Halloween slow-sync

[annie]

On Halloween night, I tried experimenting with slow-sync flash. It was pretty much a failed experiment, as I got almost no images worth keeping. (I blame this a little bit on the setting, a little bit on the camera, and a LOT on the photographer.) This is one of the few shots I got that I find kind of interesting. Does anyone else agree, or am I deluding myself? Is there anything I could do in post-processing to make it better? Any pointers for this kind of shot in the future?

[Robin Sarac]

I don't know...I like this shot! If you took a whole whack of photos and got one you like, I would consider it a success! Try bumping up the contrast...maybe even try B&W?

[obadvw]

what exctly is the slow sync flash?

[clockdoc]

Did you use the onboard flash for this? There probably was not enough time (1 sec) for the ambient light to really provide enough exposure before the flash went off. It appears that what was registered was the specular highlights from some of the gems on the costume. But all is not lost, you at least gave it a try and have learned from the experience.

[drrlam]

From our own DPS blog . . . . .

What is Slow Sync Flash?

Slow Sync Flash is a function found on many cameras that tells your camera to shoot with both a longer shutter speed as well as firing the flash. This means you get the best of both worlds above and can both get a relatively sharp shot of your main subject as well as get some ambient light from the background and foreground.
Some cameras allow you to access slow sync flash manually and set exposure length and flash strength but on many compact cameras there is a little less control given and it’s presented as an automatic shooting mode, often called ‘night mode’ or even ‘party mode’ where the camera selects the slower shutter speed and flash strength for you.

Page can be found here.

[obadvw]

aha, i have this function in my Canon 350D but it's called 2nd Curtain sync Flash,thanks anyway for your help i thought it's something different

[peeperita]

you're not deluding yourself....although it might not be what you set out to capture, it's still a fun shot......

thanks for sharing

peeper

[Tiberius]

Originally Posted by obadvw

aha, i have this function in my Canon 350D but it's called 2nd Curtain sync Flash,thanks anyway for your help i thought it's something different

Second curtain sync is NOT slow sync.

Slow sync is simply when you have a combination of a longer shutter speed combined with flash. Second curtain sync is when the flash fires at the end of the exposure rather than the beginning (when the just is about to close instead of when it opens). The two can be used completely seperate of each other.

[obadvw]

i understand now and correct me of wrong, this happens in my Canon 350D when i use any of the manual modes like Tv or Ap or even fully manual mode, the flash fires while still have the long shutter time still active and i can set also the Flash exposure

is that correct?

[Tiberius]

Yes. You can have a long exposure time with your flash, and this is slow speed sync. The flash is used so that you can get a photo of a person or other subject standing close to the camera, and the long shutter speed is used to get a properly exposed image of the background (because the flash is useless for things more than a few meters away.)

You can also adjust the strength of the flash. It's two stops above and two stops below the normal flash output if I recall correctly.