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Pump me full of flash photogrpahy!

Don
Posted 28/08/2010 - 15:53 - Helpful Comment Link
I use my flash and my camera BOTH in manual mode 95% of the time.

I use radio slaves and off camera dedicated pentax cable kits as well.

occasionally aperture priority, and auto flash, or p-ttl.

my wife uses the wireless p-ttl

we both get results.

when using the flash on manual, it helps to think of the flash as a second light source.
you got the ambient lights as one (tripod helps) light source.
you decide which one will be your main light source, and which one will be your fill.

if I want the ambient to be fill, I set my camera up to slightly underexpose for that light, then set up my flash and dial it in for a proper exposure on my subject.
the wedding shot above was done that way.

if I want my main light to be the flash, I set my aperture and shutter on the camera to severly underexpose the ambient light then set up my flash and any reflectors to create the lighting effect I want on the subject.
that is what I did with the roses above, (my living room was a little cluttered, so I made it go away.)..
Fired many shots. Didn't kill anything.
Edited by Don: 28/08/2010 - 15:54
Anvh
Posted 28/08/2010 - 16:14 - Helpful Comment Link
ElRazur wrote:
Are you saying I should set the camera to Manual mode (and not the flash) right?

Yes the Flash to P-TTL and the camera to Manual.

If you've an idea what you're doing than this will give you quite a lot of control and insight what's going on and the P-TTL would make sure your subject is correctly expose automatically.

If you want to use Av, Tv or any other auto mode on the camera I would suggest using a fixed ISO or else the camera will change that and the shots can than vary quite a bit. An ISO of 200 is a good starting point but if the flash needs to work too hard you can go to 400 or higher.
Stefan
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ElRazur
Posted 28/08/2010 - 19:43 Link
Thank you guys. I have taken on board your inputs, If I have further questions I shall be posting them here.
Galoot
Posted 28/08/2010 - 20:19 Link
I'll give you £10 for the flash ?

Just joking, all of the advice above is good, just play with it a lot and become more confident.

Flash isn't easy but it can be a good tool.

Let's see the pictures !
Mannesty
Posted 29/08/2010 - 17:00 Link
Galoot said it in his first post, but if you really want to master Pentax flash on a DSLR, get Mattmatic's (PU Forum moderator) eBook from here.
Peter E Smith - flickr Photostream
puma
Posted 31/08/2010 - 21:30 Link
if you are worred try one of these Opteka SB-1 Mini Universal Studio Soft Box Flash Diffuser they work great and i dont like using a flash but they work fine hope this helps you
PPG link

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