Shouldn't 1/1 be full power?

[SeanH]

Shooting a ton of Real Estate stuff lately and did one today that was a nightmare.......huge bright windows W/ dark paint (on ceiling too) and can you believe dark purple carpet! Anyway I was trying to get every ounce of power out of my 580, but I noticed I'd get more power of of Ettl & Av mode than full Manual @1/1 ??

Is it just because the TTL is adding length the the duration of the flash burst? What's the deal here?

.....and if anyone knows a better way of blending that type of light please let me know..........nothing like trying to expose twice (one for the room & one for the outside) and then cutting out the window with a stinking huge plant in front of the window......ahhhh. A buddy said just lay that layer over the other on in Blend mode, but that doesn't even work.

[René Damkot]

Use a tripod, and BlendedExposures.mov (http://www.thelightsrightstudio.com/videos/BlendedExposures.mov).

Flash at full power should be equal to ETTL at full power.

What mode was the camera in? Same shutterspeed / aperture for both shots?

[Lotto]

I don't shoot real estate stuff, but can't you shoot at like 5 PM when it's not super bright outside?

[Gatorboy]

.....and if anyone knows a better way of blending that type of light please let me know..........nothing like trying to expose twice (one for the room & one for the outside) and then cutting out the window with a stinking huge plant in front of the window......ahhhh.

Manual mode on camera, and manual settings on flash.

First, expose for the windows, then add flash to lighten the interior. For real estate photography, you most likely will need more than one flash.

A great source of information can be found in the Flickr! group Photography for Real Estate (http://www.flickr.com/groups/photographyforrealestate/).

[Curtis N]

I noticed I'd get more power of of Ettl & Av mode than full Manual @1/1 ??... What's the deal here?In Av mode, the camera was using a slower shutter speed, and the increased exposure was from ambient light.

[SeanH]

Dunno guys. I've used both and in the TTL mode not only can I see it flash brighter, but I can hear it pop louded and also see the recycle time increase over the 1/1 setting. Besides the fact I know this shouldn't be the case, I see every indication that it is.

.....but thanks for the great links!

[mcmadkat]

Zoom setting changed perhaps?

[Connor P Price]

Gatorboy's idea of exposing for the bright windows and using flash to get a proper exposure for all of the dark areas seems like the right way to go. Depending on how dark and how large the area is this may or may not need more power than the 580 has.

I'll throw this out there at the risk of being flamed, why not try HDR for a situation like this? The results might not be everyones favorite in all situations, but it'll help you get proper exposure across the varying range of lighting you've got.

[SeanH]

Zoom setting changed perhaps?

Nope.....shoot everything with the diffuser flap down (14mm)

.....and Connor I've tried the HDR and I didn't like the look. Probably just my lack of experience using it, but I couldn't make it work.

Right now (as much as I hate to give away my secret) I have found that unless the room is huge I can nail 75% of them by using the camera in manual, spot meter the window, then just ETTL the flash. Seems to nail most of them with a perfect exposure for outside & in. Oh and I generally over expose +1/3-2/3 in the camera and 1-1 2/3 on the flash.

[jra]

Was your ISO, shutter speed and aperture in M mode identical to your ISO, shutter speed and aperture in Av mode?

[Thornfield]

examples would definitly help here me thinks.