Flash as fill - my first attempt

In many many years of dabbling with photography I've never gotten past the odd Christmas morning photos using flash. My daughter has been bugging me to take some "glamor" shots for her to post on facebook and decided to try doing them outdoors using fill flash. I've got a Canon 450D with Sigma EF-500DG ST flash. I did these shots with the 18-55 kit lens (I also have a Canon 50mm f1.8 I should have tried but didn't feel like walking all the way back to the house to grab it). These were all shot in manual mode with evaluative metering. It was high noon when we got these, I would think that morning light would have been better but I wasn't the boss for this.

edit to add: it seems to me that the flash is a little bit hot in the first 2 from the reflections off the forehead, but not so bad in the third. How do the experts know how to get this perfect?

Comments, recommendations, suggestions?

1.

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Move the flash off camera. Then the hot spots won't reflect back into the lens. Taken with a 6 foot extension cord held at arm's length in the left hand.

https://photography-on-the.net …?p=14672856&pos​tcount=619

Nice job with these. The flash provides catchlights in her eyes that really add life to a portrait.

Use powder to mitigate the forehead shine. Moving the light will just move the shiny spot, not prevent it.

Now all you need is a little Photoshop work to fix the blue nail polish.

Thanks for the suggestions. I've looked through the G&N section and decided that I need to learn a LOT more about lighting. I won't be buying any more equipment anytime soon (unless I win the lottery) so want to learn how to make the most of what I have.

She spent 20 minutes putting on that stupid nail polish just to show it off in her photos, and would be really really PO'd if I took it out I guess I'll never understand teenage girls.

It might be a good idea to dial down the power of the flash by a stop or two.

In theory, the fill flash outside should act as fill, while the natural light should act as the main light source. So you'd want the flash to be just as powerful as ambient OR LESS.

The shadow on the right shows that you're not getting enough ambient light on the face. So technically, this is flash as main light source, not as fill.

groundloop wrote in post #14717322
In many many years of dabbling with photography I've never gotten past the odd Christmas morning photos using flash. My daughter has been bugging me to take some "glamor" shots for her to post on facebook and decided to try doing them outdoors using fill flash. I've got a Canon 450D with Sigma EF-500DG ST flash. I did these shots with the 18-55 kit lens (I also have a Canon 50mm f1.8 I should have tried but didn't feel like walking all the way back to the house to grab it). These were all shot in manual mode with evaluative metering. It was high noon when we got these, I would think that morning light would have been better but I wasn't the boss for this.

edit to add: it seems to me that the flash is a little bit hot in the first 2 from the reflections off the forehead, but not so bad in the third. How do the experts know how to get this perfect?

Comments, recommendations, suggestions?

I agree with the others, move the flash off-camera and dial it down a little. And next time remember to get the 50mm 1.8, it's better than the 18-55IS for portraits.

Curtis N wrote in post #14717451
Use powder to mitigate the forehead shine.

Good thought.

oldvultureface wrote in post #14717435
Move the flash off camera.

In my case, I'd move it back into my bag. See how you like these. One shot has flash fill.
Angeline outdoors

I've found that using a piece of white foam (backed with black foam) to make a marginally larger light source helps diminish the glare on foreheads. It also helps, as shown in the third image, to have the forehead turned a bit away from the lens/flash axis. I also try to balance the flash to the ambient light. I use the strength of the inevitable shadow from the on camera flash to judge.

I hate hate hate the on camera flash. And I don't have the wherewithal to have it of camera. Its just a heavy burden. I hate the little pupil catchlights it causes. There are lots of skilled photographers who are masters of ambient light and I enjoy following their work and learning from them. They use reflectors and other tools to bend light in their favor. Check out fellow member LJ Holloway (google her name for her site) the poster above is also awesome!! If I have to use fill flash I stop it way down so it just fills in the shadows under the eyes. That's all. But then I know I'll have those creepy catchlights. Try taking your daughter out in the golden hour and bring another family member to hold a white board and practice practice practice! I think you'll like the results more.