Tips on overpowering the sun

Can anyone offer some tips on overpowering the sun?
I'm off to Orlando next week, got some shoots lined up, and I wanna try this out... here's what i plan to do... am I on the right path?

AB800 at full power
1/200 second shutter speed
3 stop ND Filter. (which would make my shutter speed 1/1600)

any suggestions or tips anyone can offer?

Without HSS you'll be at SS of 1/250 on your 7D.
You'll be able to open up 3 stops though.

What modifier on AB800 if any?

ND filter won't change SS only make you shoot at wider aperture. I would use 1/320 ss if I can manage it. What triggers are you using?

im using the Yongnuo RF-602 triggers... those limit me at 1/200.
as for modifier, i got a 48" octobank, and a 46' shoot through umbrella... not sure what i will use... maybe even go bare bulb

and what i meant by 1/1600 second is. if i'm shooting at 1/200. the 3 stop ND filter will block 3 stops of light coming in... so wouldn't it be like shooting at 1/1600???

You can't go faster than your max sync speed with your triggers. So that is fixed at 1/200. Now without ND filter you will crank the power and say using f8 as your shooting aperture. With 3 stop ND filter you will change aperture of the lens from f8 to f2.8 (3 stops) and get nice blurred bg without any change to flash power. Flash is still putting out power for f8 but bot flash as well as ambient is cut down by 3 stops.

I understand all that, what im saying is... shooting at 1/1600 with no ND, no flash, and shooting at 1/200 with a 3 stop ND filter will give the same effect on the background... correct?

yes, at the same aperture with no flash at either setting.

In the most basic way of looking at it, you could say that the 3-stop ND filter would give the same effect of changing an AMBIENT LIGHT exposure from 1/200 to 1/1600. But when you throw a flash into the mix, that analogy becomes more complex. For the parts of the scene that are lit primarily by the flash, the shutter speed doesn't really matter much - the light burst emitted by the flash is almost always MUCH faster than the shutter speed, so your shutter speed is really only used for ambient/background exposure.

As far as exposing the background - the areas that are not touched only by ambient and not by the flash - then I think the analogy works. 1/200 + 3-stop ND filter will give the same background exposure as 1/1600 without the filter.

nathancarter wrote in post #12442235
In the most basic way of looking at it, you could say that the 3-stop ND filter would give the same effect of changing an AMBIENT LIGHT exposure from 1/200 to 1/1600. But when you throw a flash into the mix, that analogy becomes more complex. For the parts of the scene that are lit primarily by the flash, the shutter speed doesn't really matter much - the light burst emitted by the flash is almost always MUCH faster than the shutter speed, so your shutter speed is really only used for ambient/background exposure.

As far as exposing the background - the areas that are not touched only by ambient and not by the flash - then I think the analogy works. 1/200 + 3-stop ND filter will give the same background exposure as 1/1600 without the filter.

thanks... that's exactly what i was trying to say!!!

OK, ND filter is going to change ambient and flash the same way. It will reduce both by the same amount. That amount depends on the strength of the ND filter. All ND filter is letting you do is use wider aperture than what you would need.

If I didn't open aperture after installing ND filter I would have to use longer ss not shorter. That is why landscape guys use it to get much longer ss when shooting water. Portrait people just use for wider apertures.

Here, @f9

Good examples Bobby. Another reason to get ND

4x4rock wrote in post #12497625
Good examples Bobby. Another reason to get ND

Thanks man.

What can you do as a professional photographer when it suddenly begins to rain?
There are stories from beginning photographers who were completely surprised when the weather quickly changed. What are some things you can do at such moments?

For example, is it advisable to always stay at some place where you have the ability to hide for a heavy rain?

JamesPW wrote in post #12579328
What can you do as a professional photographer when it suddenly begins to rain?

One option would be to keep a plastic bag in your camera bag. A small trash bag takes up nearly no room but could easily protect your gear in the event of a sudden downpour.

Back to the OP - I use reflectors and just go with whatever settings I want based on the ambient light. That way I'm not limited by sync speed.