Clackers Beginners Tip 54: Simulating Ambient Lighting with Flash

**clackers** · 12-29-2022, 12:49 PM - **8 Likes**

Good morning all, I had a weird weekend.

At the zoo, I noticed a slice of toast in one of the enclosures.

I asked the keeper, 'How did that toast get into the cage?'

'It was bread in captivity.' she replied.

Also, I had refused to believe my road worker father was stealing from his job. But when I got home all the signs were there.

This week I want to talk about flash in scenes where there is already light. In cinematography, they call anything luminous in the frame a 'practical'.

This can be a candle, a light bulb, a window, car headlights or whatever.

The real illumination is being done with artificial lighting of course. The same applies for our still photography ... we set our exposure for the practical first. Then we adjust the flash power to fit in.

Faking window light might require hitting a diffuse 'scrim' of cloth or baking paper or a shower curtain placed behind the glass - this is a favourite of food photographers.

In the picture below (K-1 with the DA*55 in full frame mode), the shot is on location in the evening with the door to the outside at the right letting in some light from the verandah lamp. Of course, this is too weak for us, the ISO would be too high and it's simply the wrong colour, there would be a terrible cast, so my flagged Godox AD360 strobe was placed out there to emulate the situation in a controlled way.

To finish with, there's the story of the man dressed in a suit who comes up to the front porch of house juggling a clipboard, some papers, and a briefcase. He knocks on the door and it's answered by a middle-aged man, "Mornin' stranger, what can I do for ya?".

"Well sir, I represent Schneller, Barnum, and Holtz. We're paid by private companies to canvas thousands of consumers like yourself for feedback on their products. Today we're soliciting comments on Vaseline petroleum jelly. Would you have time to answer just a couple of questions?"

"I don't see how a couple of questions could hurt, fire away young man",says the homeowner.

Looking down at his clipboard, the survey-taker asks, "Okay...first, you do use Vaseline, correct?".

"Yessir, for as long as I can remember".

"Great, now what exactly do you use it for?" replies the survey-taker with his pen poised over his clipboard, ready to record the answer.

"Let's see.....we use it for dry skin, chapped lips, and sex."

The well-dressed man stops writing abruptly. He looks around, leans forward and in a low voice says "We pride ourselves in being very thorough sir. I know how you'd use Vaseline for dry skin and chapped lips. But would you mind telling me how you use it for sex?".

"No problem," the homeowner says in a whisper, "we put it on our bedroom doorknob".

The survey-taker gets a strange look on his face and takes a step backwards before the homeowner continues, "It keeps the kids out".

Find the rest of the series here: Clackers' Beginners Tips (Collected) - PentaxForums.com

**RICHARD L.** · 12-30-2022, 06:56 AM - **1 Like**

Using fill-in electronic flash outside with a slow film (Kodachrome 25), half-power and Minolta film cameras always gave me natural-looking images where you would never guess flash was ever used.

**clackers** · 01-01-2023, 07:47 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by RICHARD L.

Using fill-in electronic flash outside with a slow film (Kodachrome 25), half-power and Minolta film cameras always gave me natural-looking images where you would never guess flash was ever used.

Very nice, Richard, I understand these things, like amount of chilli, is personal taste, but with the bright background of the house I reckon you could've cranked up the flash another half or full stop, those shadows on their faces are quite deep!

**RICHARD L.** · 01-02-2023, 07:43 AM - **1 Like**

My cousins were quite "shadowy" characters, you know ... Just kidding ! Yes, using full power would have opened up the shadows more but with Kodachrome film, we only knew the result 2 or 3 weeks later (SIGH!).

Regards

**clackers** · 01-02-2023, 09:01 PM

Originally posted by RICHARD L.

My cousins were quite "shadowy" characters, you know ... Just kidding ! Yes, using full power would have opened up the shadows more but with Kodachrome film, we only knew the result 2 or 3 weeks later (SIGH!).

Regards

Yes, a great guessing game!

Richard Avedon and others would often check exposure on the day with a Polaroid, but flash makes that hard.

12-29-2022, 12:49 PM - 8 Likes	#1
clackers Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Melbourne Photos: Albums Posts: 16,397	Clackers Beginners Tip 54: Simulating Ambient Lighting with Flash Good morning all, I had a weird weekend. At the zoo, I noticed a slice of toast in one of the enclosures. I asked the keeper, 'How did that toast get into the cage?' 'It was bread in captivity.' she replied. Also, I had refused to believe my road worker father was stealing from his job. But when I got home all the signs were there. This week I want to talk about flash in scenes where there is already light. In cinematography, they call anything luminous in the frame a 'practical'. This can be a candle, a light bulb, a window, car headlights or whatever. The real illumination is being done with artificial lighting of course. The same applies for our still photography ... we set our exposure for the practical first. Then we adjust the flash power to fit in. Faking window light might require hitting a diffuse 'scrim' of cloth or baking paper or a shower curtain placed behind the glass - this is a favourite of food photographers. In the picture below (K-1 with the DA*55 in full frame mode), the shot is on location in the evening with the door to the outside at the right letting in some light from the verandah lamp. Of course, this is too weak for us, the ISO would be too high and it's simply the wrong colour, there would be a terrible cast, so my flagged Godox AD360 strobe was placed out there to emulate the situation in a controlled way. To finish with, there's the story of the man dressed in a suit who comes up to the front porch of house juggling a clipboard, some papers, and a briefcase. He knocks on the door and it's answered by a middle-aged man, "Mornin' stranger, what can I do for ya?". "Well sir, I represent Schneller, Barnum, and Holtz. We're paid by private companies to canvas thousands of consumers like yourself for feedback on their products. Today we're soliciting comments on Vaseline petroleum jelly. Would you have time to answer just a couple of questions?" "I don't see how a couple of questions could hurt, fire away young man",says the homeowner. Looking down at his clipboard, the survey-taker asks, "Okay...first, you do use Vaseline, correct?". "Yessir, for as long as I can remember". "Great, now what exactly do you use it for?" replies the survey-taker with his pen poised over his clipboard, ready to record the answer. "Let's see.....we use it for dry skin, chapped lips, and sex." The well-dressed man stops writing abruptly. He looks around, leans forward and in a low voice says "We pride ourselves in being very thorough sir. I know how you'd use Vaseline for dry skin and chapped lips. But would you mind telling me how you use it for sex?". "No problem," the homeowner says in a whisper, "we put it on our bedroom doorknob". The survey-taker gets a strange look on his face and takes a step backwards before the homeowner continues, "It keeps the kids out". Find the rest of the series here: Clackers' Beginners Tips (Collected) - PentaxForums.com

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12-30-2022, 06:56 AM - 1 Like	#2
RICHARD L. Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2018 Location: Quebec City, Quebec Posts: 6,653	Using fill-in electronic flash outside with a slow film (Kodachrome 25), half-power and Minolta film cameras always gave me natural-looking images where you would never guess flash was ever used.

01-01-2023, 07:47 PM - 1 Like	#3
clackers Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Melbourne Photos: Albums Posts: 16,397 Original Poster	Originally posted by RICHARD L. Using fill-in electronic flash outside with a slow film (Kodachrome 25), half-power and Minolta film cameras always gave me natural-looking images where you would never guess flash was ever used. Very nice, Richard, I understand these things, like amount of chilli, is personal taste, but with the bright background of the house I reckon you could've cranked up the flash another half or full stop, those shadows on their faces are quite deep!

01-02-2023, 07:43 AM - 1 Like	#4
RICHARD L. Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2018 Location: Quebec City, Quebec Posts: 6,653	My cousins were quite "shadowy" characters, you know ... Just kidding ! Yes, using full power would have opened up the shadows more but with Kodachrome film, we only knew the result 2 or 3 weeks later (SIGH!). Regards

01-02-2023, 09:01 PM	#5
clackers Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Melbourne Photos: Albums Posts: 16,397 Original Poster	Originally posted by RICHARD L. My cousins were quite "shadowy" characters, you know ... Just kidding ! Yes, using full power would have opened up the shadows more but with Kodachrome film, we only knew the result 2 or 3 weeks later (SIGH!). Regards Yes, a great guessing game! Richard Avedon and others would often check exposure on the day with a Polaroid, but flash makes that hard.