Street Photography With Flash Under A Bright Sun Light

Yesterday, I went to take some photos for a parade. It was sunny. I initially set three steps below the auto exposure level on my camera and three steps above the E-TTL auto exposure level on my flash for backlit photos. The result is very bad as the subjects in those photos are washing out (too hot in exposure). Changing the metering mood from multi-pattern to the centre weighted doesn't help. I also tried to set my camera and flash to the auto level with the same or similar result. I had to give up using flash later.

 

If my memory serves me well, I had used the approach for a point-shoot camera, Canon G11, in the type of national lighting situation before with a good result. I don't know where I mess things up. Is the equipment problem, Canon D6, and Sigma EF-610 DG Super? Or a technical problem?

Three stops underexposed for backlit sun with Flash Fill three stops overexposed is quite severe, anyway, more information please:

 

Assume that's a typo and you're using a Canon DSLR model 6D?

What Camera Mode were you using? i.e. M Tv Av P etc?

 

WW

Not understanding why you are doing that. If you have a til flash system, you need to be close enough to meter off the subject. Better to use a spot metering setting that most cameras have. Get the dot on the subject, that will inform the flash and it should bring that into fair exposure. the background will look strange sometimes but if on faces they will be in. Of course if you are far away from the subject in bright sunlight, its not going to help anyways. How close were you to the subjects?

You might want to check that you use the same metering mode on your 6D and G11 to see why the same approach behave differently.

If I remember correctly, E-TTL flash always try to give you the correct exposure, by setting it 3 stops above its reading you practically tell your flash to overexposed your subject. I tend not to compensate my flash if I want it to provide fill light in a backlit situation.

Three stops underexposed for backlit sun with Flash Fill three stops overexposed is quite severe, anyway, more information please:

 

Assume that's a typo and you're using a Canon DSLR model 6D?

What Camera Mode were you using? i.e. M Tv Av P etc?

 

WW

My camera was on AV mode.

Not understanding why you are doing that. If you have a til flash system, you need to be close enough to meter off the subject. Better to use a spot metering setting that most cameras have. Get the dot on the subject, that will inform the flash and it should bring that into fair exposure. the background will look strange sometimes but if on faces they will be in. Of course if you are far away from the subject in bright sunlight, its not going to help anyways. How close were you to the subjects?

I had a Sigma 24-35 mm on the camera. So, the subject needed to quite close, between 2 - 5 m. Otherwise, the subject would be quite small.

It seems to be a flash compatibility problem. The camera isn't on the flash compatibility list.

Thanks for answering. - Av Mode

 

Notwithstanding that I think compensating the Ambient Exposure -3Stops and the Flash Exposure +3Stops is 'extreme' and that is the main cause of the overexposure of the people, it is possible that using Av Mode complicated the situation.

 

The 6D will limit the Tv when a Flash is detected, probably to 1/200s or 1/180s.

 

Lets assume you were working at ISO 200. Let's assume you set Av = F/8. The TTL Meter (in Evaluative Mode) would meter a 'close backlit person in a sunny scene' at about F/8 @ 1/200s @ ISO200, but you used EC -3Stops. The camera can't do that, there's no Tv to reduce (i.e. the camera can't go faster than 1/200s when it detects a Flash). I am not sure exactly what a 6D does in that situation, but I a reasonable certain it either won't allow the Shutter to be released, or it won't apply the EC. Yon can investigate the EXIF data to find out exactly what did happen.

 

In any case - as a ballpark starting point for a Back Lit Subject in Bright Sun: I'd use M Mode and make the Ambient Exposure precise for the Background and ensure that the Tv is within Flash Sync Specs (e.g F/11 @ 1/200s @ ISO 100) and then use about +1/2 Stop for the Flash Fill using ETTL.

 

If I want the background to be a bit darker, for example for Subject Separation, then I'd drop the Ambient by 1/2~1Stop.

 

I find setting my required Ambient Exposure using M Mode and then riding FEC is simpler than having to think about adjusting EC when the camera is in Av mode, because Av Mode and EC in Av mode change the Shutter Speed - I don't want to be monitoring how the camera is changing the Shutter Speed, when I am using Flash as Fill.

 

WW

It seems to be a flash compatibility problem. The camera isn't on the flash compatibility list.

 

Maybe it is not compatible. on the other hand there may be different Sigma lists depending upon when the list is released that list might not mention the newer Canon cameras. I just did a search and got two different lists, both from Sigma.

 

I'd telephone Sigma Technical and confirm/deny compatibility.

 

Anyway, my advice above still stands.

 

WW

Thanks for answering. - Av Mode

 

...

 

Lets assume you were working at ISO 200. Let's assume you set Av = F/8. The TTL Meter (in Evaluative Mode) would meter a 'close backlit person in a sunny scene' at about F/8 @ 1/200s @ ISO200, but you used EC -3Stops. The camera can't do that, there's no Tv to reduce (i.e. the camera can't go faster than 1/200s when it detects a Flash). I am not sure exactly what a 6D does in that situation, but I a reasonable certain it either won't allow the Shutter to be released, or it won't apply the EC. Yon can investigate the EXIF data to find out exactly what did happen.

 

...

 

WW

 

Thanks very much for your analysis. I was not thinking. What you say is absolutely correct. With a flash, ambient light exposure is controlled by aperture. I should set my camera to the Tv mode and shutter speed less than or equal to the maximum synchronization speed so that the camera could adjust the exposure by altering aperture. The manual mode certainly is an approach too.

 

BTW, I just test the flash with the camera and the flash works fine in a normal situation.

Edited July 5, 2019 by rainbowphotography

. . . I should set my camera to the Tv mode and shutter speed less than or equal to the maximum synchronization speed so that the camera could adjust the exposure by altering aperture.

Setting Tv Mode can also be problematic: the camera will change the Aperture when it "reads" that the Ambient Exposure has changed. In this case the ETTL Flash Exposure will change to suit the newly adjusted Aperture, this can result in the Flash Fill not being adequate, and sometimes ineffective, if your Subject Distance is beyond the Maximum Flash Working Distance for the ISO you have chosen.

 

***

 

The manual mode certainly is an approach too.

 

The above two brief descriptions and examples of some of the possible issues one might encounter when choosing to use Tv and/or Av Modes for a Camera when using Flash as Fill in Sunlight and these and other issues which need to be monitored, form the basis of the reasons why I advised using (only) M Mode.

 

***

 

BTW, I just test the flash with the camera and the flash works fine in a normal situation.

 

OK. It seems that Sigma's lists are not up to date, as I suspected.

 

WW

Setting Tv Mode can also be problematic: the camera will change the Aperture when it "reads" that the Ambient Exposure has changed. In this case the ETTL Flash Exposure will change to suit the newly adjusted Aperture, this can result in the Flash Fill not being adequate, and sometimes ineffective, if your Subject Distance is beyond the Maximum Flash Working Distance for the ISO you have chosen.

 

***

 

 

 

The above two brief descriptions and examples of some of the possible issues one might encounter when choosing to use Tv and/or Av Modes for a Camera when using Flash as Fill in Sunlight and these and other issues which need to be monitored, form the basis of the reasons why I advised using (only) M Mode.

 

***

 

 

 

OK. It seems that Sigma's lists are not up to date, as I suspected.

 

WW

I post two photos to illustrate my test for the scenario (rainbowphotography | photo.net I don't' know how to get those photos' URLs). The first one was taken with the default camera and flash setting in the TV mode. And the second one with the camera -2 and flash +2 in the same Tv mode. The shutter speed was the max. syn. speed, 180 and IOS was 1600. Ambient light is noticeable in the first photo and the flash light kills ambient light in the second photo. With this approach, the IOS setting would be used to control DOF. It definitely can run into a limitation of functioning properly due to ambient light strength.