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Archive 2014 · Yellow Jacket

  
 
shekarn64
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Yellow Jacket


Used SB800 for fill


















Aug 14, 2014 at 04:23 PM
Dalantech
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Yellow Jacket


I like the way that the vein in the leaf leads the viewer to the subject in that last frame

The light in the images looks harsh (bright noon day sun I'm guessing) and from a compositional perspective the only frame that works for me is the last.



Aug 15, 2014 at 01:13 AM
shekarn64
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Yellow Jacket


Thanks for the comments Dalantech. Yeah, it was direct sun and thought of using my reflector as the shade but this guy was so active, could not set up one.


Aug 15, 2014 at 06:43 AM
Dalantech
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Yellow Jacket


shekarn64 wrote:
Thanks for the comments Dalantech. Yeah, it was direct sun and thought of using my reflector as the shade but this guy was so active, could not set up one.


I applaud you for going after an active target -I know it's tough! Keep working on it though, you've got some serious potential



Aug 15, 2014 at 07:31 AM
tshore
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Yellow Jacket


If you shoot in bright sunlight without a diffused flash, the light is what it is. With respect to what you can actually control, I suggest cropping the first two a bit tighter, putting the head more at the center of the frame. The last one looks a bit underexposed on my screen. I would bump it up half a stop or a stop and crop away some of the out of focus area at the bottom of the frame. But you got the focus right on all of them, which is the most critical element, IMO. Thanks for posting!



Aug 15, 2014 at 09:22 AM
shekarn64
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Yellow Jacket


Thanks for the comment/tips Tim.


Aug 15, 2014 at 12:30 PM
e6filmuser
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Yellow Jacket


The angle of the flash needs to get it into the shadows and moderate them. If you brighten up the last one you will burn out the highlights. The convergent stems in the background are a distraction.

I would like to see both antennae in a similar orientation.

Harold



Aug 16, 2014 at 12:53 AM
shekarn64
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Yellow Jacket


Thanks Harold. I am still learning how to light up the macro subjects using my flash. May be I should have set it off remote rather than on camera. Do you think ring flash will help?


Aug 18, 2014 at 02:42 PM
e6filmuser
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Yellow Jacket


shekarn64 wrote:
Thanks Harold. I am still learning how to light up the macro subjects using my flash. May be I should have set it off remote rather than on camera. Do you think ring flash will help?


I assume that by "remote" you mean off the hot shoe, perhaps radio-controlled.

You will find many excellent images here, taken with a single flash on the hotshoe but usually with strong diffusion. My personal preference is for the main flash on a bracket so that it is to one side and pointed downwards, with another to the other side, aimed about horizontally, The stronger unit would be diffused. I mount the second gun on a clamp on the lens or tube barrel. The problem is that a small gun moved forward can become the dominant light source.

If you want TTL metering you need either a suitable cord(s) or RC. I trigger mine with a kit pop-up on the hotshoe, which may or may not contribute some light but is primarily there to let the camera control the light output by RC.

I sometimes detach flash guns completely when they can be placed on the floor or be othrwise supported. This gives you much more flexibility for angle or intensity.

Ring flash has its uses but is probably best avoided until you are comfortable with conventional flash. It is particularly tricky with shiny beetles.

Prior to using RC I mainly used manual flash, calibrated for various magnifications and (nominal) apertures. That gives consistent illumination even for very dark or very light subjects.

All of the above is for flash as the main illumination. As you are supplementing daylight with fill flash you need the equivalent of my second unit, either on TTL, calibrated to be metered for reduced power or, more simply manually, on reduced power if that is needed.

Harold



Aug 19, 2014 at 01:35 AM
shekarn64
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Yellow Jacket


I am using SB800 and with this I can go off-shoe with TTL and my built-in popup flash as the commander. I think I need to diffuse the light better than just using the flash directly or with the plastic cover that came with the unit.


Aug 19, 2014 at 03:46 PM
e6filmuser
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Yellow Jacket


shekarn64 wrote:
I think I need to diffuse the light better than just using the flash directly or with the plastic cover that came with the unit.


Ideally, yes. Having played with home-made soft boxes, I find the kit (rectangular) diffuser of my main flash does a reasonable job when used with the fill flash. Large diffusers tend to diffuse your subjects: they retreat! In the hands of very experienced users they can give stunning results but more practice with simpler lighting will make the eventual use of optimum lighting even more rewarding.

Although there is a certain quality of the lighting when it is well diffused, the prime purpose is to minimise harsh shadows and get light on all the details of the subject. Lighting with one, somewhat diffused, main light and a less powerful one from the other side, will give, in my experience, an effect at least as good as one well-diffused source.

Harold



Aug 20, 2014 at 01:29 AM





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