two 580exII... need tips/advices

Today is my first time to use off camera flash outdoor on a sunny day and I would like to know what I can do to improve. I used two 580ex II flashes with a yongnuo wireless trigger in manual mode. It was sunny that time and the background looks somewhat dark? I was next to a building with the sun behind it so I'm in the shade. I also used a hood on the lens while in the shade. I don't know if shooting in the shade effects the background to become dark?

1. bare flash on the left, bounce from umbrella on the right
f/10, 1/250, iso 100

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jxs1984 wrote in post #9930924
Today is my first time to use off camera flash outdoor on a sunny day and I would like to know what I can do to improve. I used two 580ex II flashes with a yongnuo wireless trigger in manual mode. It was sunny that time and the background looks somewhat dark? I was next to a building with the sun behind it so I'm in the shade. I also used a hood on the lens while in the shade. I don't know if shooting in the shade effects the background to become dark?

1. bare flash on the left, bounce from umbrella on the right
f/10, 1/250, iso 100

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If you want to brighten the background without effecting the subject too much lower your stutter speed. Shooting in the shade is probably ideal as it means your flash doesn't have to work so hard. And using a hood won't do anything except cut out flare.

jxs1984 wrote in post #9930924
2. in this photo below... why is the background overexposed? What did I do differently in this picture? bare flash on left, bounce from umbrella on the right
f/3.2, 1/500, iso 100 (I think I set the flashes in hi-speed sync mode for this picture)

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Which triggers did you use? Most radio triggers don't support HSS. That could be part of the problem. Other wise if the light level hadn't changed much from 1) then it's just over-exposed by about a stop and a third

jxs1984 wrote in post #9930924
3. bare flash on both left and right. the flash on the right is higher (pointed downward) than the left
f/4, 1/250, iso 100

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Canm't see any problems with this. Nice shot.

jxs1984 wrote in post #9930924
4. i have a bunch of photos of this guy... all of the photos of his shirt looks overexposed.
f/3.5, 1/250, iso 100

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Again, the ambient looks too bright. That and the light you're adding from the flash are blowing out the shirt. I'd say lower the ambient exposure from 3.5 to 4.5-5.6 and maybe drop the flash by a stop. Better to keep the highlights and pull up the shadows in post.


any help/tips/advices is greatly appreciated!

#3 is the obvious winner in that series.

Some questions:
1.) What shooting mode are you in?
2.) What mode are the flashes set in (ETTL? Manual?)?
3.) Do you understand the exposure triangle?

The reason the first photo's background is dark and the second is overexposed is your exposure setting. You went from f/10, 1/250, iso 100 to f/3.2, 1/500, iso 100. That's several stops brighter. Also remember than when going faster than 1/250th on your shutter speed your flashes need to go into HSS, and you'll lose a lot of power (which you'll need if you're doing outside portraiture, especially through a modifier).

TheBurningCrown wrote in post #9931105
3.) Do you understand the exposure triangle?

Can you please explain what's "exposure triangle"?? Thanks!!

lifejacket wrote in post #9931389
Can you please explain what's "exposure triangle"?? Thanks!!

Read this:
http://digital-photography-school.com …re-in-digital-photography

lifejacket wrote in post #9931389
Can you please explain what's "exposure triangle"?? Thanks!!

Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Exposure" is a good book that explains some of the basic concepts of photography, including how ISO, f-stop, and shutter speed all relate to each other.

The "exposure triangle" should be the FIRST thing ANY photographer learns. It really is "Photography 101"

As to the original poster, the second shot's background is overexposed because YOU overexposed it

f/10, 1/250, iso 100 vs f/3.2, 1/500, iso 100.

TheBurningCrown wrote in post #9931590
Read this:
http://digital-photography-school.com …re-in-digital-photography

egordon99 wrote in post #9935501
Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Exposure" is a good book that explains some of the basic concepts of photography, including how ISO, f-stop, and shutter speed all relate to each other.

The "exposure triangle" should be the FIRST thing ANY photographer learns. It really is "Photography 101"

ohh yea ofcourse lol, i thought it would be something related to flash

egordon99 wrote in post #9935504
As to the original poster, the second shot's background is overexposed because YOU overexposed it

f/10, 1/250, iso 100 vs f/3.2, 1/500, iso 100.

doh... now i see what i did wrong. thanks.

well I have finally got on the right track... beginning to understand balancing ambient/flash now. thanks!

you can see my 2nd attempt here: https://photography-on-the.net …/showthread.php​?p=9940974

Second attempt is MUCH better! Good job!

egordon99 wrote in post #9935501
Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Exposure" is a good book that explains some of the basic concepts of photography, including how ISO, f-stop, and shutter speed all relate to each other.

The "exposure triangle" should be the FIRST thing ANY photographer learns. It really is "Photography 101"

Keep in mind that people have been learning that concept for decades without using that term.

lifejacket=jxs1984???

Sorry, I thought Lifejacket was just popping in and asking about the exposure triangle. Didn't realize they were the same poster

LOL sorry about that! He's friend of mine. Anyway, thanks for the advise!

egordon99 wrote in post #9942052
Second attempt is MUCH better! Good job!

thanks! me and lifejacket both worked together on the 1st and second attempt