Controlling Over Exposed Pics

I would like to know the secret hint/tips on controlling over exposed pics in the following situation. BTW, I shoot with the 1Ds MKII, so I am still learning how to shoot like a pro.

1. Shooting with subject in dark foreground with background lit. When pics are taken the background is over exposed whenever I use flash to compensate for underexposed foreground. What is the technique used to control keeping under exposed foreground lit while maintaining the right exposure on a well lit background (white walls, clouds, light colored backgrounds)?

2. How does aperture control affect flash output? If you increase aperture from f/2.8 to f/14, how will this affect the flash output and range?

Please share your thoughts with me soon.

While not being anything but an amateur myself here's a few thoughts:
1) Problem with using flash using any form of auto exposure is that the metering is still trying to expose as if there is no flash at all - results in overblown backgrounds and/or horribly slow shutterspeeds from what I've found. In reality the flash metering itself is only working on the subject in foreground. The way I'd deal with this is to manually meter the background and set shutter & apeture manually for the background, and let the flash metering take care of how much output it needs to properly expose the foreground. You're working with two sets of exposure in the one shot really...

2) Stopping down the apeture would increase flash output (to a point where it's on full power and can't go any brighter) in order to keep the exposure the same. Not sure about the range, don't imagine it makes a lot of difference but sure someone will know if it is affected.

What mode are you shooting in? I find that I get better results shooting in Av mode. I would point the camera towards the bright background and press the * to lock exposure then focus on the subject. The flash output will be taken care of by the camera.

Best thing is to expose for the background and let the flash expose the foreground. Using manual, expose for the background and then let the ETTL of the flash expose your subject in the foreground.

I have a great PDF file that has lots of great tips for controlling the exposure in high contrast situations, emphasizing highlights & shadows. I can't find the link for it anywhere though, its been on my hard drive for a while. PM me your email address and I can send it to you.

Contrast control with Canon E-TTL flash? In an acronym: FEC.
Assuming I understand your Q correct, it's a typical PJ shot, like: http://aesop.rutgers.e​du …s/IPM_Fruit_Tie​tjen_2.htm
I think I was in Av. I looked at sky, and dialed in about -2/3, -1, or 1 1/3 EC to pull color saturation back into the sky like slide film. If you look carefully - the grass - you can see the overall scene was now under exposed by about -2/3.
Then I held a Canon Flash in E-TTL in my other hand, using Canon Off-Shoe Cord 2. Because his shirt and skin were dark, I dialed -FEC into the flash.

I do the same thing with E-TTL flash when camera in Manual (no EC needed). Unlike manual flash, it is not so important to worry about flash distance vs. f/stop with E-TTL because the flash head zooms, and E-TTL handles most calculations. Here is a typical hard back light dark foreground: http://aesop.rutgers.e​du …yClarin_BatMitz​vah_39.htm Here flash was bounced off ceiling, with other flash on a pole.

If you do a Forums search for "fill flash" or "E-TTL" you will find many users posting thirsty for the same solutions. There is lots of good help here on POTN in the flash Forum! I made a little guide for my self for shooting high contrast light. The fill flash solution is #5: http://postit.rutgers.​edu …20Contrast%20Ou​tdoors.pdf No guarantees, it's just personal stuff.

Be aware when a Canon E-TTL flash is connected to Canon 1-D body, the ambient metering is performed "as if" the camera is in Evaluative metering pattern with Center Point selected, no matter what the user sets. Here is a thread: https://photography-on-the.net …hp?p=1930144&po​stcount=27. There are lots of good threads if you search for them.

Here's a three shot outdoor experiment sample:
1. I missed and over exposed background, foreground flash OK: http://aesop.rutgers.e​du …Asparagus_Breed​ing_03.htm
2. Dial in EC on camera and - FEC on flash to balance background and foreground exposure: http://aesop.rutgers.e​du …Asparagus_Breed​ing_04.htm
3. I missed, under exposing background, and there was not enough flash, so foreground was under exposed also: http://aesop.rutgers.e​du …Asparagus_Breed​ing_05.htm

I am sorry - I don't shoot pretty models at the beach. The more powerful the backlight or sun, the more flash power you need to match it. There are many many tutorials on Canon Photoworkshop site, or here:
http://www.dg28.com/te​chnique.html or here:
http://www.planetneil.​com/faq/flash-techniques.html or
photonotes.org.
Just legions of good stuff.

Jack

Hey Jack,

I believe you are the author of the PDF I am talking about. Do you have a link to it?

Heatseeker99 wrote in post #2287300
Hey Jack, I believe you are the author of the PDF I am talking about. Do you have a link to it?

The link is here: http://postit.rutgers.​edu …20Contrast%20Ou​tdoors.pdf
No warranty or guarantee this is any good for any one but me. It's an on-the-job evolving work progress.
Regards, Jack

J Rabin wrote in post #2287322
The link is here: http://postit.rutgers.​edu …20Contrast%20Ou​tdoors.pdf
No warranty or guarantee this is any good for any one but me. It's an on-the-job evolving work progress.
Regards, Jack

Yep. That's it! Great info. right there.

Wow, great write-up Jack. Thanks for your effort.

good info here

Thanks for all the information. I will try these techniques in the future.