bright as a flash bang!! What is the fix?

[fiveFPS]

I know I did something wrong, wrong setting, Focus is too close....

Went out to the middle of no where. Found a group of people and took a photo with my first time using flash outdoors in the day to fill in shadows, since the guys were wearing hats.


Shot @ 20mm

AV: f/8
TV: 1/50 (maybe it shouldnt of been this slow of a shutter speed)
WB: Auto
ISO: 200

Flash: 430ex on ETTL mode.

What I was told was set it on ETTL mode and fire away and it'll adjust to the ambient lighting.



Here is the photo... Any suggestions on the "standard" setting for day photos to fill in shadows or what the problem is here will be appreciated.

http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/2667/flashkj3.jpg

[turbodude]

AV: f/8
TV: 1/50 (maybe it shouldnt of been this slow of a shutter speed)
WB: Auto
ISO: 200

these settings dont seem right for perfect exposure, you sure you didnt have teh EC dialed in to +2 or so?

edit: You were in manual mode.... and blew out the image with overexposure. For outside shots like this usually use Av mode and let the Ettl fill on its own.

my typical settings for broad daylight for my style is -2/3 EC in Av mode, +1/3 FEC, and Average flash mode.
http://www.localitesvegas.com/uploads/photos/897/relax5_26-140.jpg

[Curtis N]

AV: f/8
TV: 1/50
ISO: 200Standard exposure for a sunny day (known as the "sunny 16" rule), would be 1/100 f/16 ISO 100. So your settings represent an exposure that is four stops brighter than I would expect to be correct. I'm wondering how you arrived at those settings.

Even without the exposure info, it's easy to tell that your shot is overexposed because of the ambient light, not the flash. The background is just as bright as the subjects. You can learn a lot from your mistakes if you analyze the images logically.

My usual approach for outdoor fill on a sunny day is to start at 1/250 shutter speed, f/10 and ISO 100. If your camera's max. flash sync speed is 1/200, use f/11. Keep in mind this is just a starting point, but it will be pretty close.

[Jim M]

So, just to add to what has already been said, yes, the flash will adjust to the ambient light with ETTL, but the camera won't. You either need to set the camera from a meter reading in manual (your camera's meter will work just fine for this) or use one of the automatic modes to get the ambient exposure correct. My suggestion for beginning is to put the camera in Tv or P mode and shoot away. If you put the flash in high speed sync mode, then you can use Av mode as well. If you haven't set the flash to high speed sync, then do be careful not to use a shutter speed higher than the sync speed of your camera.

[fiveFPS]

Curtis & Jim...

THank you for the response. That is what I'll do and practice from there.