What settings to show the blue sky and keep faces bright

What aperature should I use to get a shot from the ground looking up to the bride

or flowergirl to show the blue sky and keep detail on the face?? Everytime I try

this, I get a sky that is way too white. I know I should use a reflector.

Suggestions please!

One way is as follows: set the camera to manual, set your ISO to 100, set your shutter to your max sync speed, set your aperture to correctly expose the sky. Then use flash, experimenting with Flash Exposure Compensation (FEC), to correctly expose the subjects. The flash will illuminate the foreground (subjects) whilst the aperture/shutter combo will expose the background correctly.

ISO 100, f11, 1/250th shutter, assuming sunny conditions. Fill subject with flash but from ground view, this isn't the best because the angle of the flash would be upward. Better would be off camera flash on the subject. A reflector may work, but only if it can put enough light on the subject, considering the contrast between sky and subject is pretty big. The reflector would have to be pretty big and pretty close to the subject, and you'd need an assistant to work it.

I suggest getting a book and learning about exposure, contrast and dynamic range. Then how to control the light with reflectors and flash. A light meter will also be very useful when trying things out but you can shoot without it when you know the how's and the why's.

 

Peter

My .02, I agree with everything posted regarding fill flash and reflectors; however, reflectors can be tricky insomuch as the reflected light is constant and may cause your subjects to squint if not lined up properly. Also, sometimes I will use 2 or 3 flashes (Nikon SB-800's) to help illuminate groups while metering for the background.

"ISO 100, f11, 1/250th shutter, assuming sunny conditions."

 

Try these as a starting point, but if your sky is too dark then try 1/200th (or if by chance it's too bright, try F16). Don't try using a shutter speed above 1/250th without switching on the HSS (High-Speed Sync for Canon, or whatever Nikon's equivalent is). (preferable avoid going above 1/250th at all - depending on the light / shot / distance the flash may struggle to produce enough light.

 

Cheers,

 

Colin

If your camera doesn't sync at higher speeds, such as 250th of a sec, use a polarizing filter or an ND filter.

Take a shot of the sky without the subjects. Bring in the subjects and take second shot metered for the subjects. Layer the two together in photoshop.<div></div>

Focus on the face, use fill flash -1 to start, and adjust from there.

Along with the settings and fill flash you could just move around the subject until you are at a 90 degree angle (or you could move so that the sun was behind you, but then you'd have to deal with squinting) to the sun and shoot them from there. You would need fill flash for sure so that there weren't harsh shadows on their faces. The sky would be blue without having to compensate for anything.

I wonder why everybody is talking about fill flash?

 

In the scenario with a bright background and the subject in shade or backlit the subject only receives fill light from reflections on surrounding object such as the ground, walls of nearby buildings etc. That's why the subject is underexposed compared to the background. To get the proper exposure of the subject it needs a key light which will be the main light source of the subject and as such stronger than the fill.

 

If however the subject was lit by direct sunlight normally the sunlight would be the key light and flash would act as fill and control the high contrast lighting on the subject (for instance dark eye sockets) by putting some light in the shadows. In this case the sun is the main light source of the subject and as such stronger than the fill (flash).

 

Peter

PS. Maybe it's just semantics?

Oh, just wanted to add also that when the flash is key light it's best off camera because oherwise the lighting on the subject will be very flat and non 3D-looking.

 

But when the flash is fill light it works fine on the camera because the purpose is to fill in the shadows with light and all the shadows that the camera can see can be filled from the camera position.

 

Peter

Peter--it is partly semantics and partly not being exactly sure what the angle of the subject's face is going to be. Jennifer said 'from the ground looking up'. She didn't say what the angle of the subject's face was going to be. Whatever that angle, obviously, the light you send to the subject's face should be at an angle that would reach it. If the subject was looking downward at the camera, then perhaps an on camera flash would work. If the subject was looking off, above camera level, then an off camera flash would be better, as I stated above.

 

The term 'fill flash' has always kind of confused me too. It is used to describe flash that is lower in intensity than a main light. It is also used to describe a light that fills in the shadow side of a subject, with the light not necessarily being less in intensity than the other light in the picture.

I understand what you're saying Nadine. To me however the term key light and fill light is a bit more defined. As in the classical three light setup. The key light provides the main illumination of the subject. And fill light could never be stronger than key light because then it would be a key light :-)

 

Peter