|
Paul_Y
Mar 28, 2009, 2:59 AM
Post #1 of 13
(10672 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Jan 7, 2007
Posts: 245
|
Shot this image of Morgan and Dustin for a Diablo Rock Climbing Gym brochure. Room at the top and bottom for graphics and text.
The light coming down on Morgan was from a Nikon SB-800 flash triggered at the camera wirelessly with an SU-800 commander. This was a sweet setup because I didn't have to climb back up to the light to change its intensity. I could just dial it in from the unit on the camera until I liked it.
|
|
|
|
|
pico23
Mar 29, 2009, 12:15 AM
Post #2 of 13
(10594 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Mar 14, 2003
Posts: 2378
|
Looks good to me. The lighting is spot on. Well done!
|
|
|
|
|
Paul_Y
Mar 30, 2009, 11:58 PM
Post #3 of 13
(10512 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Jan 7, 2007
Posts: 245
|
Thanks Pico,
Shot this at ISO 3200 so I could make use of the ambient light. The hardest part was getting the output of the flash low enough to not overexpose. Had to remotely change flash to manual 1/128 power and that was still too much. Next time I'll put a neutral density gel on the flash. I brough the level down in Capture NX2 using their color point tool. This is a handy feature. Allows you to make raw color/brightness changes to areas without having to make a selection with a lasso tool. It has a very gentle feather so you don't see the edge of the change.
|
|
|
|
|
ryanb
Mar 31, 2009, 1:14 AM
Post #4 of 13
(10493 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Nov 4, 2004
Posts: 832
|
I like the "hair light" ...the way the flash outline offsets the woman from the background. I might even have exposed with more flash/less ambient light to make the background darker and the climber pop more. Might have to use some kind of diffuser/reflector and a second light to pull that off (diffuse light from above and front, weaker hair light from the back).
|
|
|
|
|
pico23
Mar 31, 2009, 4:16 AM
Post #5 of 13
(10471 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Mar 14, 2003
Posts: 2378
|
ryanb wrote: I might even have exposed with more flash/less ambient light to make the background darker and the climber pop more.
I kinda agree with that, maybe changing the ambient by 1/3 stop to darken the background. Although really it looks good to me for it's intended purpose which I assume is an advertisement for the gym?
I'm impressed with ISO3200 for a brochure though, I assume it's going to be a small photo, like 4x6 or similar size, but still, 3200 is impressive if it's going to color print, a lot different than a newspaper where noise is irrelevant.
|
|
|
|
|
wes_allen
Mar 31, 2009, 11:24 PM
Post #6 of 13
(10430 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Mar 29, 2002
Posts: 549
|
Cool shot, but I think I would have dropped the ISO, bumped the flash power a bit, and used a slow shutter to bring out the ambient. You were having to drop the flash to such a low power because the ISO was so high. Generally aperture controls flash, and shutter ambient, though ISO will effect both. So, you might have been able to get about the same look with a different combo of settings based on a lower ISO. Also, the other climber is a bit of a distraction, not sure if that really adds to the image.
The radio poppers are nice, because you get that remote control aspect, but via radio, which is a bit more reliable.
Paul_Y wrote: Thanks Pico, Shot this at ISO 3200 so I could make use of the ambient light. The hardest part was getting the output of the flash low enough to not overexpose. Had to remotely change flash to manual 1/128 power and that was still too much. Next time I'll put a neutral density gel on the flash. I brough the level down in Capture NX2 using their color point tool. This is a handy feature. Allows you to make raw color/brightness changes to areas without having to make a selection with a lasso tool. It has a very gentle feather so you don't see the edge of the change.
(This post was edited by wes_allen on Mar 31, 2009, 11:25 PM)
|
|
|
|
|
Paul_Y
Apr 1, 2009, 12:53 AM
Post #7 of 13
(10397 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Jan 7, 2007
Posts: 245
|
Wes, you're assuming I had some light to play with. The 3200 ISO was a conscious decision. I was shooting handheld 70mm at a 30th f 4 while balancing on an arete. I wasn't going to drop the shutter any more than that!
The other thing in my favor was that I was shooting with a D3.
Here's a larger version of the picture. Click to enlarge if it doesn't size itself up automatically. The D3 does a wonderful job at this ISO. Good enough for the final brochure mage size anyway.
|
|
|
|
|
macblaze
Apr 1, 2009, 4:20 AM
Post #8 of 13
(10372 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Jun 23, 2005
Posts: 807
|
Nice shot. Depending on the purpose of the shot in the brochure I might be tempted to crop a bit more. If I was to but a big block of type on this shot it would quickly start to distract away fro the central focus. By cropping in a bit you would retain the feel if the image without too much additional distraction.
|
|
Attachments:
|
finalMorgan_.jpg
(95.5 KB)
|
|
|
|
|
Paul_Y
Apr 1, 2009, 1:59 PM
Post #9 of 13
(10336 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Jan 7, 2007
Posts: 245
|
Mac,
Very nice. Thank you!
Paul
|
|
|
|
|
wes_allen
Apr 1, 2009, 3:18 PM
Post #10 of 13
(10305 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Mar 29, 2002
Posts: 549
|
Yeah, I shoot with similar settings at wedding receptions or when I am running and gunning at events. It is nice to suck in the ambient, rather then the black hole look. But, for stuff that I have time to set up, I try to use lower ISO, and get the cleanest file I can. So, just more for the sake of discussion, I think I would set this up more like this. Put a small shoot through umbrella on the flash and kick it up to 1/2 power. Which should give you around ISO 200 at F4. That should really light up the background pretty well, plus make the subject pop a bit more. You will still have some light falloff, but since the flash is now lighting the subject with at least 4 stops over ambient, the slow shutter speed isn't as much an issue. You might be able to get down to as low as 1/10 or so. But, even if you keep it at 1/40, I can do a whole lot with an ISO 200 file to tweak the exposure selectively. I find that ISO 1600/3200/6400 photos can look just fine if you hit the exposure, but they tend to fall apart pretty quickly in PS, where you have a lot of room to work with on lower ISO shots. So, with a low ISO shoot, I can tweak the lighting, add contrast and sharpen it up really well. But, not so much with ISO 3200.
I love shooting with flash, since there are sooo many variables you can tweak to change things, but so many different ways to get the same look. Like a five sided teeter totter!
Paul_Y wrote: Wes, you're assuming I had some light to play with. The 3200 ISO was a conscious decision. I was shooting handheld 70mm at a 30th f 4 while balancing on an arete. I wasn't going to drop the shutter any more than that! The other thing in my favor was that I was shooting with a D3. Here's a larger version of the picture. Click to enlarge if it doesn't size itself up automatically. The D3 does a wonderful job at this ISO. Good enough for the final brochure mage size anyway. [image]http://paulhara.com/images/rockClimbingDotComImages/finalMorgan_colorPoint%20copy.jpg[/image] |
|
|
|
|
pico23
Apr 6, 2009, 8:49 PM
Post #11 of 13
(10161 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Mar 14, 2003
Posts: 2378
|
The bottom line of what Wes is getting at is that the higher the ISO on digital the better the base exposure needs to be.
All cameras are different in terms of how far off that can be. But generally as you reach the sensors realistic limits it's within 1/3 stop, and if your going to err, do it towards blowing out the highlights (but stopping short of doing so) on high ISO shorts with lots of shadow areas.
|
|
|
|
|
wes_allen
Apr 7, 2009, 6:49 PM
Post #12 of 13
(10089 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Mar 29, 2002
Posts: 549
|
Partly, but even with perfect exposure, you just can't work with a high ISO images as much as you can with a low ISO one.
pico23 wrote: The bottom line of what Wes is getting at is that the higher the ISO on digital the better the base exposure needs to be. All cameras are different in terms of how far off that can be. But generally as you reach the sensors realistic limits it's within 1/3 stop, and if your going to err, do it towards blowing out the highlights (but stopping short of doing so) on high ISO shorts with lots of shadow areas. |
|
|
|
|
Paul_Y
Apr 10, 2009, 1:22 PM
Post #13 of 13
(9986 views)
Shortcut
Registered: Jan 7, 2007
Posts: 245
|
Wes, Pico, thanks much for your input. The learning curve is not so steep when I get to learn from the experience of others. Speaking of which, I get to take a 5 day small off camera flash lighting workshop from Joe McNally this month.
http://pasoroblesworkshops.com/...orkshop-paso-robles/
|
|
|
|
|
|
