Second Curtain Flash - Model in long exposure

[jasonco]

Hi Guys,

Taken with the EOS10D, ISO400, @ 400mm L 4.5/5.6, 2nd curtain flash, 1.5 second exposure.

Tear me apart!!! :-)

Jase


http://www.wollongongbeach.com/beach/Mel_01.jpg
http://www.wollongongbeach.com/beach/Mel_02.jpg

[timmyquest]

Those are awsome..

I'm new to the flash functions but let me see if i comprehend what i read in the manual.

The backround of that picture was exposed for a while when the 1st curtain was open, then just as the shutter closes the 2nd curten opens (or sweeps doesnt it?) at which point the flash...flashes, thus exposing your...wonderful lady.

[mvrekum]

Those are awsome..

I'm new to the flash functions but let me see if i comprehend what i read in the manual.

The backround of that picture was exposed for a while when the 1st curtain was open, then just as the shutter closes the 2nd curten opens (or sweeps doesnt it?) at which point the flash...flashes, thus exposing your...wonderful lady.

No, it means that the first curtain opens to expose the image background and about 15 miliseconds before the second curtain closes, the flash fires to expose the forground.
So in plain english the shutter opens and about 15 miliseconds before it closes the flash fires.

Nice shots Jase!!

[jasonco]

On the EOS 10D using a SpeedLite 550ex the flash actually fires twice. Once at the start of the exposure and again at the end of the exposure... makes night shots work really well... how good is the EOS eh.. awesome...

Jase

[iwatkins]

Jase,

You sure it fires twice ?

I.e. are you sure it does'nt just pre-flash (for exposure) then fires for real at the second curtain ?

Nice shots by the way. Could be improved slightly by using a diffuser etc. to lessen the harsh shadows, especially around the legs in the second shot.

Cheers

Ian

[jasonco]

Yeah good point... it definately fires twice, but maybe as you say the first flash is a pre-flash.

The girls love the bright light in their eyes at night NOT... lol Its even bright behind the camera!!!

When you say defuser do you mean the built in 550ex defuser or another one?

Cheers
Jason

[iwatkins]

Jase,

I mean an additional diffuser.

The one on the 550EX itself isn't actually a diffuser, it is a frensel lens that spreads the light wider for use with a lens at 17mm (or so).

For a diffuser use something like a Stofen Omnibounce (http://www.stofen.com/) and angle the head of the 550EX to 45 degrees up. This will soften the light by quite a bit.

Alternative is to clip a bit of white card to the top of the head and angle the head up at 45 degrees. This will cause the light to bounce off the card before reaching the target. Again, softens the light a bit more. See the Stofen site (their UNI) to see what I mean, but you can easily make one yourself.

Cheers

Ian

[kanwingshing]

I personally would not recommend to angle up the flash in this case. This would lose too much flash power as there is nothing the reflect the light back down. We usually used bouce flash (with the head angled up) only when there is a ceiling that reflect the light back onto the subject. It's softer as the ceiling would act similar to a very large soft box.
As of your photo I think the lighting is not bad. If you want to improve your can try to bring a strobe to the location. Or use your flash off camera with an umbrella.
As of the subject, I think she is absolutely gorgeous. Maybe you want to ask her to wear a different color instead. White and pink are too stand out and it takes away our attention too much. Well, ofcourse unless that's what your intension is :wink:

[iwatkins]

I personally would not recommend to angle up the flash in this case.

I was only recommending angling the flash upwards in conjunction with an OmniBounce or white card reflector. In fact, either methods don't work very well if you don't.

Of course, another option is a softbox for the 550EX but then you really would need to be off camera for that.

Cheers

Ian

[charlesu]

Why does she still have her clothes on?? :wink:

Just kidding, excellent work.

[jasonco]

I use a Lumiquest Big Bounce and I find that works really well too...

The flash is more just to light up Mel after the exposure but next time I will bounce more light off her...

The limitation here is that the flash doesnt support second curtain off camera when using a slave...

How nice would that be.. second curtain AND a slave too.. awesome..

Maybe the next flash release!!

Jase

[Mark Kemp]

I agree with the previous technical comments, well done by the way the quality is good and these slow synch pics don't always work.

But I have a question or two about the actual pic.....

WHY is she sitting there outside at night, with not much on, across the water from some sort of industrial site?
Is it just a technical excersise?
Is there some deep meaningful comment about the industrial world or something?
Was it just a bright background to make the technique work?

Also why the pink underwear? Its draws the eye a little - as if she didn't draw the eye anyway, but you know what I mean.

I would try again with the same technique, but perhaps try to tie the elements of the picture together more, or make the 'message' of the image clearer.