Hello to everyone , after some time of research and constant practice, here I am to give you some of the example of using Canon Speedlite 580EXII to manage the lighting properly. And yet , I meaning using Canon Speedlite 580EXII on-hothoe of the camera , NOT off-shoe method. This method technically can helps you solve the problem that when using no matter what brands of flash which ended up wrong way of using flash and resulted an awful photograph.
Alright, without wasting time, please look at the example below which I randomly choose some object to play with the lighting :
Alright, after you see, did you notice that all the lighting are perfectly distributed ? I bet you say YES .....
If you say NO, then I have no idea. But there is some tips how can make this really really perfect in flash photography, which allowed you to distribute the light perfectly without any mistake ALL IN MANUAL MODE. Are you ready ? Let's get into the point :
Tips 1 : Bounce angle of the flash
For the beginners or intermediate, I suggested that most of the flash angle are in 45 degree angle in back , else 75 degree flash angle front or back. I'm recommended for back angle flash , because the reason is simple , the back flash bounce with distribute all the light fairly in very large range either to the object or the people, instead for the front angle flash which distribute only partially to the object or person in close range. So, this is one of the method you can try to practice about it.
NOTE : Check your surrounding whether which is wall or ceiling is good for you in bouncing the flash.
Tips 2 : Aperture determined the flash intensity , Shutter Speed determined the environmental lighting, ISO Speed determined your light sensitivity.
It's all about your eye on looking your surrounding, you can determined the meter reading by overriding your setting to achieve the best exposure for the photo. Hence, the way to approach this, which is change the aperture , shutter speed and ISO speed according to the surrounding based on flash photography. In flash photography, aperture determined your flash intensity, so , means that the wider of the aperture , more light from the flash going through the camera sensor or opposite.
Next, is your shutter speed , check your surrounding whether is dark or bright, and then determined the setting according to the surrounding. The darker the area, the slower the shutter speed until the lowest limit is 1/60 seconds, while the brighter the area, you need higher shutter speed.
While for the ISO Speed , you can constant the aperture and shutter speed or you can change it too according the surrounding, the ISO Speed will change the sensitivity of light through the camera sensor. The higher the sensitivity, more light coming in. So, shutter speed, aperture, ISO speed must constant pay attention and play around with it.
Tips 3 : Manual Flash Power
Let's make an example, if you wish to not turned all the three setting I mentioned above, there is one last method you can do , is change your flash power setting through Canon Speedlite 580EXII manual power setting. OK, what is the minimum setting you want to try ? The power ratio of 1/8 is the suggested setting, after that , you have to modify the setting based on the surrounding to achieve the correct exposure on the subject. Let say , I set my power to 1/8, then shoot a subject ended up slightly dark, I turned the setting either 1/4, or 1/8 +0.7 ratio to see the result , and keep on repeat the same thing to try. After long term of practice, you should know what power to use when reach certain area.
Tips 4 : Flash Zoom Range
Not many people actually knows how to use the flash zoom meter in appropriate way, but now I'm happily to share this experience to you that the flash zoom range there is a relationship on distribute the light fairly and perfect onto the subject. Now, here's the story, the zoom range must set to MANUAL mode in order for you to modify the zoom motor inside the flash. Let say, my zoom range set to 28mm , this meter showed that it is very wide coverage distribution of light in a constant range to subject, but , I shot it and ended up overexposed ! How to solve it ? OK, here's the deal, you can modify the flash zoom range to either 35mm or 50mm or higher , then check through the coverage of the light distribution whether is appropriate to the subject or not. The experience will overriding your suggested setting on the automatic mode of zoom motor in Canon speedlite or other speedlite as well.
So, that's it for today, I hope you can improve your flash photography based on the tips that I researched for a long time and take it into practice. Have fun ! And I'll see you next time ......
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