One Big and One Small

One big AF540 FGZ flash, and one small K7 'Pop-Up' flash

As is known here I like my outdoor flash photography, often calling on this portable light source to work with the natural lighting and create balance and reduce harsh contrast .... to get shots that wouldn't happen without it!

When my two favourite models choose to co-operate and it all comes together with the technology as well .... I'm a very happy bunny!! So I wanted to share a couple of recent shots, and as I love to promote the use of the Pentax P-TTL flash system, I'll describe the process and purpose as well ....

In this first playground shot there was bright high contrast sunlight all around, although we were in a little shady spot, and the girls were constantly in and out of shade, making any consistent exposures impossible. So I stuck the AF 540 FGZ on the camera, set High Speed Sync mode in manual exposure mode, and set a darker exposure for the ambient lighting, about 1 stop under for the distance and 0.5 stop under for the sunlit grass. This ensured that I would have the same controlled brightness on the background regardless of where the shots were taken from. Then on the flash I set +0.7 flash compensation as this was to be the main light here for the faces (they were in mild shadow).

The settings were ISO 200, f6.3, 1/200th sec ...... SMC f35-70mm







For the second shot here we were in a more dimly lit forest, although there were bright highlights behind causing distractions. I didn't have the accessory flashgun that day, so I was limited to the maximum flash sync speed of /180th sec with only the pop-up to help me. However the dimmer lighting meant that was not a problem, and I actually ended up with an ambient exposure of -1.3 stops below centre, at f6.3, 1/80th sec, ISO 100 .... SMC f35-70mm

I was closer here than in the first shot, and there was plenty of power available from the pop-up unit without any flash compensation ......





So again, Pentax flash to the rescue

Good stuff, you've certainly go this method sorted nicely

Two very nicely balanced shots, Nigel. I don't own a flashgun but when I occasionally use the built in ones they don't make this kind of difference.

Thanks Richard and Andrew .... I think often it's the case that the pop-up flash is used quickly and perhaps without much thought, and this is really the reason it is not always thought of as very effective.

Using it in P mode is often not ideal, as in lower light situations we are limited to shutter speeds that will make the background very dim unless we remember to switch to 'slow-speed sync' mode . And at the other end of the scale are the very bright conditions where the maximum sync speed of 1/180thsec will be a major limitation without the HSS capability of an accessory flash.

So really manual mode shooting with the built-in flash is the way to go, as it offers the most control ... So long as there's the time to set it up and think about your ambient and flash exposures individually!

Your competence with the flash has produced two nice shots of the Mini-Macs, Nigel! It is a skill I have yet to learn and practise. Just one suggestion - the first looks even better on my monitor after reducing the greens a bit.

Cheers.
Philip

Thanks Philip I'm sure you're right there ... Now where is the green control on the back of my flashgun ....

I tend to agree with Nigel here (!!!), not a common occurrence but there's a first time for everything!

Flash is invaluable in certain situations and like Nigel I almost always choose the manual route with mine. In fact, I prefer a fully manual flashgun, partly because I like the control and partly because you can get a powerful and flexible unit for very little money. I do own a P-TTL flash which is great with the K-3 (not good with K-5iis due to well known and documented issues with the K-5 and P-TTL flashguns), but it hardly ever gets used.

I find the flash particularly good in situations like indoor gigs, when performers use LED lights that would otherwise completely ruin a shot. Here's an example of using one in this situation:




It is definitely a skill worth learning to use flash to get natural results such as Nigel's images in this thread.

Regards
David

And I agree with David also ! ....... Nice flash photo there David, it's helped with colour balance as well.

It's worth pointing out that we can be using manual exposure mode on the camera, which is ideal for managing the ambient lighting, at the same time as using P-TTL automatic flash exposure on the flash. This is the setup I've used for my images here. In fact for the HSS shot you have to use P-TTL as this must be a measured light output. And the built-in flash is only P-TTL on the K7 , although I see in the K3 manual that you now have s 2 step manual flash power setting for the pop.up David!

So I didn't have any choice her with my two photos ...I had to use P-TTL automatic flash exposure, but that's fine .... Quick easy results, and making flash compensation adjustments is also easy,. IMO a dedicated proprietary flash system is the way to go for uktamate versatility.