How to over power the sun

[jeremy_corbin]

<p>No Problem Scott. That's the best part about PNet... The collaboration! :-)</p>

[jeremy_corbin]

<p>Okay, so I made this example this evening. It's not nearly as beautiful as Steve's (since my example has my ugly mug in it and not someone else), but it simply compares the difference between f/stops for this desired effect.</p>

<p>My settings were:<br>

1/160th @ f/4 with the LP120 at full power for the day-for-day shot.<br>

1/160th @ f/16 with the LP120 at full power for the day-for-night shot.<br>

The only difference between the two is the f/stop. Nothing else changed. As you can see, I could have made the sky even darker if I had more power coming from the flash. You can see that the flash is about 5 feet from me on camera left in both shots, and that is pretty close. I've used closer, but since I wanted to include the sky, for a normal environmental portrait, this is too close, and it would show up in the frame just as it does here.</p>

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[jeremy_corbin]

<p>..</p><div></div>

[jeremy_corbin]

<p>oh.... and nevermind that poor Adirondack chair... it needs refinished.... and the cover.... needs tossed. :-)</p>

[deaner66]

<p>Jeremiah: Great examples. Like I was saying, it isn't as hard as it seems. Especially if you add another flash. What I like best about this technique, is how dramatic the results can be, particularly with the hard flash. Your second shot is a perfect example.</p>

[ivan_j._eberle1]

<p>I prefer to think of it as excluding or balancing the ambient exposure with electonic flash, rather than the term "overpowering the sun".<br>

Exposure equals light intensity X time. Aperture affects the intensity of the light transmitted through the lens all just the same whether it is sun or flash. (Also it's been mentioned it's also why an ND doesn't do any good.)<br>

Keep in mind shoe-mount flashes don't provide sufficient intensity to do this at f/22 from more than a a foot or two away. So the short answer here is to cut down on the time element of the ambient, not cutting the light with the use of a smaller aperture. This is where faster X-syncing leaf shutters, and electronic shutters like those found in the D50 and D70 Nikons have a useful place.</p>