Shade vrs Fill flash

[NicolaB]

Ok so Golden Hours is the only time you should shoot - but I am looking to take families and little children. They will really not be their best at 7pm at night. (I am not my best at 5am!)

So this has got me to thinking on how I will be able to work on location.

What do you find to be your best technique?:

a) Shade and reflector

b) Diffuser / reflector / fill flash

c) Other

Do you manage any of these techniques working alone?

TIA

[scootermcq]

I know tons of photogs love reflectors for outside, expecially since you can get a large aperture to defocus the background and compensate exposure with shutter speed

This is too much of a PITA for me when working alone. They are not very wind friendly. When working alone, I tend to use either stobe or speedlight and an ND filter on the lens so I can keep the aperture open and shutter speed under max sync of 1/250th

Obviously either technique works much better in the shade than direct sunlight. Open shade, or cloudy days are our friend.

Here I place my wife in shade under a covered bridge. It is shot with a 50mm at 2.2 1/160th with an 8 Stop ND filter on the lens. It is lit with an SB900

[NicolaB]

Thanks Scott.

I like the idea of natural light photography but as you say, I am wondering how on earth I will do it with only one pair of hands! Blimey I hadn't considered wind yet - arghhhh!

[autofocus]

Originally Posted by scootermcq

I know tons of photogs love reflectors for outside, expecially since you can get a large aperture to defocus the background and compensate exposure with shutter speed

This is too much of a PITA for me when working alone. They are not very wind friendly. When working alone, I tend to use either stobe or speedlight and an ND filter on the lens so I can keep the aperture open and shutter speed under max sync of 1/250th

Obviously either technique works much better in the shade than direct sunlight. Open shade, or cloudy days are our friend.

Here I place my wife in shade under a covered bridge. It is shot with a 50mm at 2.2 1/160th with an 8 Stop ND filter on the lens. It is lit with an SB900

Scott, was your SB900 on camera, or off on stand?

[candidrachel]

Yeah wind can be a royal pain the ass with reflectors! I got my lightstand out yesterday (and its a heavy duty Bowens) and tried all sorts of things to weight it down using bags of rice, even a heavy duty blanket. It just ended up like one big sail.........

[BigFuzzy]

D) All of the above.

I typically will go on-site with all of these as options and decide based on lighting conditions (if you don't know what the conditions are before hand).

Don't limit yourself by deciding on one thing. Always be prepared for changing conditions.

Personally, I love "perect" natty light, but can't count on it. So, I'm always ready with my huge umbrella and my hot-shoe flash bringing it as close to subject as possible. This way, I'm in control at all times and not at the mercy of the sun, clouds and availability of shade.

[scootermcq]

Originally Posted by autofocus

Scott, was your SB900 on camera, or off on stand?

That one was on camera. I would have needed a 20' stand and to place it in a creek to use off camera

[autofocus]

Originally Posted by scootermcq

That one was on camera. I would have needed a 20' stand and to place it in a creek to use off camera

isn't that something you normally have on hand...I don't go anywhere without my 20' stand..haha
Kidding aside Scott, nice shot/lighting considering it being on camera

[NicolaB]

Originally Posted by candidrachel

Yeah wind can be a royal pain the ass with reflectors! I got my lightstand out yesterday (and its a heavy duty Bowens) and tried all sorts of things to weight it down using bags of rice, even a heavy duty blanket. It just ended up like one big sail.........

Oh man! I didn't notice the wind yesterday, but I would had I got my reflector out wouldn't I?!

Originally Posted by BigFuzzy

D) All of the above.

I typically will go on-site with all of these as options and decide based on lighting conditions (if you don't know what the conditions are before hand).

Don't limit yourself by deciding on one thing. Always be prepared for changing conditions.

Personally, I love "perect" natty light, but can't count on it. So, I'm always ready with my huge umbrella and my hot-shoe flash bringing it as close to subject as possible. This way, I'm in control at all times and not at the mercy of the sun, clouds and availability of shade.

Ugh. I was hoping for a trail of 'natural light' and reflector replies. My head hurts learning about all this stuff. I am still hoping to avoid buying MORE equipment and having to learn how to use the darn thing, but the inevitable is creeping up on me. Oh man!

Thanks guys!

[RLucas]

Originally Posted by NicolaB

Oh man! I didn't notice the wind yesterday, but I would had I got my reflector out wouldn't I?!



Ugh. I was hoping for a trail of 'natural light' and reflector replies. My head hurts learning about all this stuff. I am still hoping to avoid buying MORE equipment and having to learn how to use the darn thing, but the inevitable is creeping up on me. Oh man!

Thanks guys!

Surprised Al didn't mention Michelle Moore, since he turned me on to her a while back. She is a natural light photographer that swears by knowing the environment you are working in, and where you will get the most reflectance, and also by wearing a white t shirt or something white. That way YOU are the reflector. Nothing extra to hold. I have actually tried it with favorable results, even with my 85mm. It boils down to learning how to read the light though.
Here are some tips she shared on X-Equals about her thought process.
http://x-equals.com/blog/?p=2759