Flash Inside

[jenkins]

<p>I only have my on board flash on my camera so when a friend said he would lend me his SB400 on my D40 i was pretty excited. Well now i am pretty frustrated because i don't have any rhyme or reason being applied to what i am doing, i am getting some good results but i am having to make countless setting changes to get them.<br>

It does not seem to matter what setting i put it on inside the light meter tells me i am under exposed, so how do i pick a flash setting?<br>

Outside is fine but it's all guess work still, where is the clue that i am in the ball park without taking lots of pictures, the light meter is not helping me at all inside, it seems to be to the right even wide open.</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

 

[picturesque]

<p>What camera mode are you using? If you are using aperture priority, for instance, I believe in dim light, with the flash on, the camera will pick a 'safe' shutter speed like 1/60th or something, which will not be correct to expose the ambient light, in most cases, accounting for the underexposure. You shouldn't necessarily be looking to 'zero the meter' inside with flash anyway, as the flash will expose the subject correctly and the ambient 'can' be underexposed.</p>

<p>You also would need to describe what the 'bad' results are like.</p>

[charles_m1]

<p>I use a Canon, which works a little differently, but try using Manual mode. If you are indoors, set the shutter speed to the flash sync speed (usually around 1/250). Set the aperture to what you need (I usually use something around 4 or 5). ISO is usually around 200 or 250.<br>

Now, you need to determine where to point the flash. Straight up at the ceiling is fine if there is enough distance to the subject, the ceiling is low enough (regular 8' ceilings is fine), and the ceiling color is white or off white. The light will bounce off the ceiling and look more natural. If you are closer to the subject, I usually aim the flash up and behind me, to the right or left. <br>

Hope I didn't confuse you, but this should produce decent results. <br>

What you need to do is understand that when using flash, there are 2 exposures. One for flash, and one for the ambient light. After you understand this, you might also want to research the dragging the shutter technique.<br>

I learned all this from reading the planetneil website. Look it up and have a nice read.</p>

 

[charles_m1]

<p>Oops, double post.</p>

[charles_m1]

<p>One more thing, the light meter is useless for flash. You just need to figure out how to estimate what works or not. For example, if I am in a room with a high ceiling, bouncing off the ceiling may not work because the ceilings are too high. I can try adjusting the ISO or aperture, but I can usually estimate what should work based on experience. Just experiment and find out the limits of the SB400. </p>

[ben_goren]

<p>This should be a good starting point:</p>

 

<ol>

<li>Use manual mode.</li>

<li>Set the shutter speed to 1/200.</li>

<li>Set the aperture to whatever you want for depth of field. If you’re not sure, go with a

wider aperture (shallower depth of field).</li>

<li>Set the meter to evaluative mode.</li>

<li>Set the ISO so that the meter says you’re underexposed by about two stops.</li>

<li>Set the flash to TTL (or E-TTL or whatever is the “smartest” metering mode it

has).</li>

<li>Point the flash head at anything other than the subject.

<ul>

<li>Whatever the head is pointing at, that’s where your light source is.</li>

<li>Point the flash at the ceiling to emulate overhead lighting.</li>

<li>Point the flash at a wall for side lighting.</li>

<li>Point the flash behind you for diffuse front lighting.</li>

<li>If whatever you’re pointing at is too far away (high ceilings are notorious), your flash won’t have enough power to illuminate your subject. If your flash head has a confirmation light, it’ll tell you; pay attention to it.</li>

<li>If whatever you’re pointing at is colored, the light hitting your subject will have a similar color cast. This can be good or bad, depending.</li>

</ul>

<li>Take the shot.</li>

<li>Look at (“chimp”) the results. Use the histogram to evaluate exposure, and the

preview to evaluate ratios.

<ul>

<li>If the image in general is overexposed or underexposed (based on the histogram), use

flash exposure compensation (read the flash and / or camera manual for how to set it) to fix it.</li>

<li>If you have too much or too little depth of field, adjust the aperture and re-adjust the

ISO.</li>

<li>If you want more things lit by ambient light, increase the ISO, and vice-versa.</li>

</ul>

</li>

</ol>

 

<p>That should hold you until you can spend some quality time at <a

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

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

 

<p>Cheers,</p>

 

<p>b&</p>

[jenkins]

<p>Thanks guys i just bought a proper flash, SB400 goodbye!</p>