thanks for the tip

i have a d80 so the fastest the shutter goes in commander mode in manual is 200, so i downsized the flash to 1/32 and iso 100

here is the results:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/amirpaz/3858478816

http://www.flickr.com/photos/amirpaz/3858478718

Amir

CHas

That statement did not sit with me, something about it was just not right so I did some research of my own.

The effect the commander flash has on the exposure depends on the camera body used.

For example the Nikon D70 will not be affected at all from the commander flash. I believe this to also be the case for the D80.

In contrast the D200 has a specific feature to allow you to include/remove the commander flash from the exposure.

No doubt there is somewhere out there a table with all the models listed on it and whether they auto remove or are manually removed.

Of course there is an exception to this. If you are shooting really close to your subject then there is probable chance that there will be minor inclusion of the commander flash. But that is more of a lens choice debate than what happens with the wireless flash and commander flash.

Does any of that make sense?

Chas

I too have an SB600.
I use it a lot with wireless -both Nikon CLS and triggers.

I was confused by yoru statement on dialling down the on-camera master flash. It says in the manual that this never gets picked up in a shot because it fires before the shutter opens.

Are you now saying this is incorrect?

http://www.crcshetland.co.uk/index.php?album=portraits&image=DSC_1588_colour-1-3_8×10_2.jpg

Your diffusion will work against you in this case as it breaks up the light too much. Your lighting needs to be more specular or “point source.”

Controlled directional lighting with an undiffused flash with a grid, barndoors or even using a small snoot on the flash (nothing more than a tube that narrows down the light beam) would go a long way to help you with this effect.

I don’t know what ISO you are working at or what the Guide Number of your flash is but try this to start (Assumes 200 ISO; 100 Watt Second Flash; reflector on flash; no diffusion lens; camera is capable of synching flash at faster shutter speeds) —

– Camera and flash on all manual settings

– Set your camera distance to subject at about 10′, set your subject about 6′ from your background

– Aperture at F11

– Shutter Speed at 1/500 second or faster

– If you can offset your Key flash to 45 degrees up and 45 degrees to the side of your subject from your camera position that will help

– Shoot away and work from here making adjustments accordingly until you achieve the look you are seeking

Good Luck,

Bilka

Because I had the flash set to 1/1 in manual mode, I had to stop my aperture down quite a bit to compensate for the brightness. The camera was in manual mode and I used f/18, shutter 1/250 and iso 200. No TTL or anything. As others mentioned, you may get similar results without having the flash set so bright.

The subjects were standing on the bottom of the blanket to give you an idea how close they were to it. Ideal would be further from the background but I wanted to get their feet in some of the shots.

Good luck.

Chas

this is much clearer example geared towards newbies like me. thanks!

if it isn’t too much to ask for, could i get the shutter/iso/aperture info for the above pics as well as the relative distances between a.) subject to background b.) subject to camera c.) subject to flash … this would help me replicate your pics then hopefully i can pick up the ball from there.

again, thanks!