What should I have done?

[flashman167659]

Open shade.

Seems like this was taken around the middle of the day, when you have the most contrast. You could have done every combination of exposure compensation and flash exposure compensation, and though some shots may be better than others the fact that you have so much contrast will prevent the best exposure possible under these conditions.

I see trees in the background ... having your subject stand under a foreground tree (in the shade) would've been much better. I can see that your subject was probably sitting on a bench, in which case you probably didn't have a bench in the shade. In such a situation, those that are equipped would use a large diffuser above the subject to create open shade, with the help of an assistant.

Another option would be to use a large reflector to complement your fill flash.

Hope this helps.

My one week old D100 seems to have a very good built in flash and
I've been trying to improve my fill flash technique with it. I'm
satisfied with the below photo... somewhat, the part I'm not happy
about is the blown hilites in the hair ...



I was using aperture p mode with the lens at around f/5.6 and I
believe that is where my mistake was, I should've dropped the
f/stop down to f/11 or f/16 to properly expose the hair and let the
flash fill in the shadows properly. Then, I wouldn't have gotten
the background exposed right. But, as always.. I had time for a
shot or two and then my victim had to leave.
Anyway, is my thinking correct on this?
Thanks,
Jarrell

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[Jarrell Conley]

would have been to move!
Jarrell

Seems like this was taken around the middle of the day, when you
have the most contrast. You could have done every combination of
exposure compensation and flash exposure compensation, and though
some shots may be better than others the fact that you have so much
contrast will prevent the best exposure possible under these
conditions.

I see trees in the background ... having your subject stand under a
foreground tree (in the shade) would've been much better. I can
see that your subject was probably sitting on a bench, in which
case you probably didn't have a bench in the shade. In such a
situation, those that are equipped would use a large diffuser above
the subject to create open shade, with the help of an assistant.

Another option would be to use a large reflector to complement your
fill flash.

Hope this helps.

My one week old D100 seems to have a very good built in flash and
I've been trying to improve my fill flash technique with it. I'm
satisfied with the below photo... somewhat, the part I'm not happy
about is the blown hilites in the hair ...



I was using aperture p mode with the lens at around f/5.6 and I
believe that is where my mistake was, I should've dropped the
f/stop down to f/11 or f/16 to properly expose the hair and let the
flash fill in the shadows properly. Then, I wouldn't have gotten
the background exposed right. But, as always.. I had time for a
shot or two and then my victim had to leave.
Anyway, is my thinking correct on this?
Thanks,
Jarrell

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[Jarrell Conley]

Lets say a spot meter reading on the lightest area of the area of the hair resulted in f/22 and for the face f/4 and the background f/11. All I would have needed to have done was move in a little closer, backed off on the zoom to frame the shot the same, used the pop up flash and set the aperture at f/11 to f/16. Surely that would have made a big improvement in detail in the hair area. The trick would have been to stay within the range of the flash for those small fstops.
Right?
Jarrell

 

[Baywing]

right to me!

Lets say a spot meter reading on the lightest area of the area of
the hair resulted in f/22 and for the face f/4 and the background
f/11. All I would have needed to have done was move in a little
closer, backed off on the zoom to frame the shot the same, used the
pop up flash and set the aperture at f/11 to f/16. Surely that
would have made a big improvement in detail in the hair area. The
trick would have been to stay within the range of the flash for
those small fstops.
Right?
Jarrell

--
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http://www.pbase.com/baywing
pbase supporter

 

[Duncan C]

Regit,

Rear curtain sync does two things. First, it cause the flash to fire at the end of the time the shutter is open, not at the beginning. (Just before the "rear curtain," or back part of the shutter, closes) This means that if you're shooting a moving subject like a car, it will move forward in the frame while the shutter is open, and then the flash will fire, creating a frozen image in front of any motion blur. This looks more natural, and suggests forward motion. In normal front curtain sync, the flash fires as soon as the shutter is fully open, and any motion blur occurs after (and in front of) the frozen image, and looks odd.

Rear curtain sync mode also enables slow sync (shutterspeeds slower than 1/60th of a second.) This can let in more ambient light in low light situations, but also makes camera shake and subject motion blur more of a problem.

For static subjects the only real change would be that slower shutterspeeds would allow more ambient light into the exposure.

Yves seems to be implying that there are other benefits to rear curtain sync, and that's what I was asking him about.

Duncan C
---

I apologies if I'm missing the obvious.

I know you're a big fan of rear curtain sync, but what difference
would it have made in this situation? Rear curtain sync also
enables slow sync, but that wouldn't be an issue here, since the
picture is no doubt bumping against the FASTEST sync speed. I don't
see how popping the flash at the end of the exposure instead of at
the beginning would make a difference however.

Duncan C
---

From there, you will lower the exposure a little bit avoiding some
blown out highlights. You can also vary the Exp compensation
accordingly. It is quite hard to comment without being there but I
would still give it a try.

The blown highlights are not very distracting BTW. It is a very
good shot.

My one week old D100 seems to have a very good built in flash and
I've been trying to improve my fill flash technique with it. I'm
satisfied with the below photo... somewhat, the part I'm not happy
about is the blown hilites in the hair ...



I was using aperture p mode with the lens at around f/5.6 and I
believe that is where my mistake was, I should've dropped the
f/stop down to f/11 or f/16 to properly expose the hair and let the
flash fill in the shadows properly. Then, I wouldn't have gotten
the background exposed right. But, as always.. I had time for a
shot or two and then my victim had to leave.
Anyway, is my thinking correct on this?
Thanks,
Jarrell

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42 species caught, 808 species to go ...
'Seeing and interpreting are entirely personal processes' - Steve
Parish
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[Duncan C]

Jarrell,

Using a small aperture and shooting close in as you describe would certainly help, but the smaller aperture is going to cause your background to be less blurred, which might not be what you want.

Another option would be to use a neutral density (ND) filter. An ND filter knocks down the exposure by a fixed number of stops without altering the color or other properties of the picture. If you don't have an ND a polarizer would do much the same thing (although it has other effects that an ND does not.)

An ND filter would let you lower the shutterspeed without having to use tiny apertures. It would affect both the ambient and the flash exposure just like a small aperture, but would have no effect on DOF. If you use TTL flash mode the flash will compensate for the reduced exposure automatically, but if you use auto mode or manual mode flash, you have to compensate for an ND filter yourself. (not an issue since you used your D100's popup flash, which doesn't support auto mode anyway.)

An external flash would also give you more options because it's a lot more powerful, and would be able to fill the shadows at greater distances and smaller apertures.

Personally, I rather like the halo of light effect of rim lighting with sunlight, and don't think the blown highlights in your picture are an issue.

Other people's suggestions of softening the sunlight with a diffusion panel, shooting from shade, or using a reflector to throw more light into your model's face are all good, but take more setup. Diffusion panels and reflectors can be balky outdoors, and tend to blow away in even a light breeze. You'd need an assistant or two to hold your light modifiers.

Duncan C
----

Lets say a spot meter reading on the lightest area of the area of
the hair resulted in f/22 and for the face f/4 and the background
f/11. All I would have needed to have done was move in a little
closer, backed off on the zoom to frame the shot the same, used the
pop up flash and set the aperture at f/11 to f/16. Surely that
would have made a big improvement in detail in the hair area. The
trick would have been to stay within the range of the flash for
those small fstops.
Right?
Jarrell

--
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http://www.pbase.com/duncanc

 

[Jarrell Conley]

thought of using ND filters. I have them for my 5700 but haven't bought any for the D100..... yet!
Jarrell

Jarrell,

Using a small aperture and shooting close in as you describe would
certainly help, but the smaller aperture is going to cause your
background to be less blurred, which might not be what you want.

Another option would be to use a neutral density (ND) filter. An ND
filter knocks down the exposure by a fixed number of stops without
altering the color or other properties of the picture. If you don't
have an ND a polarizer would do much the same thing (although it
has other effects that an ND does not.)

An ND filter would let you lower the shutterspeed without having to
use tiny apertures. It would affect both the ambient and the flash
exposure just like a small aperture, but would have no effect on
DOF. If you use TTL flash mode the flash will compensate for the
reduced exposure automatically, but if you use auto mode or manual
mode flash, you have to compensate for an ND filter yourself. (not
an issue since you used your D100's popup flash, which doesn't
support auto mode anyway.)

An external flash would also give you more options because it's a
lot more powerful, and would be able to fill the shadows at greater
distances and smaller apertures.

Personally, I rather like the halo of light effect of rim lighting
with sunlight, and don't think the blown highlights in your picture
are an issue.

Other people's suggestions of softening the sunlight with a
diffusion panel, shooting from shade, or using a reflector to throw
more light into your model's face are all good, but take more
setup. Diffusion panels and reflectors can be balky outdoors, and
tend to blow away in even a light breeze. You'd need an assistant
or two to hold your light modifiers.

Duncan C

 

[dannv]

as you state the trick would be in controlling the flash at that point. i expect you would have difficulty with the flash overpowering her face.

in addition to the other fine advice you've gotten, i'll only state the obvious (since no one else has). use the blinking hilight display on the LCD to see if the approach you chose worked (i.e. didn't blow out the highlights).

since you are fighting the dynamic range of the camera, there isn't one correct answer. you're going to have to use judgement to select an approach and then correct based on actual results.

apologies again for stating the obvious as I suspect you've already considered this. i'm just surprised that you didn't check the hilights on the LCD when taking the shot. personally, i don't think its a problem in this shot....dav
--
don't wait for technology -- it won't wait for you

 

[paulfrye]

In this case a 'graduated' ND filter might have worked. Throw a -9 (3 fstop difference on the highlighted part of the hair and you would have got what you wanted. Even a -6 (2 stop difference) might have worked.

We normally think of these filters in terms of landscapes (bright sky, dark hills)...but I've run into the need before with light hair under tough sunlight conditions.

A graduated nd filter is something I found very necessary with the D100.

Regards,

Paul

Jarrell,

Using a small aperture and shooting close in as you describe would
certainly help, but the smaller aperture is going to cause your
background to be less blurred, which might not be what you want.

Another option would be to use a neutral density (ND) filter. An ND
filter knocks down the exposure by a fixed number of stops without
altering the color or other properties of the picture. If you don't
have an ND a polarizer would do much the same thing (although it
has other effects that an ND does not.)

An ND filter would let you lower the shutterspeed without having to
use tiny apertures. It would affect both the ambient and the flash
exposure just like a small aperture, but would have no effect on
DOF. If you use TTL flash mode the flash will compensate for the
reduced exposure automatically, but if you use auto mode or manual
mode flash, you have to compensate for an ND filter yourself. (not
an issue since you used your D100's popup flash, which doesn't
support auto mode anyway.)

An external flash would also give you more options because it's a
lot more powerful, and would be able to fill the shadows at greater
distances and smaller apertures.

Personally, I rather like the halo of light effect of rim lighting
with sunlight, and don't think the blown highlights in your picture
are an issue.

Other people's suggestions of softening the sunlight with a
diffusion panel, shooting from shade, or using a reflector to throw
more light into your model's face are all good, but take more
setup. Diffusion panels and reflectors can be balky outdoors, and
tend to blow away in even a light breeze. You'd need an assistant
or two to hold your light modifiers.

Duncan C

--
People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't
believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the
people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they
can't find them, make them.

• -- George Bernard Shaw

 

[Chaperon]

Jarell,

I went to you're pbase site and browsed all your images, all of you're images are very, very good, let me rephrase that...INSPIRING!!!!....hold on let me do that again..... :'), Let's just say that all those images really inspired me to better my photography skills (or how I see things), but one image moved me the most, it's the "In Dreams"...dang'nabit! you just brought a tear in my eye.....Thank you!!!!

Now I forgot the your original post.....oh well....

http://www.pbase.com/jarrell/personal_favorites&page=1

--
I like it simple......

please visit: http://www.webaperture.com/members/chaperon

 

[Jarrell Conley]

blown hilite on the lcd, but it was a little late to do anything about it time wise.
Thanks for the help.
Jarrell

as you state the trick would be in controlling the flash at that
point. i expect you would have difficulty with the flash
overpowering her face.

in addition to the other fine advice you've gotten, i'll only state
the obvious (since no one else has). use the blinking hilight
display on the LCD to see if the approach you chose worked (i.e.
didn't blow out the highlights).

since you are fighting the dynamic range of the camera, there isn't
one correct answer. you're going to have to use judgement to
select an approach and then correct based on actual results.

apologies again for stating the obvious as I suspect you've already
considered this. i'm just surprised that you didn't check the
hilights on the LCD when taking the shot. personally, i don't
think its a problem in this shot....dav
--
don't wait for technology -- it won't wait for you

--

My Personal Favorites
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[Jarrell Conley]

just master the in's and out's of the D100, I'll be a happy camper. Thank you for those kind words, I like In Dreams myself
Jarrell

I went to you're pbase site and browsed all your images, all of
you're images are very, very good, let me rephrase
that...INSPIRING!!!!....hold on let me do that again..... :'),
Let's just say that all those images really inspired me to better
my photography skills (or how I see things), but one image moved me
the most, it's the "In Dreams"...dang'nabit! you just brought a
tear in my eye.....Thank you!!!!

Now I forgot the your original post.....oh well....

http://www.pbase.com/jarrell/personal_favorites&page=1

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I like it simple......

please visit: http://www.webaperture.com/members/chaperon

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[Backdoctor]

really comment on what you do, but assessing the information in the follow up posts it seems that moving the subject would have been the easiest thing for the best correction of the highlights in the hair. That would avoid the drastic extremes of dark/light areas. Of course, there were other technique/exposure changes you could have done to reduce the highlights, but they seem more elaborate than moving the subject. Either way, its a wonderful photo as it is.

Harris
Cp5700, N6006, D100
Sigma 70-210 f4, Quantaray 28-80 f3.5 - looking to get nikon lenses soon.

PBase/DPReview/NTF supporter

http://www.pbase.com/backdoctor

 

[Regit Young]

Regit,

Rear curtain sync does two things. First, it cause the flash to
fire at the end of the time the shutter is open, not at the
beginning. (Just before the "rear curtain," or back part of the
shutter, closes) This means that if you're shooting a moving
subject like a car, it will move forward in the frame while the
shutter is open, and then the flash will fire, creating a frozen
image in front of any motion blur. This looks more natural, and
suggests forward motion. In normal front curtain sync, the flash
fires as soon as the shutter is fully open, and any motion blur
occurs after (and in front of) the frozen image, and looks odd.

Rear curtain sync mode also enables slow sync (shutterspeeds slower
than 1/60th of a second.) This can let in more ambient light in low
light situations, but also makes camera shake and subject motion
blur more of a problem.

For static subjects the only real change would be that slower
shutterspeeds would allow more ambient light into the exposure.

Which I suppose the plain "slow sync" can do ...

Yves seems to be implying that there are other benefits to rear
curtain sync, and that's what I was asking him about.

I would like to know that as well

As always, thank you for taking the time to explain these things to me

Happy holidays

Duncan C
---

I apologies if I'm missing the obvious.

I know you're a big fan of rear curtain sync, but what difference
would it have made in this situation? Rear curtain sync also
enables slow sync, but that wouldn't be an issue here, since the
picture is no doubt bumping against the FASTEST sync speed. I don't
see how popping the flash at the end of the exposure instead of at
the beginning would make a difference however.

Duncan C
---

From there, you will lower the exposure a little bit avoiding some
blown out highlights. You can also vary the Exp compensation
accordingly. It is quite hard to comment without being there but I
would still give it a try.

The blown highlights are not very distracting BTW. It is a very
good shot.

My one week old D100 seems to have a very good built in flash and
I've been trying to improve my fill flash technique with it. I'm
satisfied with the below photo... somewhat, the part I'm not happy
about is the blown hilites in the hair ...



I was using aperture p mode with the lens at around f/5.6 and I
believe that is where my mistake was, I should've dropped the
f/stop down to f/11 or f/16 to properly expose the hair and let the
flash fill in the shadows properly. Then, I wouldn't have gotten
the background exposed right. But, as always.. I had time for a
shot or two and then my victim had to leave.
Anyway, is my thinking correct on this?
Thanks,
Jarrell

--

My Personal Favorites
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--
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PBASE Supporter

Some pictures I like:
http://www.pbase.com/yp8/root

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http://www.pbase.com/duncanc

--
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42 species caught, 808 species to go ...
'Seeing and interpreting are entirely personal processes' - Steve
Parish
http://www.pbase.com/regit

--
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http://www.pbase.com/duncanc

--
Regit Young, FCAS Member, PBase Supporter
42 species caught, 808 species to go ...
'Seeing and interpreting are entirely personal processes' - Steve Parish
http://www.pbase.com/regit

 

[Backdoctor]

I think what is far more important is to tell that lady to go find
a different hairdresser, then worry about blowing out highlights!

Harris
Cp5700, N6006, D100
Sigma 70-210 f4, Quantaray 28-80 f3.5 - looking to get nikon lenses soon.

PBase/DPReview/NTF supporter

http://www.pbase.com/backdoctor

 

[Yves P.]

All my tests with rear Curtain/slow shutter in A mode Exposure have lead me to believe that for the D-100, the exposure and colors are better controlled for fill-in than in any other flash mode especially in D-TTL.

Not saying that your explanation is wrong, it is accurate.

Even at higher sync speed using RCSM, I get more natural colors and greater quality exposure. When switching to normal sync mode (In D-TTL), I get too much flash in the fill in and exposure is not as well performed.

Rear curtain sync does two things. First, it cause the flash to
fire at the end of the time the shutter is open, not at the
beginning. (Just before the "rear curtain," or back part of the
shutter, closes) This means that if you're shooting a moving
subject like a car, it will move forward in the frame while the
shutter is open, and then the flash will fire, creating a frozen
image in front of any motion blur. This looks more natural, and
suggests forward motion. In normal front curtain sync, the flash
fires as soon as the shutter is fully open, and any motion blur
occurs after (and in front of) the frozen image, and looks odd.

Rear curtain sync mode also enables slow sync (shutterspeeds slower
than 1/60th of a second.) This can let in more ambient light in low
light situations, but also makes camera shake and subject motion
blur more of a problem.

For static subjects the only real change would be that slower
shutterspeeds would allow more ambient light into the exposure.

Yves seems to be implying that there are other benefits to rear
curtain sync, and that's what I was asking him about.

Duncan C
---

I apologies if I'm missing the obvious.

I know you're a big fan of rear curtain sync, but what difference
would it have made in this situation? Rear curtain sync also
enables slow sync, but that wouldn't be an issue here, since the
picture is no doubt bumping against the FASTEST sync speed. I don't
see how popping the flash at the end of the exposure instead of at
the beginning would make a difference however.

Duncan C
---

From there, you will lower the exposure a little bit avoiding some
blown out highlights. You can also vary the Exp compensation
accordingly. It is quite hard to comment without being there but I
would still give it a try.

The blown highlights are not very distracting BTW. It is a very
good shot.

My one week old D100 seems to have a very good built in flash and
I've been trying to improve my fill flash technique with it. I'm
satisfied with the below photo... somewhat, the part I'm not happy
about is the blown hilites in the hair ...



I was using aperture p mode with the lens at around f/5.6 and I
believe that is where my mistake was, I should've dropped the
f/stop down to f/11 or f/16 to properly expose the hair and let the
flash fill in the shadows properly. Then, I wouldn't have gotten
the background exposed right. But, as always.. I had time for a
shot or two and then my victim had to leave.
Anyway, is my thinking correct on this?
Thanks,
Jarrell

--

My Personal Favorites
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--
Yves P.
PBASE Supporter

Some pictures I like:
http://www.pbase.com/yp8/root

--
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http://www.pbase.com/duncanc

--
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42 species caught, 808 species to go ...
'Seeing and interpreting are entirely personal processes' - Steve
Parish
http://www.pbase.com/regit

--
dpreview and PBase supporter.



http://www.pbase.com/duncanc

--
Yves P.
PBASE Supporter

Some pictures I like:
http://www.pbase.com/yp8/root

 

[BigAppa]

Judging from the depth of field in the photo, it's another with the big Sigma you got with your camera. How about another approach..use a lens with fewer elements, such as your 50mm 1.8 for portraits?
I'd like to see this same photo with the 50.

I can't believe I am saying this to a man whom I consider to be one of the better maker of images I've ever seen!

--
BigAppa Like Nikon