Category Archives: Tips and Techniques

Adding Light using Flash

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When the Light isn’t Right: Photography in low light or too much light.

Any keen photographer will tell you that the best light for photography is the ‘magic-hour’ at sunrise and at sunset, and that mid-day or low-light photography should be avoided. For the rest of us, there is a whole day in between and, like it or not, it is our only opportunity to get photos. We simply can’t put life on-hold to wait for the so-called magic-hour. So, how do you get good photos when the light isn’t Right ?.

At any given light, good light or bad light, camera exposure is based on three variables;

  1. Shutter speed (how long the shutter is open). Faster shutter speeds can freeze motion are used when there is good light, where as slower shutter speeds blur moving objects. You might have already noticed that some of you low light photos are blurry. This is because a slow shutter speed is required in low light conditions to allow enough light into the camera for proper exposure. Unless you have a tripod, the shutter speed should be 1/ the focal length of the lens, e.g. a 250mm lens would require a minimum shutter speed of 1/250sec.
  2. Aperture (how much light comes in the lens). In good light conditions, the lens can be intentionally stopped-down (higher aperture number) to reduce the amount of light entering the camera, and increase the depth of field.
  3. ISO or film speed (how sensitive the sensor of film is to light).  Lower the ISO the better. Higher ISO (800, 1200 and higher) adjust the sensitivity of the camera sensor of film to be more sensitive to light, so that photos can be taken is lower light conditions. Unfortunately, this means more more digital noise, and photos that look murky or muddy.

Adding light by using a flash changes everything. Most digital cameras have built-in flash, so you always have a flash when you need extra light. The down side of built-in flash is the quality of light; harsh and people will have red-eye.

If you can, buy a hand held flash unit and a cable to connect the flash to the camera or wireless trigger. This is called off-camera flash. Once you get into it – there is no going back.

Adding Flash

As mentioned above, adding flash (assuming off-camera flash), changes everything for camera exposure. Depending on your camera, flash units are synched to fire at 1/60, 1/125 or 1/250 of a second. If you set your shutter speed higher than your camera’s synch speed the image will be black, or partially black since the flash fired while the the shutter was already closing.

When using a flash, your can set the camera to Auto, or Program and let the camera work out the correct exposure, or set the camera to M for Manual so you can maximize the creative opportunity to over or under expose the background and make the foreground have more ‘Pop’.

In Manual mode

1) Set the shutter speed to the camera’s flash sync speed. You might have to refer to the camera manual to determine your cameras sync speed.

2) Point the camera at the background and set aperture according to the cameras light meter. Do not adjust the ISO – low number is better. The camera is now set to the correct exposure for the background. Some photographers call this “ambient exposure”.

3) Now turn on your flash. It can be set to automatic (TTL) where the flash power is controlled by the camera. This is useful for moving subjects. Setting the flash to Manual means that the flash power is controlled by you. This mode is most useful for portraits, or where you want to fine tune the exposure.

Assuming that you want control over the flash power, now it gets really fun and also a bit complicated.  One step at a time.

  • a) Flash in manual mode means you control the Flash Power. Typical flash power settings are 1/1 (full power), 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16.
  • b) Off camera flash means you control the Direction of the flash hitting the subject.
  • c) Off camera flash means you control the Flash-Subject Distance. Flash held closer to the subject means less flash power is needed, distant subjects will require more flash power for proper exposure.
  • d) Assuming that your camera is also in Manual mode, with shutter speed set to sync speed. The lens Aperture (controls how much light enters the camera), and also be used to control exposure.  If the subject is overexposed, then reduce the aperture (turn to higher aperture number) : e.g. change aperture f/5.6 to f/8. If the subject is underexposed, then increase aperture.

e)  Other ways to change effect of the flash

  • 1) How does the light from the flash hit the subject. Is the light harsh, creating dark shadows, or more soft with smooth transitions on the subject. Add a diffuser (e.g. softbox or umbrella) to reduce harsh shadows.
  • 2) Coverage: is the flash directed at the entire subject, or only on a portion of the subject. Coverage can be modified (reduced) by zooming the flash, moving the flash closer to the subject, or adding a diffuser.

 

Go ahead - take a photo. See how it looks and make adjustments.

 

DIY: External Battery for Flash

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My Nikon SB-600 drains AA batteries like there is no tomorrow, and I am tired of replacing or re-charging batteries.

A quick internet search reveals many ways to replace AA batteries with larger, longer lasting batteries. The SB-600 flsh uses 4x AA (1.5 volt) batteries, which together add up to 6 volts.

Materials:
Wooden dowel, the same width (or slightly narrower) than AA batteries
2 screws (size not important)
Wire (18 gauge speaker wire) from electronics store
6 volt square battery from hardware store.

Total cost $10.

Tools:
wire cutters
electrical tape
rubber bands

Instructions:
The simplest way, is to make two fake batteries that fit into the battery slots on the flash. Cut two wooden dowels to the same length as AA batteries. Add a screw at one end of each wooden dowel and carve a narrow slot the length of the dowel to fit the wire. Strip approx 1 cm from the end of each wire, and wrap one wire clockwise around each wooden dowel (One dowel with a red wire, one dowel with a black wire). Tighten the screw around the wire. Place the wire in the slot and wrap with electrical tape.

 

Place the wooden plug with red wire into the (+) slot on the flash, and the black wire into the (-) slot.

Use the rubber bands (or tape) to partially close the door of the flash unit. The door will not close completely since it was not designed to have wires hanging out, however, the door must be closed enough to keep the screw on the wooden plug in-contact with the springs in the bottom of the battery holder.

 

Cut the remaining wire to the appropriate length, what ever length you decide is best. Strip approx 1 cm from each end. Attach the red wire to the (+) prong of the battery, and the black wire to the (-) prong on the battery. If you get it mixed up, it should not fry your flash. I tested mine.  Instead of the large 6 volt cube battery, you can also use four ‘C’ and ‘D’ cells wired together.

Thanks to Matt Kenney’s post: Diy Photography.net, ‘Power your flash with a flashlight’.

In-Action Photography*

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As photographers we are on the sidelines using our cameras to capture the moment and capture the action. As an active person, naturally, we want to participate in sport activities.

However, in my experience, cameras and active sports do not seem to go together very well. I been frustrated with cameras since they were not designed for active participation in sport activities. Large SLR’s require two hands to operate, and most point-n-shoot cameras didn’t have suitable image quality. Neither camera types are rugged and waterproof. Actually, during the past 20 years, I have destroyed (and drowned) a few cameras trying to combine sport and photographing the action.

Until now.

In August 2011 I bought a GoPro camera. It is small (fits in the palm of my hand), waterproof, has an interval timer, and HD video. Additional specifics can be found on the GoPro website (http://gopro.com/). For a photographer, the GoPro has one setting – On or Off, and does not have any user adjustable exposure settings. Also, it only comes with one lens. Are these limitations ?. No, since they free the photographer to concentrate on the photo, and not be burdened with adjusting exposure or wondering if they are using the right lens for the situation. For an active person wanting to photograph sports events, the GoPro accessories are available for attaching to bicycle handlebars, seat posts, helmets, a head and chest harness, and using the stick-on brackets can be attached to almost anything. The small size of the GoPro and the variety of available (and easily customized) brackets and harness allow a full range of movement for any sport or activity.

Now, the photographer can be in the action, photograph the action, and no longer burdened by a camera*.

In-Action Photography* refers to photography where the photographer is photographing the action while in the action. This differes from Action Photography, which is photography of an action (e.g. sports event) and does not specifically refer to the photographer being part of the action.
All the photos on this page were captured by the photographer.   Downhill skiing photos captured using a GoPro on a chest harness, and kite skiing photos by a GoPro attached on the ski tip using a custom bracket. Click on the photos to make them larger.

Downhill skiing - unburdened by a camera

Check the shadow - try that with a hand held camera !

 

 

 

 

Cutting the Soft Stuff - kite skiing

 

 

Shadow at lower right corner is the GoPro

More kite skiing photos are on this link