second curtain sync

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JaneG
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p.1 #1 · second curtain sync

Hi

I am trying to use my canon 580ex, with second curtain sync.

It seems relatively straightforward in the manual but I don't seem to be getting the effect that everyone shows. The whole image appears blurred, I was hoping to have the person solid with trails behind, but the person is partially see-through.
Am I doing some thing badly wrong or is this what I should expect. I was shooting in AV mode. The flash says ETTL and I had the selection for 2nd sync on the flash slected.

I am a major beginner with my FLASH, I bought it year ago and mothballed it without really getting to grips with it.

Its just that I hoped it would be good to use this technique doing some work capturing some Kung Fu moves. I was wondering if I have misunderstood the technique and that the effect i want isn't obtainable ..is it only good with a panning technique to give a sharp subject in the frame, or stationary person with moving background.

I would very much appreciate some help .

Many thanks

JaneG

Edited on May 11, 2008 at 09:13 AM

May 11, 2008 at 08:43 AM

Jonathan H
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p.1 #2 · second curtain sync

Make sure to have the 2nd curtain sync activated in both the camera AND the flash.

If you post a sample picture along with the EXIF, it would be much easier to offer more specific advice

May 11, 2008 at 09:15 AM

Nathan67
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p.1 #3 · second curtain sync

By having the camera set to AV mode you are essentially using the flash as fill.. thus the resulting blurred photo as the flash is not strong enough to freeze the person...
I would recommend that you use a manual setting on the camera, you will need to experiment to find the aperture and shutter speed that works best.. by stopping the down the aperture you will use more flash power to freeze the action, but to get some movement in the background you will need a relatively long shutter speed.
2nd curtain flash technique works best when there are some point light sources in the background... a plain white gym wall for example will not help you very much... you need some contrast in the background to show the effect best.
As long as you have set flash to second curtain on the flash you do not have to worry about the setting on the camera.

regards, Nathan

May 11, 2008 at 09:49 AM

Nathan67
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p.1 #4 · second curtain sync

PS, by setting the camera to M, the flash will automatically expose the subject with the required amount of flash... all you have to do is find the aperture / shutter speed combo that works best in your gym. You can allways use fel or flash compensation to increase or lower the flash output if needed.
As with most things in life, practice makes perfect

May 11, 2008 at 09:53 AM

cgardner
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p.1 #5 · second curtain sync

The trick for effective use of 2nd curtain is to have a dark background to reveal the blur trail and to time the ambient exposure shutter speed so it matches the time it take the subject to cover the entire frame.

First figure out the ambient exposure. Lets say the camera is capturing a space that is 10ft wide and you want to capture a subject moving right-to-left with a blur trail, freezing them on the left side of the frame. So you first need to time them and see how long it will take for them to move the from when they enter the frame on the right to where you want to freeze the action on the left. That's your shutter speed you'll need. Next you need to find the aperture which will effectively expose the blur at that shutter speed. This works best when you there is a separate ambient light source you can aim at the subject, keeping it off the background. If the background isn't kept in the dark with the ambient light the blur trail will get lost in the background. The final step is to determine how much flash power is needed to correctly expose and freeze the subject with the flash. You also need to take flash fall-off onto the background into account. Ideally there should be open space behind the moving subject do the flash does not illuminate the background either.

So its really mostly a matter of timing the ambient exposure and controlling the shooting environment to ensure a dark, non-distracting void in the background.

Chuck

May 11, 2008 at 12:59 PM

JaneG
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p.1 #6 · second curtain sync

HI

Thanks very much people, these are very helpful points. I will try manual shooting and see if I can utilise the halls light to my advantage.

Jane

May 12, 2008 at 07:48 AM


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