Need Expert Help !!

[myloplex]

Hi Experts,
Praciting for friend's wedding dinner and need help !!

Which is the correct picture ?

Equipment: 10D, 550EX/OmniBounce, 17-40mm f4 L USM

E-TTL used with omni bounce for all shots

Total: 10 images taken

Mode: Auto
1) Evaluative ISO 100 35mm f4 Omni Bounce: 60 deg

2) Evaluative ISO 100 35mm f4 Omni Bounce: Direct

Mode: Program
3) Evaluative ISO 400 35mm f4 Omni Bounce: 60 deg

4) Evaluative ISO 400 35mm f4 Omni Bounce: Direct

contd

 

[myloplex]

Mode: Program
5) Partial ISO 400 35mm Omni f4 Bounce: 60 deg

6) Partial ISO 400 35mm Omni f4 Bounce: Direct

Mode: Program
7) Evaluative ISO 800 35mm Omni f4 Bounce: 60 deg

8) Evaluative ISO 800 35mm Omni f4 Bounce: Direct

 

[myloplex]

Mode: Program
9) Partial ISO 800 35mm Omni f4 Bounce: 60 deg

10) Partial ISO 800 35mm Omni f4 Bounce: Direct

THANKS GUYS !!

 

[Tweek]

honestly there isn't much difference among the different ISO shots since your background is a plain white wall that is near the subject. Very often, we up the ISO for a wedding shoot so that ambient light can come through and be captured. In your case there is not demonstrated.

Comparing 60deg bounce and direct, obviously the bounced one looks better. But my advice is to forget about omnibounce. It sucks power so fast, that flash recharge takes way too much time. For a wedding shot, you won't want to wait too long for the flash to recharge, or you'll miss many precious candid moments. Well, unless you have a power pack for your flash for fast recharge. Also not to mention, battery life gets sucked up fast too so you'll have to prepare more batts and waste more time changing batteries.

After having gathered invaluable tips and experience shared by many others here, I find the most useful will be to use a high ISO (like 400 or 800), and a bounce card for your flash. Set the camera on Tv and set shutter speed to the minimum you can handhold, say 1/30s for your 17-40mm. If there is a low white ceiling, ceiling bounce the flash with bounce card parallel to fill in the front. If ceiling bounce is not possible, bounce the flash off the bounce card for a more diffused flash. Use partial metering on the skin tones of the people (pref chinese mid-tone skin). Remember to use FEL to lock flash exposure if you intend to recompose.

With the above config, the camera will control most of the exposure for you. If ambient light is enough, the camera will compensate by adjusting the aperture accordingly and use the flash as fill flash. If ambient light is not enough, the camera will use the maximum aperture and make it for it by increasing the flash exposure. In either case, you should get properly exposed subjects with ambient lighting suitably shown up in the background. The drawback is that you'll have not much of aperture control. However if you want that you can get into M mode, which to me is less favourable as it requires more time to change settings

 

[Tweek]

argh, can't edit. some typos:

In your case THAT is not demonstrated.

If ambient light is not enough, the camera will use the maximum aperture and make UP for it by increasing the flash exposure.

 

[RAIN_MAN]

"we up the ISO for a wedding shoot so that ambient light can come through and be captured. In your case there is not demonstrated."


hi..do you mean this will achieve a slower shutter speed and hence capture the ambient light?

please enlighten me...thank you.

 

[Tweek]

"we up the ISO for a wedding shoot so that ambient light can come through and be captured. In your case there is not demonstrated."


hi..do you mean this will achieve a slower shutter speed and hence capture the ambient light?

please enlighten me...thank you.

actually its the contrary. Imagine you're shooting at ISO100, F4.0, 1/125s with flash. The ambient metering is ISO100, F4.0, 1/6s. With the current settings, only the flash-exposed foreground will be exposed nicely, the ambient light can't be captured.

If you increase ISO to 800, and you shoot at ISO800, F4.0, 1/125s, with flash. The ambient metering will be ISO800, F4.0, 1/60s. With the same shutter speed of 1/125s, you are just one stop below the ambient metering. Your foreground will still be flash-exposed, but at the same time ambient lighting will show up, although one stop underexposed, but will still give a better lighting effect to the picture.

 

[myloplex]

actually its the contrary. Imagine you're shooting at ISO100, F4.0, 1/125s with flash. The ambient metering is ISO100, F4.0, 1/6s. With the current settings, only the flash-exposed foreground will be exposed nicely, the ambient light can't be captured.

If you increase ISO to 800, and you shoot at ISO800, F4.0, 1/125s, with flash. The ambient metering will be ISO800, F4.0, 1/60s. With the same shutter speed of 1/125s, you are just one stop below the ambient metering. Your foreground will still be flash-exposed, but at the same time ambient lighting will show up, although one stop underexposed, but will still give a better lighting effect to the picture.

If we have no light metering how do we know ambient metering ?
ISO100, F4.0, 1/6s
ISO800, F4.0, 1/60s

err how you calculate ?

 

[Tweek]

If we have no light metering how do we know ambient metering ?
ISO100, F4.0, 1/6s
ISO800, F4.0, 1/60s

err how you calculate ?

erm, aren't u a Canon man? Your camera has a light meter itself. In Av or Tv mode, it'll always meter for ambient light, even though you have an external flash fixed on. In Tv mode for example, if maximum aperture is reached, the exposure meter will indicated how much underexposre there will be for the AMBIENT light. The subject will still be properly exposed by the flash.

ISO100, 200, 400, 800. So from 100 to 800, increase of 3 stops.

1/6s increase of 3 stops will be 1/12s, 1/30s, 1/60s. Roughly.

 

[Tweek]

1/6s decrease of 3 stops will be 1/12s, 1/30s, 1/60s. Roughly.

man i dread it when i can't edit....

 

[myloplex]

In Tv mode for example, if maximum aperture is reached, the exposure meter will indicated how much underexposre there will be for the AMBIENT light

Err where does he camera tell how much underexposure there is ?
the EV shows -1 or +1 you mean ?

It just does this:
E.g in TV mode
125 3.5(blinks) ==> underexposed --> set lower shutter speed.
125 22(blinks) ==> overexposed --> set higher shutter speed.

 

[xmen1977]

Err where does he camera tell how much underexposure there is ?
the EV shows -1 or +1 you mean ?

hi, just for info

EV, stands for Exposure Value, eg EV1-18 etc, tis shows how well the camera can meter in different lighting conditions

different from Exposure Compensation which means decreasing or increasing the normal exposure readings eg -1 or +1

 

[Prismatic]

Actually, if you are going to take weddings, there's no "correct" exposure that works for every picture. You have to consider that the lighting conditions of different places will give you different results.

This is especially true in the white balance parameter. If you want to have outstanding pictures of the couple, you got to have "white" whites and "black" blacks. Meaning you have to find out the ambient colour balance and adjust your setting from there.