What flash settings do you use?

[noopi]

Just got my 580 ex II today, and I'm curious as to what settings you guys use when taking macro photos (both on the flash and on the camera). I'm having a hard time getting my pictures to come out properly exposed. I've been taking all of my pictures at f/16 at ISO 100.

Do you have the camera on manual or AV ?

[yvonchap]

I use manual mode, tripod, speed100 to200 f10 to f16 f20

Off shoe flash ettl and hope for the best but the best needs to takes many pictures sometimes to get close to what I want.

I also use spots sometimes flashlight to backlight.

[noopi]

I use manual mode, tripod, speed100 to200 f10 to f16 f20

Off shoe flash ettl and hope for the best but the best needs to takes many pictures sometimes to get close to what I want.

I also use spots sometimes flashlight to backlight.



So is it more like a guessing game then?

Because I was playing around with my flash, trying to take pictures of my girlfriend, and I was lost when it came to adjusting my settings. I would change the angle of the flash, change the shutter speed, and basically just guess at what would make the correct exposure.

I just don't know if people have a default setting for their cameras. I read somewhere on here that one guy just sets his shutter speed to 1/160, and his aperture to f/22 and fires away and he gets pretty decent results.

Is this just something that I'm going to have to play with and find out what works best for me?

[LordV]

For "flash" shots where you want flash to be the main light source- shoot in M mode , something like F11-F13, 1/200th, ISO100 or 200, flash in ETTL mode. This will not necessarily give you correct exposure though for macro. You need to get used to changing FEC (I do this on the flash but you can do it on the camera (but not both)). FEC is rather like using EC for natural light shots. The camera tries to expose for it's average grey card response but if the subject/ background is brighter than this it will underexpose and vice-versa for dark. I tend to judge this on the background and will shoot upto + 1.66 FEC for subjects on white background down to -.66 for subjects on dark backgrounds or with no close background. The aperture used here is more to do with the balance of sharpness vs DOF. The flash allows you to use small apertures to get more DOF but this will also cause more diffraction softening of the image.

Av/Tv modes are normally used for natural light shooting (ie natural light is the main light source) but sometimes you need more light on the subject. Using some flash in this manner is called fill flash and is often done when the subject is slightly backlit. Here you often need reduce both EC to say -.66 and use FEC to upto -1.

EC = Exposure Compensation, FEC = Flash Exposure Compensation

Brian V.

[Dalantech]

Also keep in mind that E-TTL flash metering works by sending out a small pre-flash right before the main flash fires. The camera's light meter uses that pre-flash to determine how powerful the main flash will be. If the subject, and what it's on, do not fill the frame there might be very little of that pre-flash getting registered by the camera's light meter. So the camera compensates by firing the main flash burst longer than what it really needs to be to expose the subject and the resulting image is over exposed. To compensate you'll have to dial in some negative Flash Exposure Compensation (FEC).

The opposite can happen if there scene is very reflective...

[yvonchap]

So is it more like a guessing game then?

Because I was playing around with my flash, trying to take pictures of my girlfriend, and I was lost when it came to adjusting my settings. I would change the angle of the flash, change the shutter speed, and basically just guess at what would make the correct exposure.

I just don't know if people have a default setting for their cameras. I read somewhere on here that one guy just sets his shutter speed to 1/160, and his aperture to f/22 and fires away and he gets pretty decent results.

Is this just something that I'm going to have to play with and find out what works best for me?

The question WAS: "flash with maqro work" this one is more difficult (macro work).

If you want to take pictures of your girlfriend it is a different game.
In that case I have much success with the following: Manual mode speed 100 f2.8 to f12 or so to get the DOF I want.
I install the flash on a stand with a umbrella difuser more or less close to the axis of the camera I use a second set-up to get more studio effect I sometime use one flash as above and a reflector.
With two flash first is master second is slave, in all cases I play with the manual output setting on the flashes.

There is good video showing these options, but you have to learn, noting is realy free.

[yvonchap]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/yvon-chapdelaine/4123948076/sizes/o/
Not the best of teh pictures but just for illustration of a verry simple lighting : A console light on his gooseneck from the right .

http://www.soundexchange2.com/ProductImages/soundexchange2_1758_28014373.gif

f 18- iso 400- 13 sec- 105 mm- Aperture priority- metering average- auto focus.

[gmazza]

Very useful infomation above, by correct exposure side and motion blur avoiding improvements.

I use my 580 EX II for macro with this setup:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2598/4096395251_e5a67707fd.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/gmazza/4096395251/)

Wich with a silver paper after diffuser to reflect this eliminate shadows allow shorter flash burst, with faster recharge times, will result in this light spread profile:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2564/4096395547_3ccfa2efd0.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/gmazza/4096395547/)

Most of my shoots are 1/200s (f/13 to f/25, depending on the subject the explanation of Brian V dictates aperture) and iso 200. Usualy ETTL at 0 or -2/3 or manual at 1/16.

Remember that this setup the flash can change a little the exposure with small movements, the hability to change flash position is really good for your photos but requires attention to check on field if the flash is pointing to right place.

[yvonchap]

This is more or less the rig I intend to DIY sometimes. I presently use a stand for my flash wich gives the same result but it is not verry convenient to move around.

[Warl0rd]

Just got my 580 ex II today, and I'm curious as to what settings you guys use when taking macro photos (both on the flash and on the camera). I'm having a hard time getting my pictures to come out properly exposed. I've been taking all of my pictures at f/16 at ISO 100.

Do you have the camera on manual or AV ?By default if you use Av mode the flash will work as fill light, and using small apertures you will get very slow shutter speeds even with the flash on. I use M to be able to pick a fast shutter speed and avoid blurry images, settings:

f/8 to 16
1/160 or 1/200
enough ISO to get some ambient light