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[OM] Re: Dr. Flash reports on Will Crockett's DVD flash tutorial

Subject: [OM] Re: Dr. Flash reports on Will Crockett's DVD flash tutorial
From: Tim Hughes <timhughes@xxxxxxxx>
Date: Sat, 28 Jun 2008 22:27:12 -0700 (PDT)
>>If you find that the ambient is at f/4 then set the camera to f/5.6 to assure 
>>that the flash
will be brighter than the ambient.  Otherwise, the TTL exposure (from any 
digital camera/flash)
will likely  be wrong.  But it will likely be right if you follow the main 
light rule.<<
This is exactly like use of T series on OM for fill. 

Indoors nowdays, I still often do a similar thing, but on steroids with two or 
more flashes: One
large flash to actually provide the ambient, bounced from the ceiling or a 
nearby wall and then an
on camera flash with a large area diffuser (at least 1 sqft) for the local 
subject fill. I use a
manual aperture on camera and adjust the large flash to get a 0.75-1.5stop 
underexposure. (I use
homebuilt optical remotes ).  I then use the on camera flash, but set to plain 
auto for the fill
and an auto-aperture setting *on the flash*, set 0.5 stop or more less than the 
actual one used on
camera.  This means the autofill can adjust as I move around and I don't have 
to keep on
calculating/setting GN's etc and the background fill reduces auto accuracy 
requirements anyway.

Using the large diffuser not only softens shadows, **but reduces the inverse 
square law that
normally makes flash exposures so inaccurate, as it provides only a narrow 
distance zone of
correct exposure**.    This does require flashes with a wide range of auto 
apertures like the
supak,Metz or,FL50 etc. and also a high power one with a wide range of manual 
power settings. 
Unfortunately, the T-series are not very good for this, as they just do not 
have many auto
apertures or manual power settings.  The FL40/50/36 have a good range of auto 
apertures and manual
settings, but are expensive and relatively underpowered for bounce in a large 
room. A larger
sunpak or Metz will have a 5-6 stops range in power (128:1) and 5-6 aperture 
settings.

People often don't realize one of the advantages of an even larger diffuser 
like an umbrella is it
greatly reduces inverse square law effects, provided the subject is within ~2 
diameters of it. 
The same is even more true for ambient fill with a flash bounced off the walls 
in a room.

Tim Hughes


--- Chuck Norcutt <chucknorcutt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> I just recently bought this DVD which is a recording of Will Crockett's 
> seminar on making effective use of on-camera or portable flash units. He 
> advertises it as the "Better Flash means Better Profits" DVD but you 
> don't have to be a pro shooting for money in order to profit from this 
> tutorial.  I rather enjoyed it (as I always do his seminars) and thought 
> it was well worth the $39.  You might also get some free prints with it.
>
<https://www.shopshootsmarter.com/component/page,shop.product_details/flypage,shop.flypage_sss/product_id,150/category_id,5/manufacturer_id,0/option,com_virtuemart/Itemid,26/>
> 
> 
> He covers TTL, plus normal auto mode and manual flash usage.  He covers 
> when to use each mode and why and when not to use them and why which is 
> just as important.
> 
> In a nutshell he maintains that there is no digital TTL flash available 
> on the market that works other than as the main light which generally 
> means indoors.  When shooting TTL he recommends metering the ambient 
> light.  If you find that the ambient is at f/4 then set the camera to 
> f/5.6 to assure that the flash will be brighter than the ambient. 
> Otherwise, the TTL exposure (from any digital camera/flash) will likely 
> be wrong.  But it will likely be right if you follow the main light rule.
> 
> As you can tell from above, he maintains that no digital TTL flash works 
> properly for fill flash. (by "properly" he would include consistent good 
> behavior).  Fill flash is the role of the auto mode flash.  He also 
> maintains that almost any auto mode flash in the world will give a good 
> exposure when used at a distance of 6-9 feet.  He also maintains that, 
> while there are a few that can exceed that range by a slight amount they 
> are rare.  So don't try using auto mode outside that range.  You will 
> not be consistently successful.  That also goes a long ways to explain 
> my travails with the T-32 last week in an auditorium where 99% of what I 
> was shooting was way outside that range.  As I said, I'd have been 
> better off shooting manual.
> 
> Finally, manual flash (and focus) is for static setups.  He gave as an 
> example shooting portraits of 160 corporate managers on the golf course 
> with Gary Player.  Fixed distance, fixed setup, change subjects and 
> shoot.  Of course, Dr. Flash has no digital TTL so shoots manual in 
> almost all cases.  But now I think I understand where TTL might actually 
> be useful and also where it wont.
> 
> Note that this knocking of TTL specifically pertains to digital TTL and 
> not our much beloved film era OTF TTL.  That's gone and replaced by 
> pre-flash measurement... which is sorely affected by bright sun as is 
> infra-red TTL flash control.  Don't go there.  Doesn't work outside... 
> at least not consistently enough for Will Crockett who wants near 
> perfect exposure on JPEGs.
> 
> Dr. Flash
> 
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