580 ex II against the sun

What settings you use in both camera and flash when using it against the sun to light up the subject?
I tried this couple of times and was not very successfull.

I shoot with the camera set in Manual.
Set your shutter speed somewhere below the sync speed of your flash. Say 1/200 sec.
Take a shot of the background and adjust your ISO and f/stop accordingly until your background is exposed the way you like it.
Turn your flash on and then take a shot of your subject(s). Adjust your FEC as necessary. The flash is only for fill light anyway, right?
An option is to also put your flash in manual and adjust your flash output until you get the right exposure.

Hope this helps.

Example - 580EX II off camera mounted in a Cheetah 24 inch QBOX at 1/2 power on manual, triggered by Pocket Wizards.

Camera on manual. Sun was behind and to the right of the subject.
Hope you find this info helpful.
Mike

HOSTED PHOTO
please log in to view hosted photos in full size.

I am mostly talking about when the sun is actually in the view. Like this one. I did couple of shots and most of them either underexposed or the flash was not enough. but I believe it was something I was doing wrong because out of maybe 10-15 shots one came out perfect so it can not be the power of flash. I was wondering do you set the flash in manual mode to full power or just high synch?

MIME changed to 'text/html' | Content warning: script

Manual everything. You might have to add a neutral density filter to help cut the power of the sun a bit. That might help.

I haven't used High speed Sync. Your flash did a good job of lighting your subject.

To do that, you lose lots of flash power in high sync speed. Use manual mode on flash and on camera at your max sync speed (at 1/200 or 1/250?) and from there control your aperture. I would try full power or half on flash.
I should add: also try metering the sky and then recompose to your subject with that setting (you can use exposure lock to do that *) or try underexposing by a stop or two..

MT Stringer wrote in post #12725822
Manual everything. You might have to add a neutral density filter to help cut the power of the sun a bit. That might help.

I haven't used High speed Sync. Your flash did a good job of lighting your subject.

That is not mine One of the "lucky shots" I got is this:
http://www.flickr.com …/in/set-72157626937262369

Shooting with a 10-22mm? Trying to gauge how far away you are. Throw it on manual between 1/4 to 1/1 power direct flash, no modifiers, keep it 1/160-1/200 shutter, adjust f-stop more or less from around 11. A single 580ex ii might be enough if you can either get closer or throw the power up.

just a question, not to hijack but may help: the question is in the situation above (saying set camera and flash to manual) i assume it would be easier to have a light meter?
meter ambient light and determine whether you want the background over or underexposed. then do a test shot with the flash+subject to get aperture, based on the manual flash output, then continue to take shot of subject?

in my head im thinking that's what ive been reading and in the videos, and im trying to assume if that's what you guys are saying (except maybe without using the light meter, although i cant live without it)

by the way, i dont know exactly what your problem is, as im pretty newb, but you may want to try shutter priority next time you're out there. you might be able to find a solution to your issue, but it doesnt hurt to try. i say that because of this:
https://photography-on-the.net …/showthread.php​?t=1064622

im still rather mystified by that thread, but its worth examining next time you're in the same situation.
i made this post yesterday sometime as i was trying to anticipate my shoot when im out at the beach or somewhere

Check out the link in my signature for tips on how to use flash outdoors.

Shoot at max sync speed to get the most out of your flash. HSS eats up too much power. Low ISO, 1/250 second (or max sync), widest aperture you can manage to make your exposure.