Keelung ghost festival carnival

[zoossh]

Need some guidances on flash photography. i also do note i have problems with the skin hue handling. main issue is on proper exposure using flash at night.

the thread for the gallery

this picture is taken at night light by largely fluorescent and some artificial lightings e.g. from lamp post. i have no preparation and anticipation time as these ladies in the carnival approaches the crowd very fast to allow for very transient snapshot and then they move on the parade.

the standing position is about 1.5m to 2.5m away, pretty close as i step forward and fortunately having no one blocking me immediately in front. i wasn't fast enough to better compose to avoid the man on the right, although i do have the intention to leave both person to the left. i have poor night vision and find nikon D50's smaller viewfinder a limitation to my physical difficulty. retrospectively speaking, i frame too much to the left, and a little more space for the hand on the left is better, i thought. but still the man on the right is not totally avoidable unless i crop.

my spec is as such
lens 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6
focal length 36mm, aperture f/4.5 max
matrix metering EV +0.3
aperture priority, ISO1600, 1/15sec (near my limit for mid speed moving subject)
AF-C, handheld with SB600 flash, fit with white cloudy dome lightsphere, set to TTL, and directed horizontally towards subject (there is no roof to bounce)

processing is mainly convert auto white balance to fluorescent (which give a fair skin complexion with slight bluish tinge) on raw conversion, and then did some correction to hues to warm up the skin hues (but looks more a bit too warm).

question: is it right of me to tilt the flash (default diffuser point upwards with some circumferential diffusion on the sides) 90 degrees down to flash directly (with diffuser on) at subject? how should i improve on the exposure control.

less pertinent question:
1. other than elements's correct color for skin tone function and remove color cast function, is there better ways of doing it, whether pre or post processing?
2. would you consider further processing of background colors. i find it a little snatching from the background, in particular, cyan.

 

[zoossh]

looking again, i feel the black is not black enough.

 

[zoossh]

upz.......

 

[jOhO]

i think the flash control here is pretty good, u have a good mix of ambient and flash light.

u mentioned that you pointed the dome directly to the subjects but the light seems to be coming from the right? was there another pretty strong light source from that direction?

as for your question using the lightsphere i think what u did was correct, if no ceiling, the LS with the cover on the dome can point direct to subject.

anyway i don't use LS anymore, if i was in the same situation, i would have used direct flash too. the trick is to really balance the ambient with the fill.

 

[chewraisins]

I also think that there is a good balance between flash + ambient light for this photo..:thumbsup:

u mentioned that you pointed the dome directly to the subjects but the light seems to be coming from the right? was there another pretty strong light source from that direction?

It looks as if they were posing for another camera and the strong light source might be coincidentally coming from another fired flash.

 

[zoossh]

I also think that there is a good balance between flash + ambient light for this photo..:thumbsup:



It looks as if they were posing for another camera and the strong light source might be coincidentally coming from another fired flash.

thanks for the expertise from professionals. there is indeed someone shooting for his friend at closer distance but i think that is a compact. wanted to use LS to try to soften the flash, but not sure if that is appropriate for outdoor night events. and was wondering if i should have got an amber LS for that.

i have almost zero experience with flash and does not really understand it. was wondering if i have interest in moving into outdoor low light portraits and indoor portraits, what is the best way of going about it? joining people for TFCD, by starting with observing at the sides? saving up for lens hence not likely to join paid workshops and paid model sessions.... i experiment with my family with indoor flash but find no enlightenment. was reading halfway into books but still wondering how to get around balancing light sources. is there good books with detailed and easy to understand descriptions on flash photography?

hope to enhance this part to supplement indoor/outdoor shots of family in travelling and events. they tend to be less natural than locals in other countries, so my skills need to be better.