mike robson Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 I am going to Vietnam and want to take street portraits of people wearing the traditional conical hats. My question is how do I get sufficient light into the face - including hopefully catchlights in the eyes - when the hats cast such a heavy shadow. Carrying around a reflector seems inpractical. Will my D200's flip-up flashgun set on say -1 or -2 fill flash do the job or will it cast a shadow and/or burn out the straw hat? Would spot or centre weighted metering on the face help? Any ideas much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charles_stobbs3 Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 Practice on a friend wearing a lampshade before you go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank uhlig Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 If you want to wear comical hats while photographing, put a band on them and under your chin, so they do not fall/slip off onto your camera. More seriously: I think you will have to get the hat wearers into a well lit studio, though. The contrast seems too large for any fill-flash remedy on the run... maybe securing the flash onto your knee might help not burn out the hats ? ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerald oar photography Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 Actually I didn't find it to be much of a problem. As I avoid photographing people in bright contrasty sunlight, the softer light of an overcast day or shade lessens the problem. I have a few of the photos of Vietnamese people wearing hats on in this gallery. <a href=http://www.geraldoar.com/Regions/asia/vietnam/vietnam%20entry%20page.html>Vietnam gallery</a> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerald oar photography Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 <a href=http://www.geraldoar.com/Regions/asia/vietnam/vietnam%20entry%20page.htm>Vietnam gallery</a> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean_marc_liotier Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 What about turning the camera upside-down ? The flash could be a couple of feets lower - for close shots it could make a difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranong Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 fill flash should only fill. so if the flash fires at alower power tahn the hat it should be fine. it should only lighht the face without blowing out the hat. eddie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the lone ranger Posted January 26, 2007 Share Posted January 26, 2007 Use an omni-bounce, softbox, or kleenex rubber banded to attach to your flash. No need to compensate if you do that.<p> <a href="http://www.rwongphoto.com">Two-Lane Road Photography by Richard Wong<br><a href="http://www.rwongphoto.com/fieldreport">In the Field: Photography Blog</a> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike robson Posted February 1, 2007 Author Share Posted February 1, 2007 My thanks to everyone for their input. Plenty to work on. Suggest we close this thread now. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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