How do pros use the flashes?

[Artur Gajewski]

Hello all,

I have EOS 300D with Sigma EF-500 DG Super flash.

I would be interested to know how pros do the flash photography with this flash, how do you know what FEC setting to use, how you point your flash's head, when to use bouncers/diffusers, how to set correct aperture/shutter speeds, etc.

Thanks for your help!

[timmyquest]

The questions your asking here are very broad .

What shooting conditions?
Ambiant light
Subject
Lens used
Distance from subject

Camera setup
ISO
Aperature of lens
Subject (shutter speed for example)

Most of all, intended outcome.

I think questions like this only harm your advancements. I think the best way to aproach matters like this is to simply go out and try and see what works best. You'll quickly learn the quarks of ETTL in certain situations (for instance, on my 1D i typically need to up the FEC 1/3, on my rebel it varied from zero to one full stop).

You have to take each situation differntly, if there was only one way to take every photograph then everyone would be great at this artform. That is not the case, there are times when i walk into a room, and because of my (VERY LIMITED) expereince i know that the flash pointed straight up is the best setup, or maybe bouncing it off the wall to my left, or maybe i think i need to throw my omni bounce on there.

The bottom line is that the best advice, i feel, is the following: Go out with your camera and your flash and learn what works best.

[Artur Gajewski]

Thanks for your reply.

I just wanted to know how pros do it :D I do always try and learn, but it seems the pros just go there and know how to do it all in a matter of seconds.

When I watch the TV news, I don't see much of the photographers playing around with settings when the target is moving etc, so I thought perhaps there would be a general way of doing flash photography.

I am interested in portrait photography myself, as I want to shoot my kids. I have tried bounced, straight, diffusers, FEC, and as you said it all differs and it is nice to experiment.

[timmyquest]

but it seems the pros just go there and know how to do it all in a matter of seconds.

When I watch the TV news, I don't see much of the photographers playing around with settings when the target is moving etc, so I thought perhaps there would be a general way of doing flash photography.


Thats why they get paid "the big bucks" as they say...

[sGu]

Thanks for your reply.

I just wanted to know how pros do it :D I do always try and learn, but it seems the pros just go there and know how to do it all in a matter of seconds.

When I watch the TV news, I don't see much of the photographers playing around with settings when the target is moving etc, so I thought perhaps there would be a general way of doing flash photography.

Do you want to know their secrect? I can tell you their secret.

You get to the venue you'll be shooting 2 hours before anything starts, get your camera out, put the flash on, and do a lot of test shots, adjust settings on both camera and flash. According to ambient light and effects you want to achieve, play with settings until you are happy, then turn them off, have a cup of tea and wait for it to start.

Does that make sense?

[Artur Gajewski]

Sure did, thanks!

[rkoshy]

Thanks for your reply.

I just wanted to know how pros do it :D I do always try and learn, but it seems the pros just go there and know how to do it all in a matter of seconds.

When I watch the TV news, I don't see much of the photographers playing around with settings when the target is moving etc, so I thought perhaps there would be a general way of doing flash photography.

I am interested in portrait photography myself, as I want to shoot my kids. I have tried bounced, straight, diffusers, FEC, and as you said it all differs and it is nice to experiment.

Couple of pointers:

The Pro's are pros because of skill and experience, and did I say experience. It takes time to master your equipment. I got my 300D + 550EX in May... I couldn't get the darn thing to give me a decent flash shot until last week, where I experimented with over 200+ shots with diff settings, ISO, FEC, EC, Aperture, etc... then I realized the 300D+550EX consistently needs an FEC of anywhere between 1/3 to 1 to give DECENT shots.

Compare this to my Minolta 35mm and Vivitar flash, where it was almost point-and-shoot, because somehow the metering was PERFECT. So even though they're both SLR's they behave differently...

I also agree that the best way in an unknown situation is to use a bounce as it will give you more of a natural lighting instead of the harsh light of a direct flash...

So play around with the equipment, try it under different lighting conditions, settings, etc. That way you get a feel for what's right and what meets your needs.

Secondly, one thing I read on a thread somewhere here, and something I follow in my profession (which has nothing to do with photography) is the KISS (Keep it simple, stupid) principle... i.e. if your camera has an automated setting that gets you the results that you are looking for then use it as much as possible. Don't try to be cool with the "I'm Tarzan, I always shoot in manual" mentality :-)

Play around with the camera, have fun, and you'll get some amazing shots.