How To Get Indoor's Pic Background Lighted?

donchua · 3rd July 2005

How to get indoor pic background lighted like in Drean Car Asia
using flash?

I see most clupsnappers DCA photo background wre well lighted,
mine seem to be quite dark.
http://forums.clubsnap.org/showthread.php?t=139389

Anybody can enlighten me?
Thanks.

dominator · 3rd July 2005

good start for ask...i'm keen to learn too!

igpenguin · 3rd July 2005

Expose for the background lighting conditions, and use fill-flash.

yanyewkay · 3rd July 2005

Originally Posted by igpenguin

Expose for the background lighting conditions, and use fill-flash.

I agree.

The flash will only light up the foreground. many people believe that the flash will light up everything. which is incorrect. Get some books on flash photography and read up on about it. There's too many techniques to simplify on a reply thread.

snowspeeder · 3rd July 2005

I only use direct flash for events if it is really unavoidable becos this tends to make the subject look harsh.

Speaking about flash ignorance, one time I showed my friend a night scene traffic shot (20 sec shutter image). And he asked me why I didn't use flash!

detrop · 18th July 2005

hahaha... amazing..

Del_CtrlnoAlt · 18th July 2005

Originally Posted by yanyewkay

I agree.

The flash will only light up the foreground. many people believe that the flash will light up everything. which is incorrect. Get some books on flash photography and read up on about it. There's too many techniques to simplify on a reply thread.

maybe to highlight the issue... even if you have a flash that can light up the whole place, just imagine the distance, the people you are trying to capture will be like ghost in white sheets, den the background perfectly lighted...

anyway i find that almost every week / month will have this question asked over & over again... perhaps making a sticky would be good...

budiman · 18th July 2005

Originally Posted by snowspeeder

I only use direct flash for events if it is really unavoidable becos this tends to make the subject look harsh.

You can always reduce your flash output and use stofen to soften the flash on person's face. For events like Dreamcars, an external flash is a must, otherwise the face will look dull/dark.

Just take the meter reading from background and set your camera in M mode, and set the coresponding aperture and shutter speed. Compensate your flash power output such that it's not too harsh.

Witness · 18th July 2005

apart from metering the backgrd and filling...

wat u could do is...

1) use rear curtain flash..but u muz have steady hands or else u will see "halos" ard ya subjects

2) drop the shutter speed..... i.e ...expose longer with the shutter...

cheers..

eng_keow · 18th July 2005

When I meter the bg on manual, should I use spot, centre-weighted or evaluative? If I spot, where should I spot?

If I try to meter the bg, the shutter speed is bound to be so slow even though I open wide and choose a high iso.

so far, I have set the shutter speed such that it is 1 or 2 stops down and let the flash ETTL decide on its own for the foreground subects. Seems to work most of the time.

How can I do it better?

ckiang · 18th July 2005

Originally Posted by eng_keow

When I meter the bg on manual, should I use spot, centre-weighted or evaluative? If I spot, where should I spot?

If I try to meter the bg, the shutter speed is bound to be so slow even though I open wide and choose a high iso.

so far, I have set the shutter speed such that it is 1 or 2 stops down and let the flash ETTL decide on its own for the foreground subects. Seems to work most of the time.

How can I do it better?

That should be good enough. The "meter for background" method only works if the resulting exposure is not ridiculously low.

Regards
CK

MDZ2 · 19th July 2005

The only way to get the background properly exposed is to urrr. . .expose it properly??
But seriously, since most prosumer cameras do not have a decent slow shutter sync function, the only viable way is to meter the scene without flash and then set the camera with these settings in manual mode, then set the flash to match your camera setting. Does this make sense?
Of course in such situation, camera shake in the background will become obvious if you don't use a tripod or there are moving subjects. To minimise such situations, you can increase the shutter speed a couple of stops to relatively freeze action and lower the flash exposure comparatively, then push the overall exposure back to normal at post processing. A viable option if you don't mind the slight increase in grain.

espn · 19th July 2005

Originally Posted by yanyewkay

The flash will only light up the foreground. many people believe that the flash will light up everything. which is incorrect. Get some books on flash photography and read up on about it. There's too many techniques to simplify on a reply thread.

Correction, flash only lights up the subject and the area you intend to expose.

For background "illumination"

i) pump up ISO
ii) larger aperture
iii) slower shutter

3rd July 2005	#1
donchua Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Tampines Posts: 7,814	How To Get Indoor's Pic Background Lighted? How to get indoor pic background lighted like in Drean Car Asia using flash? I see most clupsnappers DCA photo background wre well lighted, mine seem to be quite dark. http://forums.clubsnap.org/showthread.php?t=139389 Anybody can enlighten me? Thanks.

3rd July 2005	#2
dominator Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Amazon Forest Posts: 1,623	good start for ask...i'm keen to learn too! __________________ Cleanse your thoughts, not by the foods you eat.

18th July 2005	#9
Witness Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: www.maverickatwork.com Posts: 6,768	apart from metering the backgrd and filling... wat u could do is... 1) use rear curtain flash..but u muz have steady hands or else u will see "halos" ard ya subjects 2) drop the shutter speed..... i.e ...expose longer with the shutter... cheers.. __________________ w maverick.photography b maverick.blogging

18th July 2005	#10
eng_keow Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: TMC Posts: 986	When I meter the bg on manual, should I use spot, centre-weighted or evaluative? If I spot, where should I spot? If I try to meter the bg, the shutter speed is bound to be so slow even though I open wide and choose a high iso. so far, I have set the shutter speed such that it is 1 or 2 stops down and let the flash ETTL decide on its own for the foreground subects. Seems to work most of the time. How can I do it better? __________________ My Webspace ##See and listen with your heart, for beauty will reveal thyself##

3rd July 2005	#3
igpenguin Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 1,108	Expose for the background lighting conditions, and use fill-flash.

3rd July 2005	#5
snowspeeder Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: 35A East Coast Rd Posts: 3,436	I only use direct flash for events if it is really unavoidable becos this tends to make the subject look harsh. Speaking about flash ignorance, one time I showed my friend a night scene traffic shot (20 sec shutter image). And he asked me why I didn't use flash!

18th July 2005	#6
detrop Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Nowhere but ClubSNAP Posts: 192	hahaha... amazing..

19th July 2005	#12
MDZ2 Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Eastern Part Posts: 311	The only way to get the background properly exposed is to urrr. . .expose it properly?? But seriously, since most prosumer cameras do not have a decent slow shutter sync function, the only viable way is to meter the scene without flash and then set the camera with these settings in manual mode, then set the flash to match your camera setting. Does this make sense? Of course in such situation, camera shake in the background will become obvious if you don't use a tripod or there are moving subjects. To minimise such situations, you can increase the shutter speed a couple of stops to relatively freeze action and lower the flash exposure comparatively, then push the overall exposure back to normal at post processing. A viable option if you don't mind the slight increase in grain.