Tricks for using an external flash

[mpoletti]

As everyone else, I am always learning and always trying new things.

Yesterday I picked up a sb600 for my D90 in hopes to provide a little more light to help my camera keep up with my jocs. Yes, I bought a flash to take pictures of my fish.

Any tips/tricks/reference guides?

I understand that my camera has its limitations and for Doug, I understand that its not a Canon, but I am still a novice and I am hoping to reduce the amount of noise in my pictures as well as speeding up the shutter.

This was from yesterday, right after I put batteries in the flash. I did not even have time to clean the glass as I was heading back to work.

Thanks in advance

 

[BlueCorn]

Flash? What is this "flash" of which you speak? Sorry Mark, I'm a natural light guy.

 

[mpoletti]

I know Doug, You also don't shoot moving creatures

btw, I see you only have one clown, Is it a tomato? I just rescued one so it needs a new home.

 

[xtm]

Hey Mark, I didn't know you shoot Nikon :lol:

I also have the SB-600. I normally don't use flash for tank pics because the glass scatters the light and it's hard to get the right exposure. What you can try is-- for fill flash, I would set your speedlight to TTL-BL (back-lit) mode and play with the EV settings. I would leave it at ISO 200 and go from there.

If you haven't checked already, there's a site called www.strobist.com with tremendous advice on flashes in general.

 

[t0p_sh0tta]

I agree with the stobist recommendation. I have had success with off camera stobes firing from the top of the tank. This setup helps cut down on reflections from the glass, and gives you decent light on the fish.

Reference the Stobist blog for more info on off-camera lighting.

 

[mpoletti]

Yep, I'm a nikon guy. I'd really like a D700, but the D90 is definitely a step up from the D40x I started out with.

Thanks for the heads up on the site. I guess I should also reed the manual

 

[maroun.c]

Guess a well used flash is a good addition.
I had the SB600 and now have hte SB 800 which I would recommend over the SB 600 as for a small price difference you're getting the diffusor as well as a built in bounce card in addition to the gold and silver gel fills so taht you can use your flash under incendescant bulbs (never used those) and the nicest thing is the additional battery that allows for much faster flash recycle time... so if yo ucould still upgrade I would advise it. if not I'm sure the SB 600 is more than enough.
Now for some tips for flash use:

I would use the diffusor (that comes with the SB800) or you could just buy the MKonibouce diffusor for your 600. I have experimented with many diffusors and even made DIY ones however with time yo uget fed up with peoples faces when you bring out those... on all the shots to soften the ligth a bit. Also I would always bounce the flash up (45-60 degrees) you could bounce also to the left or right if you're getting creative and want to show a light path towards your coral.... Still always bounce up to avoid the reflection.

I would use S or M if tracking fish as lighting would change with fish changing location. Manual is a bit more tricky as fish changes locations to more or less lit areas I would meter for hotest areas in the tank and let flash level the shot if the fish is in a dark area as if you overexpose the fix is hard but underexposing will stil be fine as flash will correct. if framing your shot and waiting for the fish to go in then Manual is fine. Why am I talking about exposure in a flash controlled shot? this is exactlty where most people miss on flash use. they just put on the flash using A or auto and then the camera automaticall specifies a speed of 1/60 (you can modify this setting) which could be too slow for moving fish (not a big problem the flash will freeze the shot) but then you get an overwheliming amount of flash contribution which could washout the colours. this is not that pronounced on the fish as it is on the corals but if taking apicture of a fish with corals behind it I find the effect of too much flash very weird in the pictures as the fish colours are vibrant but the corals behind it are washed out. so basically you need to control your flash output by any or a mix of following:
-expose for background and let flash handle the foreground (the fish in fish shots) same as shooting a oprtrait of someone in the sun with a nice background.
-Use slower exposure factors as these will allow the camera to pick up true background colors (tank) or atmosphere (shooting people in a room)
-don't be afraid of using slower shutter speeds as flash will freeze the shot
-to allow more or less flash power in your shot yo uhave to know that flash duration is much shorter than any exposure you use so as fast as your shutter speed it'll always pickup all the flash. on the other hand using smaller aperture (bigger number) decerases teh amount of flash in the image as the aperture is smaller. so to pick up more colours from aquarium lighting pickup up a smaller aperture to cut down on flash and then go slwoer with your shutter speeds as even if you went very fast with shutter all flash will picked up which will decrease amount of light coming from tank itself.
-you could experiment with manual flash settings but those are difficult if following fish into different lit areas.
-use flash exposure control on your flash to decrease or increase flash contribution.

The best flash practice to use, but this one needs soe more dedication is a couple of flashes or even only one in a DIY or real soft box or umbrella I did experiment with single and dual flash setups in DIY softboxes and managed to get some really nice shots. but that is very advanced. Nikon CLS (creative lighting system ) is a very advanced one and was present years before Canon had similar possibility and this was one of my deciding factors to go with Nikon. with this your camera flash or another external or on camera flash can be set as master and control sets of flashes intensities.
So people can bash using flash as yes a full flash blast give you this washed out look be it on peoples faces or corals but a well used flash bounced and diffused properly can lead to perfectly lit and color vibrant shots...

 

[JHemdal]

I use a SC-29 sync cord and a SB-600 on my D300. I found a handle that terminates in a screw end that fits the base of the SC-29, and I hand-hold the flash for tank shots. Yes, it is a handful, and I have to use autofocus since I'm shooting one-handed, but it allows me to place the flash exactly where I need it, even top down on the tank if I want. You have to use the SC-29 for this, because it has the built-in IR light for accurate autofocus (It overides the one built into the flash).

The other divice I use is a "C" flash frame to get the flash up away from the camera. Still need the SC-29 for this, but it ensures that the flash doesn't cause glare - at least for macro shots.

Jay Hemdal

 

[t0p_sh0tta]

The biggest difference between the SB-600 and SB-800 when used off camera is the lack of a PC connection or optical slave. While not absolutely mandatory, they do make the jump into off camera lighting slightly more welcoming.