Fill-flash help!!!

Guys, please teach me how to use fill-flash. Yesterday, I took some pictures outdoor using fill-flash and the background came out really bright. How do I use it so that the subject's face is bright but the background is still normally exposed?

I shot all of the pictures using Av mode yesterday.

I'm just a beginner but learning how to do this as well. What I do is put the camera in Tv mode and set it to about 1/200s (the fastest you can shoot with your flash). I shoot at the background and see what the camera meters for aperture and ISO. Remember these and set them in Manual mode. That way your background is properly exposed.

Then in manual mode, I use the flash +/- to adjust for the foreground.

Hope this helps.

Put the flash in high speed sync.

I suspect what is happening is that the ambient light is bright and (I think) your flash doesn't have high speed sync capability (HSS). So the camera has capped the shutter speed at 1/200sec (your max x-sync speed for normal flash).

What you really need for flash in bright light is a gun that does HSS, as many do eg Canon 430EXII. Otherwise the only way is to use a higher f/number and/or low ISO to push the shutter speed for correct ambient exposure below your 1/200sec ceiling. If you can.

Av is usually the best mode to use for flash.

When you are in Av your camera is exposing for the ambient light, so in all likelihood your camera upped exposure for your subject, making the background too bright.

You want to take control of the camera exposure, either by checking this after a test shot or through Live view and adjust your exposure compensation accordingly or switch to Manual and setting your exposure to get the background right -- you need to tell the camera how bright you want the scene, and then the flash will light up the subject. You also want to learn to work with your Flash Exposure Compensation so that you don't get your subject over-blown.

tonylong wrote in post #11152164
When you are in Av your camera is exposing for the ambient light, so in all likelihood your camera upped exposure for your subject, making the background too bright.

I'll disagree. Canon NEVEC logic only interferes below EV13. And NEVEC underexposes ambient, not the opposite.

My guess matches the previous poster. The OP was probably shooting in AV with an aperture / ISO combination that forced the camera to select a shutter speed above the synch speed.

When the OP turned on the flash, the camera changed the shutter speed to the synch speed of the camera automatically and thus overexposed for ambient.

I strongly recommend against using Av or Tv modes with flash for this reason.

I'm not well versed on the Nissin Di622 flash but it has through the lens (TTL) exposure calculation.. I do have the Di866 which is brilliant..

Here's what I'd do.. Put your camera on manual mode and meter your subject.. Don't change anything here but with your Nissin flash in TTL mode adjust the flash exposure compensation to -1EV or -2EV.. Don't forget to stay within the maximum flash sync of you camera,, 200th second..

Well, I'm catching up to this thread a few days down the road, but I wanted to respond to the idea that Av was forcing the camera to the synch speed.

Tonight I put a flash on my camera with the power off, and set the camera to Av mode. I took a shot and it exposed for the ambient. I turned the flash on and took another shot and the shutter speed stayed the same. In other words, in Av, the camera exposed for the ambient, as I said. I prefer to do this type of shooting in Manual to control this, but I thought you should know.

Jeffrey, try it out and if you get different results, let me know, maybe our particulars differ.

so wait, if on a bright day the background is still too bright at 1/150 (5d sync speed) then i can technically use a polarizer or ND filter to stop down a bit right? omg that makes so much sense right now

The easiest way to do it for a beginner, is to set the flash in TTL mode, then adjust your body to shot between -1 2/3 to -2/3 EV, depending on where you are (beach would be -1 2/3 or sometimes even -2)

tonylong wrote in post #11179431
Well, I'm catching up to this thread a few days down the road, but I wanted to respond to the idea that Av was forcing the camera to the synch speed.

Tonight I put a flash on my camera with the power off, and set the camera to Av mode. I took a shot and it exposed for the ambient. I turned the flash on and took another shot and the shutter speed stayed the same. In other words, in Av, the camera exposed for the ambient, as I said. I prefer to do this type of shooting in Manual to control this, but I thought you should know.

Jeffrey, try it out and if you get different results, let me know, maybe our particulars differ.

Tony, try the same experiment again but this time choose a situation where the ambient light gives a shutter speed higher than the max flash sync speed of the camera.

djvkool wrote in post #11179652
The easiest way to do it for a beginner, is to set the flash in TTL mode, then adjust your body to shot between -1 2/3 to -2/3 EV, depending on where you are (beach would be -1 2/3 or sometimes even -2)

That would not be fill flash but flash used as the main light sourse..

Fill flash is an exacting technique.. When properly done, there should be no evidence of flash being used like flash shadows for example.. Changing the ambient light exposure (as you mentioned) will result in flash shadows..

Meter for the scene in manual mode, then adjust the flash output of the flash just enough to give the subject some kick and soften any shadows..

gofer wrote in post #11179681
Tony, try the same experiment again but this time choose a situation where the ambient light gives a shutter speed higher than the max flash sync speed of the camera.

Sure, in that scenario, in Av without the flash you would get a faster shutter speed, then when you power the flash the shutter speed would have to slow to the sync speed. That's logical (and why high speed sync is available to us). What I was pointing out is that when shooting in lower light conditions Av will expose for the ambient and then the flash will expose the subject.

See post #3:
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