Sharper Shadows?

[AndrewPDX]

Hey guys,

I'm just starting to play around with some OCF. I've got a very basic setup- just a Nikon SB 700, a tripod, and my D5000 (triggering via TTL remote cord).

Check out the example shot below. I played around with 50 or so shots, different apertures, different focal points, different angles with the flash, etc, but I was unable to get a super crisp shadow on the ground. I really wanted both the statue and the shadow to be as sharp as possible, but this is as good as I could get. Any tips for getting really solid shadow shapes? Thanks in advance!



D5000
50 mm f/1.4 @ f/6.3
1/60s
ISO 200
0EV

[davenn]

Originally Posted by AndrewPDX

Hey guys,

I'm just starting to play around with some OCF. I've got a very basic setup- just a Nikon SB 700, a tripod, and my D5000 (triggering via TTL remote cord).

Check out the example shot below. I played around with 50 or so shots, different apertures, different focal points, different angles with the flash, etc, but I was unable to get a super crisp shadow on the ground. I really wanted both the statue and the shadow to be as sharp as possible, but this is as good as I could get. Any tips for getting really solid shadow shapes? Thanks in advance!

D5000
50 mm f/1.4 @ f/6.3
1/60s
ISO 200
0EV

Hi Andrew,
Assuming that the shadow is actually sharp all the way out from the base to the tips of the antlers, to your eye for a start ?
if so then is really a depth of field issue and your depth of field is too shallow

As an experiment try casting the shadow onto a vertical background rather than onto the benchtop, that way at least you can be assured that the shadow if uniformly sharp for its full length, as the background is a uniform distance from the subject. You could then experiment with slowly angling over the background towards the horizontal and see what aperture (DOF) changes you have to do to keep subject and shadow in focus

cheers
Dave

[zona5101]

sharp shadow will be a result of the size of the light and the distance. To increase the sharpness of the shadow you need a small light source placed at distance. So shoot the sb700 with no light modifier (bare head flash). Point it directly at the subject. If necessary, minimize the amount of light that might be scattered in the environment using flags. Place the light as far from the subject to still get the proper exposure at the desired f stop while still keeping it direct enough to not throw light all around the room. Biasing towards a higher fstop will do two things, one help top ensure you have adequate depth of field to capture the subject and shadow in crisp focus, two, utilize the inverse square law to limit the amount of light reaching past the subject into the background area beyond the shadow...

[AndrewPDX]

Thanks, guys. That makes sense. I'm thinking the problem was too much ambient light softening the shadow. I'll try it again with some flags and a bigger f-stop.

[i speak in math]

Originally Posted by AndrewPDX

Thanks, guys. That makes sense. I'm thinking the problem was too much ambient light softening the shadow. I'll try it again with some flags and a bigger f-stop.

Following the lines of the shadows, it appears your speedlight was with 2-3 ft of the subject. Remember, hardness and softness of light is a function of the relative size of the light source. So, while flags may help, the key is to move your speedlight farther away so that it appears even smaller.

Try moving it across the room, zooming it in all the way, and flaging it so it doesn't hit the walls.

[AndrewPDX]

Following the lines of the shadows, it appears your speedlight was with 2-3 ft of the subject.

Wow, impressive. It was right at 3 ft. Moving the light further from the subject will increase shadow sharpness? I'm still learning- that seems counter-intuitive. I just assumed that the further the light source, the more diffuse the light would become and the shadow would be softer. I'll try moving the flash farther back. Thanks.

[scootermcq]

Originally Posted by AndrewPDX

Wow, impressive. It was right at 3 ft. Moving the light further from the subject will increase shadow sharpness? I'm still learning- that seems counter-intuitive. I just assumed that the further the light source, the more diffuse the light would become and the shadow would be softer. I'll try moving the flash farther back. Thanks.

The further you move the light source the smaller it appears. Look at the sun... it is a big SOB, but so far from earth that it is about the size of a quarter in the sky. Now think about the shadows you are getting at 3pm in the middle of July on a cloudless day. Very sharp & very defined.

That is why you can put a speedlight on a bug with no diffuser and and it appears like a large light source and soft, because it is huge in comparison to the bug. Use the same settings with a human and you will get hard shadows, because the human is bigger than the light source.

The smaller the light, the harder the shadows. The larger the light the softer the shadows. You can move a light further back, up the output to keep the fstop the same, and get shadows. That is why in portraits, if we don't want shadows, we put the light as close to the subject as possible.