Fill flash questions

[Tom Camilleri]

300D plus 380EX for ETTL. I am shooting in manual mode against a white or pale eggshell background and using flash (with FEL on gray card) to supplement hot lights. Seems to work very well, as histograms look much better- filled nicely from end to end whereas without flash pics look somewhat flat or dingy. Pictures live up to histogram in CS3 camera raw with very minimal adjustment, except white balance is not great even when custom white balance (gray card shot) is used. I am using a diffuser on the flash, which is attached directly to hot shoe.

Would reducing the hot lights and setting white balance to flash be better?

When camera is switched to portrait mode and the flash is to the side, I notice unevenness in white balance. Would a flash bracket that shifted help alleviate this?

Thanks for any insights.

[Curtis N]

You're using two light sources with vastly different color temperatures and this is a sure-fire recipe for white balance problems.

Those who shoot events under ambient lighting they can't control typically use a gel on the flash to match the ambient. A CTO gel will get reasonably close to tungsten lighting. In a studio type situation, generally the best approach is to ditch the hot lights and try to build a flash-only setup.

[Tom Camilleri]

Thanks for response. I get what you're saying about mixing light colors. Using a gel is getting beyond me at this point. If I can build a flash-based system cost-effectively I might give it a shot. Would another Speedlite with a remote trigger for my 380EX work? Do I even need another flash? Perhaps I need to get th380EX off camera?

Since I'm still getting the hang of ambient shooting, I wanted to master this aspect first before getting into flash, but I do need good results.

You're using two light sources with vastly different color temperatures and this is a sure-fire recipe for white balance problems.

Those who shoot events under ambient lighting they can't control typically use a gel on the flash to match the ambient. A CTO gel will get reasonably close to tungsten lighting. In a studio type situation, generally the best approach is to ditch the hot lights and try to build a flash-only setup.

[Curtis N]

Using a gel is getting beyond me at this point. It's not as complicated as it sounds. Strobist explains it here (http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/03/lighting-101-using-gels-to-correct.html).

Lots of people build "ghetto studios" with hotshoe flash units. There's a million ways to go about it. Look for cheap used flash units instead of expensive Canon Speedlites. Lots of info on Strobist, and there's a few threads in the sticky that should help. Try these two.
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=308108
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=246797

[Tom Camilleri]

Thanks for links. Will give them a read.

It's not as complicated as it sounds. Strobist explains it here (http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/03/lighting-101-using-gels-to-correct.html).

Lots of people build "ghetto studios" with hotshoe flash units. There's a million ways to go about it. Look for cheap used flash units instead of expensive Canon Speedlites. Lots of info on Strobist, and there's a few threads in the sticky that should help. Try these two.
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=308108
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=246797