natural daylight & touch of flash

[martin_krzywinski]

The answer to your problem are the variable neutral density Singh-ray filters.

 

http://www.singh-ray.com/varind.html

 

These will allow you greater latitude in balancing flash with ambient and use your lenses wide open.

[david_vickers2]

Hi Megan,

 

Going back to your original post - meter for the ambient and then move the flash backwards / forwards to give you an exposure a couple of stops below the aperture reading you obtained for ambient.

 

This will make the ambient your key light and the flash acting as fill. So, if ambient is f5.6 @ 1/30th, move your flash about until you get a reading of f2.8 on the subject (make sure you use a flash meter for this though).

[david_vickers2]

Oh, and just a quick one - be a bit careful about ND filters as these will lower the ambient exposure, but also reduce the effectiveness of your flash by the same amount - meaning you'll need more power to achieve that f8, or f5.6 (or whatever)... or move the flash closer.