CAMERA USE WEEK 6 :

FLASH: DIRECT, REFLECTED, DIFFUSED, LIGHT METERING




DIRECT FLASH

The one advantage of the direct flash is it can reach longer distances than any other method of flash photography.

Direct Flash is a lot harsher than other flash lightings .  The direct flash is pointed straight at the subject giving the strong shadows behind them .

Direct flash

Bounced flash

Exercise 1
Take a photo using direct flash to fill in shadows during the day .

We went outside the MIT building to take these images.

f/5.6  1/160  ISO 100
I had a  look at my settings and I had my camera on spot metering. Anyway  as we can see in this image we have shadow on Tatianas face  from her cap from the sunlight.

f/5.6  1/200  ISO 100.
With this image I have the direct flash on and we have a side on view of Tatianas face .
This is a very bright direct light on her.

f/5.6 1/200  ISO 100
The flash is on in this image  and as you can see the shadow is much larger than the first image without the flash on.

f/5.6 1/200  ISO 100
My new model is Stephanie and with her paper she is showing us the shadow effect from the sun

f/5.6  1/200  ISO 100
In this shot the direct flash is on and I believe this image is better than the above one that just had natural lighting. The shadow is very soft. 

f/5.6  1/250  ISO 100
Flash is off in this image. Direct light the shadows are dark 

f/5.6  1/200   ISO 100
Flash on and it s very bright on Stephanies face, and the  shadow is very subtle.. This is direct flash 

f/11  1/60  ISO 200
Much brighter 

Flash On

f/11  1/60  ISO 200

Flash Off

BOUNCE FLASH

Light bounces off the  side of walls , your ceilings., what ever is around you subject. This type of flash gives you softer light on your subject and takes shadows down.

As per my example at the top of my page the difference between the two photos the bounced flash is much softer and there is a very subtle shadow.

By bouncing off other surfaces like the walls or ceiling, you will also soften the light – if you’re using the correct angle. And here I want to stress something again – shooting with an omnibounce at 60 or 45 degrees, should not be a default way of using flash. For the best result, some thought needs to be put into how you use flash, and how you direct the light from your flash. Keep in mind that the intended result is to have no hard flash shadow. No tell-tale sign that on-camera flash was used.

Take a portrait using bounce flash

Bounce flash is when you have the top of your flash facing the ceiling so the light bounces off that to your subject.

f/4  1/50  ISO 200
Flash off Carolinas in focus the background is over exposed.

f/3.2  1/40  ISO 200

no flash

f/2.2  1/60  ISO 200
No flash and this photo to me looks good.

f/1.8  1/60  ISO 200
No flash
The lockers all appear white unlike the below images they appear cold as opposed to the below images look warmer. Caroline is under exposed.

f/1.8 1/60  ISO 200
Flash on directly on Carolyine , the background is different with this flash as opposed to the others as it shows the  lockers as white 

f/1.8  1/60  ISO 200
Bounced off from the left hand wall, Flash on the lockers in this shot are a  really dull creamy white.

f/1.8  1/60  ISO 200
 Bounced off left hand wall , flash off  I would say the bounced flash makes the background look dull  but soft

Diffusers help eliminate harsh light and shadows and can help leave your photos looking more natural.

Take a portrait or still life photo using the Gary Fong Half Moon to diffuse the flash

f/5.6  1/125  ISO 400  Flash on
These two shot are totally different , yet the only difference is the fstop and the diffuser. In this image there is only noticeable shadow around her eyes, nothing on her neck. The image has really softened and to me looks good,
Even though the image below looks brighter I think this one looks the better of the two.

f/3.2  1/125  ISO 400  Flash on
In this image we don't have the diffuser on , theres shadow around Stephanies neck
and her eyes.

f/3.2 1/125 ISO 400
Flash on, the object looks softer and the shadow behind is much softer.
I think the difference that the diffuser has made is definitely viewed here in my samples. 

f/3.2  1/125  ISO 400
Flash is off. Because there is no flash on there is a darker shadow behind the object  and the object is also darker.

UNDER EXPOSED BACKGROUND

Take a portrait or still life with an underexposed background
Light meter for ambient light and take your your exposure down one or two stops using shutter speed.

f/3.2  1/200  ISO 200
Flash is on and Carolyine looks good and the background is under exposed. Narrow DOF

f/3.2  1/500  ISO 200
Carolyine is under exposed and so is the background. Flash is off. Narrow DOF

OVER EXPOSED BACKGROUND

Take a photo over exposing the background.  Have your subject in the shade and the background in the sun or photograph your subject with the sun behind them.

f/3.2 1/60  ISO 200
Tatiana looks  good and the background is over exposed.
The flash is on.The sun wasn't directly behind Tatiana but it was a sunny day.

f/3.2  1/60  ISO 200
Flash is on and per the exercise the background is over exposed and Tatiana looks good. Narrow DOF

f/4  1/50  ISO 200
Flash is off the background is under exposed and Carolyine is over exposed. If the flash was on her face would be a lot brighter like Tatianas in the above pic. So we have different settings  and different results but both backgrounds are under exposed.

FLASH AND BLUR






In photography, a motion blur is created when the subject moves too fast for the speed of the film to capture. The result is a streak trailing the subject. In animation, we can create the illusion of speed by adding motion blur to an image. In this tutorial, we’ll use the Blur filter and motion tweening in Flash 8 to create the illusion.



Take a photograph of a moving subject using the flash and blur technique.  Adjust your aperture using the cameras light meter to set your exposure.  Set camera to Rear sync flash.

f/1.8  1/8  ISO 100
flash on

f/4.5  1/3  ISO 100
Flash off

f/4.5  1/3  ISO 100
flash on

f/4.5  1/2  ISO 100
flash on

f/4.5  1/2  ISO 100
flash on

f/4.5  1/2  ISO 100
Flash off

f/4.5  1/2  ISO 100
Flash on

Flash and Motion Blur

Using flash guns to capture the perfect water droplet photograph is one of the best ways to get the result you want. Flash provides plenty of light to use a small aperture giving a good depth of field and it reduces the effects of motion blur.

However it is very important to realise that it is the duration of the flash that freezes the image and removes the motion blur NOT the shutter speed, all of these images were taken with the camera in bulb mode and an exposure around 1/4 second. The amount of motion blur that is acceptable is down to the photographer but the higher the magnification being used the more motion blur becomes apparent.