Shooting to the Right reference needed

[LeeR]

Originally Posted by rickp1

So if the subject is well inside the flash range is it normal to lower the iso to lets say 200 for example?

R.

If your camera is in range and you can shoot with flash at ISO 200, go for it, but consider a common scenario: You are shooting a wedding reception and people are getting up to dance. There isn't enough light to shoot at the shutter speed you want unless you increase your ISO to 800, but that will increase noise and grain and mean that the images from the reception may not match those from the ceremony. You could use your flash while remaining at ISO 200, but you notice that when you do that the shadows and background go black very quickly. You finally opt for a compromise; you set your ISO to 400 and your flash to +1 over your meter reading. This gives you the light you want, freezes most of the action and allows the ambient light to act as fill. Not a bad compromise.

Now I know that as soon as I say something like this I am likely to get a whole lot of people telling us how they set up their camera a better way. Don't worry about that. The important thing is to master mixing ambient light with your flash when it is appropriate. You will are going to have to experiment to find the best settings for your gear, but the exercise is well worth the effort. Oh, and don't forget to learn how to intentionally let everything but your subject go black. Those shots can be very powerful as well.

[rickp1]

I think thats his point as well, to not blow the highlights. If a technique allows you to minimize noise and not blow highlights it's something worth looking at or trying.

Thanks for the feedback guys.

R.