Balancing Flash and Ambient Light

[APhotoSchool]

Originally Posted by RecurrentNerve

So you could essentially put the camera in Shutter Priority, set it to 1/250th (or whatever the sync speed is), then adjust the ISO until you get the light reading you want, allowing the camera to set the aperture, then kick in with the flash?

You can, but keep in mind that as aperture changes, the Flash will be less/more powerful depending on the change. ISO will compensate for that though so it will work well.

[Heaterguy]

I just used your technique for the first time and it was so easy I had to slap my forehead for not realizing how it could be accomplished. I just photographed some plants on my patio with the sun behind and put my flash besides the plants pointed up at them. I took a test shot at f/8 converted to manual then played around with the shutter speed until I got what I needed.
Thanks for this tutorial. I'll put it to good use this weekend using my umbrellas on a family portrait for some friends of mine.



[First, build up the ambient exposure to where you would like it if you were not using flash. Try to retain a shutter speed of 1/320th, or 1/250th for flash sync by compensating using ISO and aperture (Shutter speeds above that will cause the flash to not cover the bottom of the image). The smaller the aperture and ISO, the more the flash will have to be powered up to create the image. Shutter speed will not affect the power of the flash, aperture will! Remember that!

Once you have a great ambient exposure, it’s time to flip on the flash. Turn the flash on and take a test shot. If you are using radios then it’s likely you are in manual mode. If this is the case, keep adjusting power and taking test shots to see how the flash looks with the ambient. If the flash is over-powering, tone it down a bit. Can’t see it? Crank it up.

It’s also helpful to take this same approach even if you are in TTL mode. Often times in broad daylight this setting won’t power the flash enough, compensate for this by cranking up the TTL menu exposure for the flash.

[daajaa]

Hey guys,

We are excited about all the positive feedback, and we have a great stuff coming your way. The next tutorial will be on setting up a multiple flash shot! Hopefully you have couple flashes in your backpack.