import model pics: need help here!

hi! i just came back from a car show and took over 200 pictures... thank you to many of you on the forum... well, i need some help because some of the following pics i'm having issues with and i was wondering if you could help me. the camera i brought was a f707 with ext f1000 flash, lens hood, and a lot of these pics were at 1/15 shutter (if i went shutter priority trying to hold it very still) or 1/50th or 1/40th if i went only auto. all these pics are at iso100. for all the pictures that were taken with a flash... i pulled out that little flap and covered it... i found that it helped. the car show itself was indoors and some was outdoors at night. the indoor lighting was at an expo center and was... alright, not ext. bright, but lighted...

most of my concerns are with fast movement blurring i'm getting (with breakdancing) and a lot of lighting under and over exposure issues as you will see...

picture of a girl...
http://www.blackenedcatfish.com/dpreview/a.jpg
http://www.blackenedcatfish.com/dpreview/b.jpg
fast moving breakdancer
http://www.blackenedcatfish.com/dpreview/c.jpg
import model
http://www.blackenedcatfish.com/dpreview/d.jpg
http://www.blackenedcatfish.com/dpreview/e.jpg
another import model
http://www.blackenedcatfish.com/dpreview/f.jpg
http://www.blackenedcatfish.com/dpreview/g.jpg
car outdoors at night
http://www.blackenedcatfish.com/dpreview/h.jpg
import model on bike outdoors night
http://www.blackenedcatfish.com/dpreview/i.jpg
import model again
http://www.blackenedcatfish.com/dpreview/j.jpg
http://www.blackenedcatfish.com/dpreview/k.jpg
black car indoors
http://www.blackenedcatfish.com/dpreview/l.jpg
thank you all once again. i appreciate any help!

Get yourself a flash bracket and a softbox and go portrait.

Can't believe you didnt' go sideways on this one for a portrait.



--
Mr. Stacey
F707, s85, s75

Olympus 340, Nikon 800, Kyocera S3, Canon S200

also under exposed and over exposed...

bah! yeah... i did pretty bad with determining good shots

heh. do i use the flash bracket that came with the f1000? which way do i put the flash and bracket on?

and the softbox on top of the flash? any particular one?

thanks... best regards

^.-

Mr. Stacey said:

Get yourself a flash bracket and a softbox and go portrait.

Can't believe you didnt' go sideways on this one for a portrait.



--
Mr. Stacey
F707, s85, s75

Olympus 340, Nikon 800, Kyocera S3, Canon S200

Click to expand...

Those are quite difficult lightning conditions. Usually i would recommend bouncing the Flash off the Ceiling but the F1000 is a bit weak for a Ceiling that high.

Like Mr Stacey said, a softbox is the Way to go under those Conditions. Lumiquest does offer those. And for motion blur with the break dancer you need a fast Shutter Speed, like 1/100s, maybe even more, depending on how fast he moves.

A-Mode is useless because the F707 doesnt count in that the Flash is used. You may end up with a Shutter Speed of 1/5s and the Flash does fire. Go to S or M Mode instead.

In M Mode i would recommend f2 and a Shutter Speed of 1/30s-1/60s for Portraits. You can set the Flash Power in three Steps in the F707 Menu. If the pictures gets to bright you can try to increase the f number, this makes the Aperture Hole smaller and less light gets through. But this gives you more DOF, which is unwanted in Portrait Shots. Make sure the Background is far away if you increase the f number. If you increase the Shutter Speed to much the picture gets more blueish.

thank you greatly. a few questions from reading your response...

where would i angle this flash? i'm very unsure as to how i'm supposed to angle the flash... both without the softbox and the softbox. thanks.

how should i use the flash bracket that came with the f1000 in this situation?

is it okay to use that little lid that covers the f1000 (the wide angle flash lens lid i think)?

p5freak said:

Those are quite difficult lightning conditions. Usually i would
recommend bouncing the Flash off the Ceiling but the F1000 is a bit
weak for a Ceiling that high.
Like Mr Stacey said, a softbox is the Way to go under those
Conditions. Lumiquest does offer those. And for motion blur with
the break dancer you need a fast Shutter Speed, like 1/100s, maybe
even more, depending on how fast he moves.
A-Mode is useless because the F707 doesnt count in that the Flash
is used. You may end up with a Shutter Speed of 1/5s and the Flash
does fire. Go to S or M Mode instead.
In M Mode i would recommend f2 and a Shutter Speed of 1/30s-1/60s
for Portraits. You can set the Flash Power in three Steps in the
F707 Menu. If the pictures gets to bright you can try to increase
the f number, this makes the Aperture Hole smaller and less light
gets through. But this gives you more DOF, which is unwanted in
Portrait Shots. Make sure the Background is far away if you
increase the f number. If you increase the Shutter Speed to much
the picture gets more blueish.

Click to expand...

theorist said:

most of my concerns are with fast movement blurring i'm getting
(with breakdancing) and a lot of lighting under and over exposure
issues as you will see...

Click to expand...

I have to say I think the motion blur on the breakdancer shot is absolutely perfect. It's still in enough focus to be very clear, and the onlookers are all well focussed - but you can tell that guy's really moving and it looks great.

Keep at it, you'll get to a point (very quickly) where you're extremely comfortable shooting with this camera!

--Steve

thank you. i very much hope so...

i think one issue i have was that i was trying to capture it all i think at shutter speed 1/15...

that circle the breakdancers were in was so dark and my flash looked like dung when i took other ones...

i will try at least 1/30 - 1/60 next time to get it a bit sharper. i like the blur too my boss doesn't though... (my side job is event coverage for import car shows and some domestics)...

Stephen Waits said:

theorist said:

most of my concerns are with fast movement blurring i'm getting
(with breakdancing) and a lot of lighting under and over exposure
issues as you will see...

Click to expand...

I have to say I think the motion blur on the breakdancer shot is
absolutely perfect. It's still in enough focus to be very clear,
and the onlookers are all well focussed - but you can tell that
guy's really moving and it looks great.

Keep at it, you'll get to a point (very quickly) where you're
extremely comfortable shooting with this camera!

--Steve

Click to expand...

You don't use the flash bracket that came with the Sony flash.

--
Mr. Stacey
F707, s85, s75

Olympus 340, Nikon 800, Kyocera S3, Canon S200

This is what a softbox does:







--
Mr. Stacey
F707, s85, s75

Olympus 340, Nikon 800, Kyocera S3, Canon S200

thank you! those pics are beautiful from car and model. i checked out there site... is it possible that i too, can get pics to look like that with my f707?

these guys were actually AT the car show i was at! they had these huge cameras... digital. i think it was the nikon d100.

what setting do you think these guys had it on?

i will take your advice and i am putting in an order for the softbox. i'm sorry if i'm being too annoying bothering you with questions...

when you mentioned flash bracket... can you please elaborate as to this set up?

thank you again!

best regards

chiho

Mr. Stacey said:

This is what a softbox does:







--
Mr. Stacey
F707, s85, s75

Olympus 340, Nikon 800, Kyocera S3, Canon S200

Click to expand...

wow... lumiquest has so many soft boxes... can you just tell me which one to get? i trust your experience a lot more than mine... what's with the little lid on the f1000 flash that looks like a translucent cover i can take off or on?

Did you use a polarizer for the cars? Doesn't look like it.

With a polarizer you can remove some of the reflections bouncing off the cars, specially the ones in windows.

A difuser or box is what you need, but it is not an obligation. Just do what the photojournalists do (from the smallest town newspaper ones to the big boys).

Angle the flash straight up to the ceiling and use a rubber band around the flash head to attach a white cardboard rectangle to the back of the flash.

The width of the cardboard should be the width of the flash and about 3 inches high (so that 2 inches stick out from the top of the flash). Most of the light will go straight up, but just enough light will bounce of the card into your subject.

Try it out, you will be amazed.

Hey everyone,

Im going to a car show in November also and had a couple questions about taking pictures in wierd lighting situations.

I know I probably need the sony external flash better pictures and I read that the softbox is helpful. I went to look at the softboxes and was wondering around how much they cost since theres no price on the website.

Also as many other people already asked, how would I set up the flash without using the bracket like someone mentioned?

And lastley, for protarit shots, what would be the best camera setting?

Thanks alot in advance for the help.

Adam
http://www.decodeddreams.com
.: Dream in Progress :.