mid day sun

I want to do some nice pictures in the mid day and afternoon sun of pets. I've seen a lot of pictures like that with the sky very blue. From what I've read I need a 2 stop ND filter to go with my strobe is that right? Any suggestions?

It depends on how shallow a depth of field you want.

If you mean you want the sky blue as opposed to blown out white while your subjects are properly exposed, a graduated ND is what you want. A solid ND will just make your whole image darker or require a wider aperture/more power from the strobe (although this will mean only the foreground will be properly exposed)/longer exposure/higher ISO etc....

If the sky is already blue but you want it to be darker/richer, then a CPL may be what you're after.

Ok its probably best I post an example. How about this: http://cdn.cutestpaw.c​om …og-Breath-Photography.jpg

As far as the graduated ND: If the person or pets head is in the "sky area" and the body in the "ground area" wouldn't that effectively make their skin or color tones 2 different shades then? That doesnt sound good…

I don't think a solid ND will work b/c you don't want to long exposures on pets and people.

Perhaps a CPL is the right thing. I guess we are down to a CPL or graduated ND.
can anyone make a suggestion based on the pic I have shown as a quick example.

Here is one more example
https://cdn.tutsplus.c​om …cy/426_outdoorf​lash/4.jpg

abbypanda wrote in post #16884982
Here is one more example
https://cdn.tutsplus.c​om …cy/426_outdoorf​lash/4.jpg

That looks like a wide angle lens with a polarizer based on the variation in the color of the sky.

I wonder if the first shot with the dog is a composite ? Look at all of the highlights on the balloon.

If the pets are moving, shutter speed is going to be an issue. On the one hand, you want a fast shutter, like 1/500, but that'll exceed the sync speed of your camera when using the strobe. You can stop down and/or use an ND filter to get the ambient light down to where its exposed properly at 1/200, but then you'll get motion blur when the pets move. I'm not sure what the solution is unless you either 1) have enough strobe power to overpower the sun or 2) go "Syl Arena" and line up a few dozen Speedlites to get high speed sync.

scorpio_e wrote in post #16884999
I wonder if the first shot with the dog is a composite ? Look at all of the highlights on the balloon.

Her, she does a lot of pictures of pets with the clouds like that. I thought perhaps that was a composite but I assumed the dog was actually there (look closely theres a ball in his mouth) and perhaps the balloons were just added as opposed to dog and balloons? IDK?

mike_d wrote in post #16885007
If the pets are moving, shutter speed is going to be an issue. On the one hand, you want a fast shutter, like 1/500, but that'll exceed the sync speed of your camera when using the strobe. You can stop down and/or use an ND filter to get the ambient light down to where its exposed properly at 1/200, but then you'll get motion blur when the pets move. I'm not sure what the solution is unless you either 1) have enough strobe power to overpower the sun or 2) go "Syl Arena" and line up a few dozen Speedlites to get high speed sync.

I just saw your reply and thank you.

On the sync I have an einstein and I bought it b/c they have that tennis ball add showing it "stopped" and then I read here how everyone said "no high speed sync". I emailed them and asked and they said it was fast enuf to stop a hummingbird…. anyway I only tried it once with a guy throwing a football at me. He didnt do quite a job of throwing it straight at me but the football was pretty stopped. I think I got some blur b/c it went outside the main area of the light? I notice his body (in the main path of the light) was pretty frozen. So I'm hoping that's enough for a dog, IDK?

Here is my first picture… but this was easier b/c the sun was setting. The sky is kinda nice but not like some in those pictures b/c I think those pictures are a different time. I want to do some dogs and make the sky and clouds very prominent and blue.

But this was shot at 1/200 and I hope that's enuf for a dog…

This is why I drug my feet for a year for a light…. too many questions and still questions

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The first image is definitely either a composite or HDR or both. IMO it looks bad. You can see a halo around the dog, the background blur is too fake and because it looks wrong, it actually draws attention to the background instead of to the subject.

The 2nd photo has a CPL. Also maybe a strobe.

Sirrith wrote in post #16885081
The first image is definitely either a composite or HDR or both. IMO it looks bad. You can see a halo around the dog, the background blur is too fake and because it looks wrong, it actually draws attention to the background instead of to the subject.

The 2nd photo has a CPL. Also maybe a strobe.

Thank you. I will take my cpl out tomorrow with my dog and give this a go and see. The 2nd photo I did find on google images and it is from a site with a flash tutorial but it didnt say what filters. It just said how to put the flash for mid day sun. So I am pretty sure a strobe was used. I will test this out tomorrow b/c I really love the blue sky photos.

abbypanda wrote in post #16885019
On the sync I have an einstein and I bought it b/c they have that tennis ball add showing it "stopped" and then I read here how everyone said "no high speed sync". I emailed them and asked and they said it was fast enuf to stop a hummingbird…. anyway I only tried it once with a guy throwing a football at me. He didnt do quite a job of throwing it straight at me but the football was pretty stopped. I think I got some blur b/c it went outside the main area of the light? I notice his body (in the main path of the light) was pretty frozen. So I'm hoping that's enough for a dog, IDK?[/IMG]

The Einstein has a very short flash duration, especially a lower power levels. Yes, it'll stop motion very well if its the only light source, like in a studio. If you're outdoors and have enough ambient light to make an exposure at your max sync speed, then you'll get motion blur.