Night Walk - Slow Sync Experiment 1

[Semjaja]

Ok, I'm just going to jump in the deep end and make my 3rd post here.

i was playing around with Slow Sync last night and the results were dismal to say the least. The pic below was the best of the lot and admittedly it's not great.

I was trying to get a ghostly image ending with a clear shot of the subject. I was also using the camera's flash, not an external one.

Exif data
Canon EOS 1100D
Exposure 10"
Aperture f/22.0
ISO 1600

I know the pillar and steps on the bottom left are way blown out and the streetlights too.

In order to achieve what I wanted, would I need to get an external flash, ie. get more light on her at the end, to make her "sharper"?
I was hoping that the level of transparency i got at the end would be what i'd get in the trail, instead of the whisps i have now?
i know there are probably a thousand things i could do to improve this shot re. aperture, shutter speed, ISO (and i'd like to hear it), but my main question is regarding the light source i'd need to achieve what i wanted.



Night Walk - Slow Sync Experiment 1 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

[Semjaja]

nothing hey?

not to worry, i'll play around a bit more and post again.

[sk66]

You need to set the sync to rear curtain as well.

[Semjaja]

Originally Posted by sk66

You need to set the sync to rear curtain as well.

that's the thing, it was set to rear curtain.

i'm just going to play around more. maybe a tad ambitious for my first experiment with slow sync.

thanks for the response.

[sk66]

The trail is so faint because she moved too quickly for the ambient light level... More flash output at the end would have made her "sharper" but it would also have made her more "solid".

I think you might have been better off with a location with less light, certainly more even lighting.

[baajero]

Easy there... the reason you didn't get many responses is because it's a hard question and you need fairly professional photographers to help you out like sk66. Most of us are amateurs so we are waiting patiently for those pros to answer... be patient man
despite all the flaws in the picture... the idea behind it is nice... My attempts to get something like you have above has failed... I wonder if there's a tutorial on DPS on slow sync... I havent been able to find one

[Semjaja]

Originally Posted by sk66

The trail is so faint because she moved too quickly for the ambient light level... More flash output at the end would have made her "sharper" but it would also have made her more "solid".

I think you might have been better off with a location with less light, certainly more even lighting.

aah, ok. i think i get it now.
i did want her to be more solid at the end, but i didn't take into account her moving too quickly.
Thanks for the advice.
a question though, by more even lighting, do you mean not on a street with fluorescent lighting (i was standing on the steps of a car dealership) and street lights above?

[Semjaja]

Originally Posted by baajero

Easy there... the reason you didn't get many responses is because it's a hard question and you need fairly professional photographers to help you out like sk66. Most of us are amateurs so we are waiting patiently for those pros to answer... be patient man
despite all the flaws in the picture... the idea behind it is nice... My attempts to get something like you have above has failed... I wonder if there's a tutorial on DPS on slow sync... I havent been able to find one

yes, i know. patience is a virtue, photography is teaching me that, not my strongest point.
maybe next time though i'll actually play around a bit more and not post my first attempt.

i do have a habit of jumping in feet first though.

[sk66]

More even lighting as you don't want her moving thru lighter/darker areas or the streetlight blowing out a large portion of your scene.

[Semjaja]

Originally Posted by sk66

More even lighting as you don't want her moving thru lighter/darker areas or the streetlight blowing out a large portion of your scene.

gotcha, thanks sk66.