Question re exposure/fill flash

[kristenh]

Hi, all- i've been on a little campaign to find a spot to shoot the sunset. harder than i thought to find a good one. i took this this afternoon and used fill flash:



here's the exif data:
nikon d5000
focal length 40 mm
shutter speed 1/200
f 10.0
iso 500

my main questions have to do with exposure- does it seem okay? should i have stopped down some on this shot b/c of the flash and the sun to get the trees more in focus? the iso was just a mistake- had it up there b/c i was taking shots of the kids and it was getting darker. forgot to switch it.

i already know that the horizon isn't as straight as it should be.

thanks for any thoughts on my questions above. and any other ideas, if they pop into your head. thanks!

[kristenh]

Okay, then. Is it just that bad that nobody knows where tobgegin commenting , Or so incredibly impressive that nobody can comment? Lol. Please help!!

[zona5101]

Your subject is a little underexposed. Also the trees are in the background and stopping down the lens to get them more in focus would only take away from your subject (plus, unless you bumped up your fill light the subject would be even more undersxposed). Your ambient exposure is right in the ballpark....just needed to up your flash output a bit and/or open the aperture about a 1/2 to 3/4 stop .

[gturner]

ISO is not an issue, it is quite normal and you need the ISO to get the shutter speed.
I think the same shot at F9 & 1/180 may just give you a little bit of a better exposure.
with the trees so dark and back lit, you are never going to get any quality detail on them anyway.

Where was the flash? Just the pop-up on camera or external flash that you can control the power of?

[AdrenoJunkie]

I agree that the subject is underexposed, It looks like used on camera flash also, yes? If so get it off camera as soon as possible, that will make a big difference in the look. As for the exposure, try taking your exposure reading for the sky to get it how you want it then add flash til your subject looks good. Adjust your shutterspeed to match the changing ambient light as the sun sets further.

[tyasa81]

hi kristen... aside from what others said, you might want to try adding a warming gel (cto) to get the face more in line with the orange sunset... but other than that i think it's a nice attempt we're usually eating around sunset so i dont get much photos around those time other than some snaps...

[kristenh]

oh, thanks, everyone!

Originally Posted by gturner

Where was the flash? Just the pop-up on camera or external flash that you can control the power of?

it was the pop-up- i do have a speedlite, but i have never tried to use it except on the camera and bouncing off a wall/ceiling. but on this walk i didn't even have it (kids, water, dog, too much to keep track of!). in a situation like this, would you have someone else hold it? and i guess shoot it straight at the subject?

Bruce, adrenojunkie, i will try those suggestions next time. thanks, Tony, i'll put that gel on my birthday list. and maybe next time i'll try to get one of the kids or at least try to make my husband smile!

[AdrenoJunkie]

You could have someone else hold it or just hold it out in your left hand and shoot with your right. But don't shoot it straight at them, it'll look the same as your popup flash. Hold it out at an angle to them. 45* works well, but if you have a radio trigger and a stand or someone to hold it then play around with different angles. Also check out Strobist.com, you'll learn just about everything you need to know about OCF there.

[kristenh]

Originally Posted by AdrenoJunkie

You could have someone else hold it or just hold it out in your left hand and shoot with your right. But don't shoot it straight at them, it'll look the same as your popup flash. Hold it out at an angle to them. 45* works well, but if you have a radio trigger and a stand or someone to hold it then play around with different angles. Also check out Strobist.com, you'll learn just about everything you need to know about OCF there.

ah, thank you for this. i will have to get a stand and trigger, though, but i do like the idea. and i checked out strobist; cool site. now who makes sure the kids don't drown themselves while i'm setting up and triggering various lights?

[sk66]

To me, this is primarily an issue of metering mode....Spot metering on the subject would have resulted in better exposure. It also would have added to underexposure of sunset for more saturation.

As for using your flash off camera...I will use a cable and handhold the flash off to the side if looking for a "quick" solution.