Underexposed background

[rebecca_bolte]

I have a Canon 5D and 580EX speedlite as well as some strobes.

 

I am looking to do a photo of 3 people in a setting where I will be about 7 feet

away. I would really like to use my strobes and a high speed sync with my Canon

5D to darken the background by a stop or 2.

 

I've managed to do this successfully using the speedlite in the hot shoe with a

single subject who was in much closer range - but have not been able to get the

right effect in my preliminary tests at 7 feet. The whole shot just looks

underexposed. I'm also not in love with the idea of shooting this with on camera

flash. I would rather use my strobes, or at the very least, an off camera speedlite.

 

Now, I know I can achieve this effect with my hasselblad and strobes, but budget

concerns preclude the use of film.

 

Will the Canon 5D high speed sync work with strobes or with an off camera

speedlite? Or will I just have to dump the digital and go for a good old

fashioned leaf shutter?

 

 

How can I achieve this effect with the Canon 5D?

 

http://www.rebeccabolte.com/images/bolte_fashion01.jpg

[twmeyer]

If your Canon won't sync fast enough, and your speedlights aren't powerful enough, then "dump the digital and go for a good old fashioned leaf shutter" or, get strobes with more power that will let you work at smaller apertures to control the bright sun (and accept the increased DOF), or work in subdued ambient light (twilight/dawn) with the gear you have... t <p>(or get a D70s and sync at any speed you want while accepting the smaller 17mb image file)<p>(life is full of compromises, no?)

[robert lee]

Have you tried reflectors to throw additional light onto the foreground?

[igord]

1/200 f16 plus off camera flash like metz 45. It's easy.

[rebecca_bolte]

aperture isn't really the issue, or at least it wouldn't be the issue if the speedlite had enough range on High Speed Sync mode. But it doesn't, and I can't sync higher than 1/200 using any non-speedlite or off camera option.

 

I really need something higher than 1/200 to achieve the look. 1/200 f16 with a bracket flash didn't cut it, reflectors aren't going to do it either.

 

I think I'm going to have to dust off the old hassy for this one....

 

 

(I'll look into the D70's too)

[picturesque]

Just curious--why won't 1/200th f16 or even f22 with a powerful flash work for you? Reflectors won't work because you don't get enough light but you can get powerful flashes--I just used a Norman 200B head on my 20D. If the aperture itself is a problem, and you need shallower DOF, use a ND filter.

[rcox2]

Are you shooting completely in manual (flash and camera)? If not, you need to be. I don't see any reason you couldn't avjieve the effect unless you're letting the camera or flash decide the exposure.

[joseph_i]

you can't sync a d70s or anything else "high speed mode" with a studio strobe. The High Speed setting on the flash makes it strobe so it covers the fast moving shutter... at a cost of range. The body doesn't do anything different at all during this process.

[joseph_i]

Agreed, the answer is ND filter and high powered strobes, not adding another camera systems consumer model...

[stwrtertbsratbs5]

An ND filter will give you greater flexibility in selecting aperture and shutter speed. But what you're really looking for is a flash that is 1 to 2 stops brighter than the sun. This is not an application that works well with small shoe-mount flash. You need power. You could move the light closer, cluster small flash heads, or buy a more powerful flash.

[igord]

Rebecca, I use to do a lot of this some years ago with digital canon and metz, you need no

high speed sync or anything.

[picturesque]

Also, with a 5D, you can get ISO 50--which won't help you with the ratio between EV and flash power, but will help you, along with a ND filter, keep apertures wider.

[rebecca_bolte]

Nadine -

 

I need to control the background and foreground separately. The aperture control will control the flash exposure and the shutter speed will control the ambient exposure.

 

I was able to achieve the effect in the photo I linked to above with a hasselblad and sunpack by metering the flash at 1/60. I used the aperture reading (f8 or whatever it was) at 1/500 to properly expose the flashed foreground while underexposing the sky by 2 stops.

 

This will not work with the 5D and any off camera option because it won't sync at anything faster than 1/200, which isn't fast enough to underexpose a sky.

[robert lee]

Perhaps a contrast mask is the ticket. If you can throw enough foreground light so that the scene fits within the camera's capture range, a bit more work in post might be enough.<div></div>

[adzy]

OK, so you want 2 things here-

 

1. underexpose the sky

2. expose subject correct

 

Your main bottleneck is the sync speed of 1/200.

 

So, first lets get the background right, so at ISO 100 (100 is cleaner than ISO 50 on the 5d), we meter the sky for 2 stops underexposure at 1/200, this gives us lets say f/16.

 

So, now you need to set up the strobes so that you get f/16 on the subject. This depends on how powerful your strobes are. If they are- go get your shot, if not maybe one of the alternatives below will work for you.

 

Alternate option is shoot 2 exposures, one for the sky (preferably with subject totally underexposed to black, so that it can be used as mask), and immediately one more with the flash properly exposed for the subject and merge the two with photoshop.

 

Your photo shows hard lighting on the subject, so you ahve to be careful with multiple lights, sicne the shadows will cross each other. However, you could experiment to see if multipel lights work for you- placed far enough to appear as one source.

 

Alternately, use more than one mirror to bounce back sunlight onto subject- however the shadows may become muddy with this.

 

Does it have to a blue sky, can you shoot at evening when the light intensity is much lower ? You can get by with a less powerful strobe.

 

Leaf shutters are great to work with, but given the advantages of digital, there is no reason it cant be done.

[twmeyer]

"<i>you can't sync a d70s or anything else "high speed mode" with a studio strobe</i><p>Well your comment is technically correct, but that's not what I said.<p>The D70 and the D70s will sync at any speed and it does NOT require High Speed Sync capability of the flash. I have done it / seen it with my own eyes. <p>I plugged my old fashioned low tech Lumedyne pack and head into a D70s, and inside PPR (pro rental house in Atlanta Ga, with witnesses) made perfect exposures at iso 100, F11 and 1/2000 of a second. It does <i>not</i> require high speed sync capability and I don't know why. I just know it works... t

[igord]

It's too bright too see on the image the shutter curtains don't open. Especially if the

subject is in the center and parallel to the shutter.