 BetterPhoto Member |
Indoor flash photography I consider myself competent when it comes to outdoor photography, but indoor using a flash trips me up. For example, I am shooting a hockey game indoors. My first reaction is to have a fast shutter speed with an open lens (keep in mind I'm using a flash). When I put the (S) shutter speed priority on my Nikon N80 and set the shutter any setting over 1/125, the number in the panel blinks. Now in order to freeze the action I will need it faster than 1/125, correct? How can I accomplish frozen action indoors using flash and still have the frame exposed correctly?
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Jeff S. Kennedy |
1/125 flashes because (presumeably) that's your max sync speed with flash. If you shoot at a higher shutter speed your flash will only illuminate a portion of the frame. The thing to remember when shooting with flash is that the duration of the flash in essence becomes your shutter speed. And it is short enough to stop the action on the ice. Shooting at a slower shutter speed will accomplish a couple of things. First of all, if the speed is slow enough, it will allow the ambient light to record so you don't get black backgrounds. Secondly, it will create an image of the moving skaters that is blurred with a sharp image of them when the flash fires. If your camera/flash is capable of second curtain syn this can create a neat effect. You will have a blurred image moving into the sharp flashed image. Without second curtain sync you end up with a sharp images behind the blurred image, which looks like the guy's skating backwards. Too much info? Sorry, just remember that the flash is fast enough to stop motion.
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Jon Close |
Keep in mind that a flash has limited useful distance, light energy decreases with the square of the distance. Unless you are rink-side at the hockey game the flash isn't going to be very useful. Maximum useful flash distance is given by the formula: Distance = sqrt(film ISO/100) x Guide Number/f-number And keep in mind that rated guide numbers of flashes are often quite optimistic. So if shooting 400 speed film with the built-in flash (GN = ~12 meters) and a zoom lens at f/5.6, the maximum useable range is 4.3 meters, and probably more like 3 meters. Using 800 speed film instead of 400 extends that by only 1.4x to 4-6 meters.
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RoxAnne E. Franklin |
I have a question about indoor flash too. I shoot many canine agility trials for clients. I use my canon 70 - 200 mm 2.8 IS lens for zooming in when it's impossible to get close. I have set my flash compensation -1, -2, and all the way to -3 to obtain blurred backgrounds as there is sideline distractions that I dont want in the photo. I have yet to be satisfied with the blurring of the background. It seems that the flash sitll picks up detail in the background. I have a 550 EX flash, mounted with a stroboframe, to reduce redeye in the dogs. I cant fill the frame with the dog, because I need to have both handler and dog in the frame, and the dog is much shorter than the handler, so filling the frame with the dog would be impossible. In shots where I'm doing still shots of the dog only, and i'm close, I use my 85mm at a wide open aperature, and -2 on the flash and the photos turn out great. Unfortunately, it's not always that easy. do you have any suggestions?
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Jon Close |
I'm confused by your question. The flash has nothing to do with whether the background is rendered sharp or blurry, that's controlled by the aperture and distance from camera to subject and subject to background. Normally, dialing -1 or -2 flash exposure compensation simply decreases the amount of fill light on your subject. In the case you describe doing frame-filling close-ups of the dog, you are probably too close for TTL to properly control the flash output, so -2 FEC is correct.
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