Canon Flash Ratios w/ 550ex (master) 420ex (slave) and EOS 3

Hi, I have recently gotten the position of photographer for my

school's newspaper (creighton univeristy, Omaha, NE)and I have a

question reguarding multiple flash setups, and flash lighting for an

on-the-go photojournalist. I have a canon 550ex and would be using

that as the master, and a 420ex and would be using that as the slave.

For some shots they want me to go out and get pictures of resturants,

or shops, and frankly the lighting is quite bad in these situations.

Mixed lighting is usually a big problem as most places have coloured

neon signs, flourescent lights, and tungsten fixtures. I have to

resort to blasting away with the flash to remove mixed lighting

artifacts. I haven't experimented much with bounce flash, and usually

compensate in photoshop for any exposure errors or areas that

are "too bright". Correct me if I am wrong though,... In small white

rooms(subject 3-5 ft., celing 8-9 ft.), I am supposed to point flash

straight up, and use white paper rubber-banded to back of flash to

kick some light forward? For farther subjects (5-10 ft), am I

supposed to choose 45 degree angle and still use bounce card?, or am

i supposed to try and hit the ceiling more with like a 60-70 degree

upward flash angle and/or use bounce card? Those are questions for

the main light. And now, for even larger rooms (subjects 5-12 ft,

celing 10-15 feet and coloured, walls coloured and 10-20 feet away) ,

how would i position my 420ex slave to light the background

(customers, CD racks[for store reviews], prominant arcitecture)?

Would I place it in frame, but just pointing to the background, So i

light along the same axis as the lens? Next the the camera but off to

the side about 5 feet pointing at background, and hope the flashes

can communicate? Behind subejct in fame, pointing at the ceiling(and

hope flashes can communicate? Or buy a reflector and bounce flash at

the background, again hoping the flashes can communicate/and i get

even coverage? I have a Sekonic L-608 and know how to use it, but I

dont think i can use it in this situation??. What I dont know is how

the canon 420ex likes to behave correctly. I have tried placing it on

the floor next to subject(to the right) pointed at ceiling in a small

all white room and have gotten excellent illumination from direct

550ex and lumiquest softbox, but the 420ex on the floor overexposed

half of the subject as it was shooting at the celing, Though the rest

of the room was extremely well lit. What would I do to retain the

exremely-well-lit-ness and not have a harsh beam of light? When I

place it next to background objects in frame, you can see funnels of

light heading places. And finally, after all these illogically

arranged questions, would I use subject to flash distance to vary

power ratios between 550ex and 420ex, or would E-TTL make that

pointless?

<i>Hi Daniel<p>

You will probably get more response with a few paragraph breaks in your message, which I have inserted below so I could better understand your questions. <p>

Are you shooting with film or digital? With digital, just experiment until you get the lighting you want; with film, it's a slower, more expensive learning process.<p>

My only advice is to recommend the <a href="http://www.filmlessphotos.ca/">lighting and multi-flash tutorial by John Lehmann</a>, an outstanding photojournalist: </i><p> http://www.filmlessphotos.ca/<p>

*****<p>

Hi, I have recently gotten the position of photographer for my school's newspaper (creighton univeristy, Omaha, NE)and I have a question reguarding multiple flash setups, and flash lighting for an on-the-go photojournalist. <p>

I have a canon 550ex and would be using that as the master, and a 420ex and would be using that as the slave. For some shots they want me to go out and get pictures of resturants, or shops, and frankly the lighting is quite bad in these situations. <p>

Mixed lighting is usually a big problem as most places have coloured neon signs, flourescent lights, and tungsten fixtures. I have to resort to blasting away with the flash to remove mixed lighting artifacts. I haven't experimented much with bounce flash, and usually compensate in photoshop for any exposure errors or areas that are "too bright". Correct me if I am wrong though,... <p>

In small white rooms(subject 3-5 ft., celing 8-9 ft.), I am supposed to point flash straight up, and use white paper rubber-banded to back of flash to kick some light forward? <p>

For farther subjects (5-10 ft), am I supposed to choose 45 degree angle and still use bounce card?, or am i supposed to try and hit the ceiling more with like a 60-70 degree upward flash angle and/or use bounce card? <p>

Those are questions for the main light. And now, for even larger rooms (subjects 5-12 ft, celing 10-15 feet and coloured, walls coloured and 10-20 feet away) , how would i position my 420ex slave to light the background (customers, CD racks[for store reviews], prominant arcitecture)? Would I place it in frame, but just pointing to the background, So i light along the same axis as the lens? Next the the camera but off to the side about 5 feet pointing at background, and hope the flashes can communicate? Behind subejct in fame, pointing at the ceiling(and hope flashes can communicate? Or buy a reflector and bounce flash at the background, again hoping the flashes can communicate/and i get even coverage?

<p>

I have a Sekonic L-608 and know how to use it, but I dont think i can use it in this situation??. <p>

What I dont know is how the canon 420ex likes to behave correctly. I have tried placing it on the floor next to subject(to the right) pointed at ceiling in a small all white room and have gotten excellent illumination from direct 550ex and lumiquest softbox, but the 420ex on the floor overexposed half of the subject as it was shooting at the celing, Though the rest of the room was extremely well lit. What would I do to retain the exremely-well-lit-ness and not have a harsh beam of light? When I place it next to background objects in frame, you can see funnels of light heading places. <p>

And finally, after all these illogically arranged questions, would I use subject to flash distance to vary power ratios between 550ex and 420ex, or would E-TTL make that pointless?

To begin with, my advice is to get an ST-E2 Transmitter to serve as master. This will get the 550EX off your camera and you will have two slaves. Next, get a StoFen OmniBounce diffusor for each of your slaves. These inexpensive items will allow you to flood the area with light, if you so choose. Follow the directions that come with the OmniBounces.

Next, all you have to do is experiment with placements of your slaves. You can set different ratios to balance out the light. Placement of slaves is not critical as E-TTL will control this but it may help to position them such that the one with the higher output is not further from the subject than the one with the lower output.