Strobist advice sought

mi2nc · 04-18-2009, 01:52 PM

What am I doing wrong here?

My objective was to eliminate/minimze the shadows from under the brims of the hats. I have several attempts these are representative of what I was able to accomplish.

Photo 1 is w/o flash
Photo 2 is too much flash
Photo 3 is much better on the eyes, but over exposed on the pillar.

Any thoughts? I was using a Af360 in manual mode with cybersyncs

Big I · 04-18-2009, 02:15 PM

"Usually, we try not to use underlighting." That philosophy is from a not-very-creative point of view. I only sometimes agree with it, but in this case, I think you could just use a white reflector right below his knees.

That's beside the point. What you need to do, if you want everything exposed correctly, is move the flash away. On the third shot, it looks like the pillar was only about a foot (or less) away from the flash, and his face is more like 4 or 5 feet away. Thus, the pillar will have considerably more light on it. Move the flash farther away, so that everything is about 10 feet away. You may have to jack up the power on the flash unit, though. If the flash doesn't put out enough power to do that, well, that is the downside about strobist-y stuff. You always have to compensate for something!

Keep shooting!

*pingflood* · 04-18-2009, 02:18 PM

I'd move it away a bit further and throw a 1/4 or 1/2 CTO gel on it to warm it up a little. And get away from the white pillar.

mi2nc · 04-18-2009, 03:54 PM

I was wondering if moving closer or away was the trick. I kept moving it closer....And at 3 yrs old the subject just won't sit still for dad to screw around with the endless pictures. I'll try to get my 12 year old to sit still......I'll bride him with money.

I also was thinking of a reflector just below his knees. I sorta made my own, with Aluminum foil and a pizza pan.

Would a softbox work on the flash head in this case?

jrforman · 04-18-2009, 06:32 PM

Even before a flash i would just try a reflector below his face - a piece of white foam board would work well. Any large white flat surface. Sliver surface reflector isn't as flattering. Think of the sun being your main light and using the foam as your fill.

*CalendarGuy* · 04-19-2009, 02:58 PM

I agree with going the reflector route. Even a 20x30" piece of white poster board held by a willing assistant would allow you to fill the shadows below the cap without blowing out the pillar.

*dugrant153* · 04-19-2009, 04:47 PM

To get a better shot, you may want to also stop down your aperture. Go to F8 or F11 or higher if need be.

The problem is your background will be pretty in focus (as well as your subject), but if lighted correctly your subject should still stand out.

And... as the other guys mentioned, the reflector would help too

Mike Cash · 04-20-2009, 12:00 PM

Originally Posted by mi2nc

I was wondering if moving closer or away was the trick. I kept moving it closer....

That's where the inverse square law starts to work against you. Light fall-off is very rapid at very short distances. The shorter it is, the more rapid the change. So every time you moved the light closer you just assured that the difference between the light on the pillar and on his face would become even larger.

And at 3 yrs old the subject just won't sit still for dad to screw around with the endless pictures. I'll try to get my 12 year old to sit still......I'll bride him with money.

Try a big teddy bear or something while experimenting. They're very patient and they work for free.