Fill flash for backlit/sunset portrait

[geoffpowers]

<p>I was trying to take a portrait of a model kneeling in the water with the sun setting behind her (real Sports Illustrated stuff). For the life of me I couldn't remember how to manage the proper settings for a nice, balanced fill-flash image. I have a Canon 20D and a 420 EX Speedlite. Either the model came out WAY overexposed or as a silhouette. I think the procedure is to operate on manual, use a slow shutter speed (1/30 or slower?), and meter for the sky...right? The sun set before I could get it right.<br>

Any suggestions will be much appreciated.</p>

[btmuir]

<p>I would use manual mode and you'll need to add some FEC (flash exposure compensation). At least plus one and more than likely more. Hard to say without being there. This is always a tough call for ettl2.</p>

<p>Set the shutter speed for how much you want the sky to "burn in" to the exposure.<br>

Use wider aperture to keep the focus on the babe and to keep ISO down and flash recycle times short.</p>

[angel_bocanegra]

<p>meter for the background(sky water) in manual mode to be just 1/3 to 1/2 underexposed(sunny 16 rule maybe) with f11-f16 and use fill flash at +1/2 to +1. If you want a nice blurred background then you will need neutral density filters to use a bigger aperture (f1.2-f4). Try using a reflector positioned at 45degrees.</p>

[jackaldridge]

<p><a href="http://www.planetneil.com">www.planetneil.com</a></p>

[cliff_henry]

<p>Have a look at Stephen's lessons #2 & #3 here:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.usa.canon.com/content/Speedlite/index.html">http://www.usa.canon.com/content/Speedlite/index.html</a></p>

<p>This should anwser your questions.</p>

<p>Cliff</p>

[john_deerfield]

<p>While I love sunset shots, I would say that I am far from being an expert. First thing I know I am going to do is shoot Raw. That will give me at least one (if not two) more stops of dynamic range: <br>

http://www.photo.net/wedding-photography-forum/00U1Y4<br>

I don't like using anything in the "auto" mode, including the flash; it's just one more variable you don't have control over. I will use manual, start with a shutter of 1/250, and dial in the aperture I need for the background. If shooting Raw, I might even be up to half a stop over because I like bringing the brightness and exposure <em>down</em> rather than up. By setting my shutter to 1/250th (the sync speed of my flash), I only need to adjust the shutter slower to let more ambient in. Doing this won't affect the flash exposure on my subject (since that is determined by ISO/aperture/distance). After that, I put my flash in manual, adjust until I get the fill I want and fire away. Keep an eye on the LCD,if you start to lose a lot of background light, open up the shutter. If you need to go in and adjust the aperture or ISO, make an equal adjustment on the flash. IE- if you open the aperture by 1-stop, lower the flash power by 1-stop. You will probably need to tweek things, but with a little practice it's fairly quick. On another note, a single on-camera flash isn't ideal! At the very least, perhaps get an off shoe cord and put it on a lightstand to either side. Better yet would be to bounce the flash into a reflector... and a gold reflector would look good for sunsets!</p>

[geoffpowers]

<p>Thanks, everyone. I really appreciate your input. I'll give it another try.</p>

[pgranone]

<p>go to custom functions and enable 2nd shutter curtain sync<br /> The exposure is taken for the background. At the end of the exposure the flash fires. <br /> Use FEC to control power of the flash<br>

I do this with a 270EX and it works</p>

[arie_vandervelden1]

<p>What Angel says. Put the camera in M, point it at the background, dial in exposure, and shoot a few frames until you're happy with background exposure. Then point the camera at your subject and control foreground exposure with FEC.</p>

[hjoseph7]

<p>Canon flash is supposed to go into fill flash mode automatically. All you have to do is point and shoot !</p>

[model mayhem gallery]

<p>I think the canon flash goes into fill mode only when camera is in P Mode. When shooting outdoors during hte day I set shutter spped to faster sync og flash i.e. 1/250. I set aperture so the I am 1 to 2 stops under exposed for the background. Your flash doesnt have manual setting so ETTL will do what it does. Move as close to model as possible to get the mose effect from the flash. Reflectors work great in this situation as well.</p>

[arie_vandervelden1]

<p>With evaluative metering and a backlit foreground subject, the foreground subject enters into the exposure equation and you end up with an overexposed background if you simple point and shoot. Hence the need to meter the background separately.</p>

<p>M is nice because it'll keep the values for background exposure, and exposure won't change when you move around and change composition.</p>

<p>Wedding photographers know all too well that foreground subjects can fool the metering, especially if those subjects are wearing white dresses and black tuxes. As such many wedding photogs choose to shoot manual exposure.</p>

<p>Then once you place the foreground subject in the frame and turn on the flash, the flash will do its ETTL thing and fill the foreground. Adjust foreground with FEC according to taste.</p>

[dave_holland]

<p>I agree with Arie. Automatic Canon metering when the subject is backlit is unreliable and confusing.</p>

<p>I have more success using manual flash and manual exposure, doing the background foreground two-step, as follows. First, in M-mode, set your aperture and shutter speed to get the background exposure (and bokeh) you desire. This is often about 1 stop underexposed to darken the sky, but your taste may vary. Remember to set the shutter speed no faster than your camera sync speed. Then, add in manual flash until the subject is properly lit. A flashmeter is helpful for this but not essential.<br>

Critical to understanding are two fundamental principles. First, distant background will not be affected by flash, because the inverse square law reduces flash output to a miniscule amount beyond about 40 feet. Also critical to understand is the basic principle that flash is effectively instantaneous, so flash exposure is unaffected by shutter speed. Knowing those two facts, it is simple arithmetic gymnastics to adjust foreground (flash) and background (ambient) exposure to taste.</p>