Go outside and look at the angle the sun models things at mid-day. Copy that angle with your key light and what it hits will look "natural". Fill outdoors is 360° from the sky. The camera sees the 180° it faces. The closest you can get with a single direct artificial source (without bouncing) is to put the fill under/over the lens at subject chin level so it is as shadowless as possible.
If you can duplicate that baseline "normal" cause and effect of sun and sky with artificial key overlapping even fill you can then try everything else and compare with what you see in natural light and decide if it works better, or not, for the message you want the lighting to create. If you don't want "normal" then you put the lights somewhere other than your "normal" / "natural" starting baseline until it looks "right" per the goals of your shot.
I wanted to pull this thread up again to thank everyone for their suggestions for my lighting setup and to give a little update.
After using the speedlight for the past month or so, I don't know why I didn't buy one earlier. I purchased the book that BrianO suggested and I must say it is a very good read for someone just starting off with a speedlight. Especially using it on camera. With a little practice and paying attention to where I was bouncing, I have noticed my keeper rate has increased. The more I shoot, the better I am getting at blending the flash with the ambient light.
Don't get me wrong, I still love playing around with my fast glass in low light, but the speedlight has definitely been a positive addition to my gear. I'm really looking forward to the warmer weather so I can get it outside and play around with it off camera a little more.
buckeyeguy1 wrote:
I wanted to pull this thread up again to thank everyone for their suggestions for my lighting setup and to give a little update. ...After using the speedlight for the past month or so, I don't know why I didn't buy one earlier. ...I'm really looking forward to the warmer weather so I can get it outside and play around with it off camera a little more.
I'm glad to hear your are getting good results. Which flash did you get?
WRT getting outside, if you haven't already been following it you might find this thread informative:
I picked up a used SB-900 on the B/S forum. I have been using standard batteries so I have not had any issues with the "over heating" problem. But then again, I haven't been firing at 1/1.
I think I've read the first couple of pages of the forum you linked to. Yes some good information in that one.
