography. Ambient light flash, bounce flash, manual flash settings and fill flash are all great ways to subtlety improve an otherwise flat image. You really don't have to carry a lot a equipment, like I complained about before; just look around the Internet for tutorials. You will be surprised at how much information your will get and how much it will improve your flash photography.
 
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charjohncarter said:
Maybe you should read the 50 page manual that comes with it. I'm not telling you guys what to do, and I do use my auto settings on my 8-10 flashes, but if you want repeatable results you should learn at least the basics of guide numbers, manual flash, the inverse rule of light. TTL can be fooled just like the original auto flash. If you are interested in the best results, which maybe you are not, you have to know the simple rules of flash photography. Ambient light flash, bounce flash, manual flash settings and fill flash are all great ways to subtlety improve an otherwise flat image. You really don't have to carry a lot a equipment, like I complained about before; just look around the Internet for tutorials. You will be surprised at how much information your will get and how much it will improve your flash photography.
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Good advise. I think I read something similar earlier in the thread. 🙂

p.s. my apologies for post 32. It is an apples-and-oranges poting. You were talking automatic v. manual mode on the flash and I was, talking about automatic v manual setting of synch speed on the camera... which I think I was intending for a comment made by someone else (post 29). Multi-tasking is so difficult at times!
 
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