One of my goals over the next year is to learn as much as I can about outdoor lighting. How to use strobes to overpower the sun, strobe and camera settings, so and and so forth. Can someone point me to some online resources that can help me learn all there is to learn. I’ve searched a little but have not found any thorough tutorials on the subject. In the past I have merely used on camera flash for fill combined with reflectors but I really want to dive into off camera strobe work (ie outdoor portraits, senior photography). I shoot full manual and do quite a bit of strobe work in the studio but am rather clueless when taking strobes outdoors. Not in a hurry and have a lot to learn but just trying to find some good reading material on the subject. I'll also need to figure out if I should just get a AB1600 / Vagabond, multiple Speedlights or something like the portable Elinchrom Setups. Thanks!!!
The concepts and rationale for light placement are no different outdoors than indoors. To match the range of the scene to the sensor and put flattering light on a face requires putting the back of the subject to the sun, the face in the ambient fill from the sky. Boosting the fill from the sky with one flash (its too dark otherwise) then creating the highlight pattern over the combined sky+flash fill with a second "key" light. So you wind up with a two light key over even fill just as indoors. The difference is the sun is your hair and backlight and does most of the work for the fill and key lights.
The wonderfully soft light of the northern sky is a huge asset outdoors if one understands how to utilize it to full advantage. Like kayaking its easier to paddle downstream with the flow of the "shady" side of ambient light than trying to paddle against the current and battle direct sun with flash.
I recently put together a tutorial which explains the cause and effect concepts of lighting : LINK to PDF
Thanks for the quick replies. I love the work I see from some photographers that is shot at mid day in harsh light yet looks like it was taken at the "golden hour". Not that this is ideal but I want to learn this type of control. Lets say you are shooting at mid day in god awefull harsh light how would you accomplish this. Obviously sync speed is a limiting factor. So you go to manual, set you sync speed to the max and then how do you alter aperture and strobe power relative to your ambient reading. I'm probably going to end up getting either an AB/Vagabond or Elincrhom Quadra setup so lets assume speedlights /ettl are not an option. How do you meter this type of scenario and set your strobes accordingly to light your subject yet overpower the harsh light to produce a nice exposure where you can't tell the shot was taken at mid day. This is the type of specific tutorial I am looking for. Thanks!
The problem of dark eyes is due to lack of KEY light in eyes because the brow is shading it.
The solution is to raise the face and eyes INTO THE KEY LIGHT, not add fill which will raise the shadows and highlights at the same time (fill hits both). That isn't practical in direct sun which is why we put the back of the subject to the sun and shoot into the shady side of the ambient.
Watch the eyes. They will also be shaded by the brow in the open shade, but there you can lfit the chin and get the same KEY light on the cheeks and in the eyes. Bring along a ladder so you can raise your shooting position after raising the face into the skylight.
Putting the subject's back to the sun with the face completely in the shade allows the flash to independently lift the shaded side. That is how flash reduces contrast to fit the sensor. It is the only way flash can reduce contrast.
But the first flash you add will create highlights over the sky fill, so by functional definition it becomes the key light on the face and should be positioned accordingly above the face. The parts of the face not lit by the flash remain in the sky fill which is dark because of the short range of the sensor. To lighten the shadows you'll need a second flash for fill to supplement the sky fill. So in concept its similar to lighting a face indoors with key and fill.
Thanks. Positioning of lights and understanding fill flash is not what I need to figure out as I have that under control. What I need to understand is the relationship of using off camera strobes (not speedlights where ettl comes into play) and how to alter my aperture or shutter speed setting as compared to the ambient reading (whatever that might be) to overpower the sun yet light my subject to achieve the look I’m after. Maybe this is confusing as I’m not trying to understand the placement of lights for main , hair or fill or how to light a subject in general but rather I’m trying to get a grasp of how to control the ambient lighting with strobes outdoors. Here is an example that may make more sense. Let say I am taking a portrait on the beach at mid day yet want to make it look like it was taken an hour before dark. Can someone spoon feed me on how I would do this after you have taken your basic ambient reading. After this reading is taken would I stop down the aperture from the ambient reading to darken the background while at the same time set the strobe to the specific aperture I was looking for and the shutter speed set to the sync speed. I need to understand the relationship of altering strobe power and aperture relative to the ambient reading to control less than desirable lighting situations. Thanks!
Just after my last post I did a little searching and this is actually along the lines of what I was talking about. Just need to find a lot more reference material along these lines.
Thanks again and sorry if my original post was somewhat confusing as to the type of "lighting control" I'm trying to better understand with regards to controlling ambient.
Your starting baseline for normal exposure in sunlight is "Sunny 16" or f/16 @ 1/ISO.
For a camera with an x-sync of 1/250th with manual flash you'll be maxed on the shutter at f/11 at ISO 100 for a normally exposed background. If you were to put the subject's back to the sun and meter the flash at same f/11 setting you'd get a seamless match on the front of the subject.
The shady side of the subject is about three stops less than the sunny side, or f/4 when the sunny side meters f/11 @ 1/125th @ ISO 100. So to get to f//11 from the baseline of f/4 sky fill on the shaded face you need to add 3 stops more light with the flash. The flash you add creates highlights over the sky fill so technically its a key light not fill. The parts of the face the flash doesn't hit will still be sky fill only, about 3 stops darker than the highlights you create on the face with the flash. To make the shadows lighter you'd need to add a second flash, near the camera, for fill just like indoors.
To get the background darker than normal (day as night) you need to cut ambient exposure. If using conventional flash at x-sync you'd have no option except closing the aperture more or adding .30 ND for every stop darker you want to make the background.
Let's say you want the background 3 stops darker than normal. First add .90 ND filter to the lens on top of the f/11 @ 1/250th normal exposure exposure. The .90 ND will also cut the flash exposure by 3 stops also so you'll need to raise flash power until it meters f/32 (3 stops more than the original f/11 matching reading) get back to a normally exposed foreground against the - 3 stop background.
- or -
Set the shutter at 1/250th and the aperture you want for DOF and then keep adding ND until high noon looks like 10PM or as dark as you want it. Next you hand your subject a white towel. Crank up the flash power in front until you see the towel clip in the camera warning, then back off the flash a bit until the clipping disappears.
Just about everything is a value judgement so you will need to rely more on how it looks than trying to paint by numbers. After you get the look you want by eye then break out the meter and record the readings to give you a blue print for repeating the set up next time.
Hot shoe flash:
With hot shoe flash in high speed mode select the desired aperture for DOF and then adjust shutter speed to get the background as dark as you want. But the subject's back to the sun hand them a white towel and turn on the flash in ETTL mode. Increase FEC until the towel clips then back it off one click. Since flash power is limited in high speed mode it works better at wide apertures where the flash power goes further. Click the WWW button and look at the end of the Canon section for a high speed flash tutorial.
Thanks Chuck. This seems to be a different approach than the technique in the links above or I may very well be misunderstanding. It appears that he takes an ambient reading and sets his off camera strobe accordingly to match from an aperture standpoint then changes his shutter speed (within sync limits) to control ambient in the background or any other area not affected by flash to create a particular effect.
Tom RC wrote:
Thanks Chuck. This seems to be a different approach than the technique in the links above or I may very well be misunderstanding. It appears that he takes an ambient reading and sets his off camera strobe accordingly to match from an aperture standpoint then changes his shutter speed (within sync limits) to control ambient in the background or any other area not affected by flash to create a particular effect.
Tom
Conceptually I think its easier to get the dark background the tone you want it first, then add the flash until the foreground is normal, but either way you wind up at the same place.
Using manual flash in bright sun you run out of shutter speed really quick due to the camera x-sync limit. At x/sync of 1/250th the f/11 aperture needed for normal exposure may have too much distracting background detail). Stopping down the lens beyond f/11 starts to reduce IQ due to diffraction which is why I mentioned the ND approach.
For example if you want to shoot at f/4 (f/11 normal baseline minus 3 stops) and make the background -3 stops darker than normal you'd need to set the shutter at 1/250th (x-sync) and add 6 stops of ND (.30 x 6 = 1.80)
I just use high speed flash with my 580ex outdoors. Much simpler
I'm all about HSS and ettl off camera, particularly with the new PW flex units. I just doubt the 580's have enough umphhhh in really bright situations where you need to really alter the ambient conditions. Thanks again Chuck and to the others for the input. Mastering flash outdoors is the next aspect of photography I need to master. I actually hate flash photography and love super fast primes but I still need a better grasp of it.
The 580ex have plenty of power in at typical portrait distance if you use wide apertures with those super fast primes you love to compensate for the drop in power. (Sunny 16 = 1/8000th @ f/2)
Instead of doubting based on guessing try some testing in the back yard and you might be surprised
Tom,
I've used QFlash and 580EX in sunny situations.
The 580EX has the light required if you can keep it realitively close. The QFlash has the disadvantage of no HSS.
I finally fell for the Mini and Flex because I want to use HSS in bright sun and my STE2 takes too much care.
I have a session tomorrow and will probably use the Flex/mini for some of the shots.
I really like HSS and minus Exposure Compensation to control the background.
HSS with the mini and flex is awesome. Hadn't really had a chance to use it until today when I did a quick test. Let's me shoot more wide open than you normally could in full sun.
I used to just look for open shade areas but this opens up possibilities...
Thanks, I am assuming the flex unit can hook up to a standard studio strobe via sync cord even though you would not have ettl/HSS capabilities?? The only gripe I have read about the new PW's is that possibly they could have been made a tad more robust in that some have had the foot on the flex break.....several times. Might just have to sell my PW Plus units and try out a set for use in the studio with regular strobes and outdoors with a 580!
Also, what is a good (will not fly away in the wind) modifier for a 580EX? I like shoot through umbrellas but if I don't have an assistant with me (my wife of parent of the subject) the umbrellas....well.....you know what happens when the wind picks up. Sounds like a lot of people like the little 28x28 Westcot units. THanks!
Outdoors if you face the subject towards the north sky it provides wrap around light the flashes (you ideally should use two for full control) just need to supplement it.
Outdoors the skylight wraps and softens the shadows and the effect of larger flash modifiers is seen more in the skin highlights, which will be smoother (less specular on the high points of the face), and the catchlights with will get larger because they are the reflection of the modifiers.
If you try a test with direct flash, then add modifiers of increasing size you will be able to see how soft the key light is and realize what the sky contributes in terms of diffusion and that smaller modifiers can be used outdoors vs what is needed indoors. Somewhere between bare flash and an umbrella you'll find the balance of results and logistical convenience that works for you. In the case of 580ex flashes in high speed mode direct flash may be the only practical choice because of power. An modifiers will cut power 2-3 stops vs direct. But direct flash is nothing to fear if one learns the roles of fill and key and how best to position the lights. For example I learned flash from Monte Zucker using two direct flashes indoors at wedding receptions. On a cause and effect level its simply a matter of controlling modeling of the features with flattering placement of the key light and the perceptual "softness" the pattern by using more or less neutral fill as the foundation of the lighting ratio. If trying to get by with one flash the pattern can be controlled with position of the off camera light but not the fill and overall perceptual "softness" in the resulting photo.
