Exposure settings for flash photos

ddindy

ddindy

Member
Staff member
What exposure settings do you use for run-of-the-mill flash photos? ; I'm not talking about daylight fill flash, fancy remote flash shots or studio setups, just plain old snapshots of people.

I've been putting my camera in Program mode, which forces 1/60 at f/4 (ISO 200). ; I'd like to try rear curtain sync (as recommended by such world-famous photographers as Joe McNally and Scott Thomas), but in Program mode the shutter speed gets really slow, resulting in blurry people.

My first thought is to go into manual or shutter priority mode, but I'm not sure if 1/60 at f/4 is the best exposure setting. ; I'd like to hear what everyone else recommends.

For examples (all using program mode), see this set on my Flickr page.
 
You need to go to shutter priority or manual mode when using rear-sync flash for people shots. ; Rear sync will help build up the background light in your group photos. ; I would suggest trying 1/40th to 1/30th @ f/4. ; Remember to watch the background as you'll now see it more.

I start with dialing the flash power back to -1. ; Are you using a speedlight, Dennis. ; I don't remember what you had at Pixelmania.

BTW, I do like that flickr set of yours. ; Tim, how about a Hooter's meet next time? ; :D
 
I have an SB-800, Scott. ; I'll try your suggestions next week - Valentine's Day is Feb. 11 at Hooters this year.

Tim, I second Scott's suggestion for a meet. ; The LBV Hooters is just a mile or so from Downtown Disney. ; (When in Orlando, I also like to visit Winghouse, but they're not as close to the parks.)
 
Dennis, don't forget to bounce the flash if you can to avoid shadows behind the girls, er, your models. Have fun and give us a hoot when you get them online.
 
Like Scott, I like rear flash too.

I set my camera up this way:
A mode @ my lens fastest aperture
iso 800-1600 (depending how dark it is) to keep shutter speeds decent
flash at rear, which will default to rear slow.

The difference between slow flash and rear synch flash, is regular slow flash fires the flash at the begining of the exposure and could allow movement of people to blur on top of their flashed exposure. By using rear synch, basically all the little movement gets frozen "on top" of the exposure and locked at a milliseconds time. I leave my flash on rear synch AT ALL times now.

I'm pretty sure Program mode is useless for slow flash shots. I used to like "night portrait" mode, but found the shutter speeds too slow.

i wrote this aricle a while ago:
http://www.themagicinpixels.com/index.php/2008112953/Photography-101/Night-Portrait-Mode.html
 
Using Flash is not only an art it is also a science. There is no right or wrong way to do it, as long as you are happy with the results. One of the best things about digital is that it allows you to play around without most settings and not having to worry about processing costs :).


IMHO, Rear Sync has nothing to do with ambient light. The only function of front and rear curtain is for when the flash fires. Ambient lighting is a function of the metered exposure. In TV or AV modes the camera is going to determine the exposure based on ambient light anyways and not the flash. Of course this is at least with Canon bodies, but I would think the same applies to other vendors.

"Scottwdw" said:
Rear sync will help build up the background light in your group photos.
Click to expand...


You also need to take in account the sync speed of your flash and the camera body. Most SLR's are going to go to ~1/250 while some pro bodies will go to 1/300 or even 1/500. You may also want to explore whether you flash has a high speed sync option. This will allow the camera to use higher shutter speeds than the sync speed of the flash.

"Craig" said:
iso 800-1600 (depending how dark it is) to keep shutter speeds decent
flash at rear, which will default to rear slow.
Click to expand...


Here are 2 links that should help ya further.
http://photonotes.org/articles/eos-flash/ " The Canon Flash Bible"
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=171657 good forum post
 
Jeff,

I think we are saying the same thing. ; However, the flash gives you the ability to use faster shutter speeds like 1/40th for the kind of photos Dennis is shooting. ; If he took the exposure directly without the flash, the shutter speed would be to long for photos of people. ; They could not stand still that long. ; With the rear-sync, you get some background light fill before the flash pops and exposes the subject which is much closer than the background. Sometimes a lot closer. ; This technique is known in the wedding biz as dragging the shutter.

Another key is the power and direction of the flash so as not to under/over expose the subject(s). ; That's were the LCD comes in handy. ; :)
 
I think we are close to each others thoughts too.

Although, I differ though on what Dennis is trying to accomplish and what has been stated about flash curtain sync. Rear-sync vs Front Sync will have no effect whatsoever on shutter speed. In either mode, when you consider TV or AV, the camera is going to meter for ambient lighting up to the x-sync of the flash. The flash is used to fill in the foreground subject not expose for it. It will not matter when the flash fires.

If however you were to set the camera in auto or P mode, then the flash would be used to expose the subject. Which will result in faster shutter speed at the cost of a dark background .

With this in mind, I have never seen Rear-sync give you a longer/shorter exposure compared to Front Sync in TV or AV mode. Dragging the shutter would be a result of slow speed shutter sync instead.



"Scottwdw" said:
With the rear-sync, you get some background light fill before the flash pops and exposes the subject which is much closer than the background. Sometimes a lot closer.
Click to expand...
 
I think some of the confusion comes from Nikon actually having a "slow sync" option.

Along with "slow rear sync", "slow red-eye", "rear sync", etc.

Not sure how easy Canon allows for a user to do that except by setting the shutter speed in Tv mode (or M). ; But I know that Nikon's CLS/iTTL will compensate for a flash exposure when you use a preflash.....even on slow sync.
 
And...I am telling him to use either shutter priority or manual mode so the rear-sync fires at the end of the shutter speed he selects. ; Overriding what the camera wants to do if it was in P or Auto modes. ;

In the case of P or Auto, the camera would select a really long shutter speed as it would be exposing for the available light.
 
Flash settings always bring great debate :)

The only point, that I have contention with, is with Rear Curtain vs Front Curtain Sync vs Slow Sync. I believe shutter speed is what Dennis appears to be fighting. I also agree with Scott that Shutter mode or Manual mode is probably the best mode to get a higher shutter speed with user control. This is of course outside of using a faster lens or higher ISO and within the limits of the x-sync of the flash.

Dennis specifically asked about Rear-Curtain sync, which is a separate function from slow sync within the flash, and blurry subjects. Whether the flash fires at the first curtain or second will not matter with regards to a blurry subject. A blurry subject just means that the shutter was not fast enough to compensate for subject movement and camera shake. The only way for Dennis to get faster shutter speeds in this case would then be a higher ISO, a faster lens and possibly the availability of a high speed x-sync.

"Roger" said:
I think some of the confusion comes from Nikon actually having a "slow sync" option.

Along with "slow rear sync", "slow red-eye", "rear sync", etc.

Not sure how easy Canon allows for a user to do that except by setting the shutter speed in Tv mode (or M). ; But I know that Nikon's CLS/iTTL will compensate for a flash exposure when you use a preflash.....even on slow sync.
Click to expand...

"Scottwdw" said:
And...I am telling him to use either shutter priority or manual mode so the rear-sync fires at the end of the shutter speed he selects. ; Overriding what the camera wants to do if it was in P or Auto modes. ;

In the case of P or Auto, the camera would select a really long shutter speed as it would be exposing for the available light.
Click to expand...
 
Forgot to say

Dennis you have some really good pictures there ; :) ... You will have to share the love one of these days...
 
i am a rear-curtain, 1/60 second shutter priority kind of guy. ; personal preference for ease of use.
 
I agree.

:)

I figure that covers everything - flash and otherwise! ; I am not a huge flash user, but when I do, it's either in A priority with my aperture set for depth I need, and the camera putting the shutter speed in the 1/60 to 1/125 zone by adjusting ISO as needed. ; For that, I just use straight flash. ; If I want more background lighting, I use rear-synch...I've just always used it over front synch, going back to the days when I played around with capturing streaking action shots, freezing the subject at the end of the exposure so the motion blur trails lead to the moving subject instead of the other way around.

I tend to use my flash off-camera in wireless mode most often anyway when I use it, as I like to get the angles off center when I can't bounce or angle it (like outdoor, where there's nothing to bounce off of).
 
Thanks for the advice, everyone. ; I'll probably start with manual mode and go from there.

As Roger mentioned, when you set a Nikon to rear curtain sync in either Aperture priority or Program mode, it automatically turns on slow sync. ; In other words, it sets the exposure for the existing light, then fires the flash right before closing the shutter. ; If either the camera or subject move, you get a blurry picture.

I'm not trying to do anything artistic with rear curtain sync, I just want to see if there's any difference for snapshots. ; The artistic stuff will come later.

I'm still re-learning everything in this brave new digital world. ; In the old days with a strobe on a film camera, I had to use the prescribed shutter speed (1/30 or 1/60) and set the aperture based on how far away the subject was; the distance range varied with the film speed.

Of course, I could go totally retro and use the three boxes of 5B flash bulbs I just found in my spare bedroom. ;D

Jason, your Hooters are in the same franchise as mine. ; Check out www.hootersrmd.com for promotions.
 
I don't want to sound lacking in testosterone...but I can't stand Hooter's wings. ; And the namesake things aren't my style either. ; ;)
 
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