DSLRUsers.com

I've been reading strobist for a while, just getting basic tips and sitting in awe at what simple techniques can achieve. Like most of us here, I don't often get the chance to actually try many of them out but after reading a thread on another forum I thought I'd post up an example as well. Most of the time a flash is attached to my camera, its" just basic fill or bounce which works well enough when you're in a hurry.

Had a few minutes yesterday during an Athletics Carnival while events were being marshaled to do a quick portrait. Crappy overcast skies, had the wide angle on the 1Ds so tried this...


Canon EOS-1Ds + 17-40 at 17mm ISO100 f/8 1/320s

Basically the camera in Av, 550EX set to E-TTL, me lying belly down on the grass and the front of the lens a few CM from where her hands are. Took a quick chimp, thought her skin contrasted well against the sky but apart from the angle, 'twas still pretty uninspiring.

Chucked the camera into manual and metered the sky and underexposed that 2/3rds of a stop, kept the 550EX in E-TTL for fill and voila...


Canon EOS-1Ds + 17-40 at 17mm ISO100 f/8 1/1250s

and the final image....


Canon EOS-1Ds + 17-40 at 17mm ISO100 f/8 1/1250s

Small shift in colour temp to cool down the sky for a blueish tinge though I guess that could have been achieved with a gel, did have an offshoe cord but luckily when you're shooting that wide on full frame and that close to the subject in portrait, the flash is far enough "off shoe" to get the light falling nicely.

Great work Ronnie, I'm a big fan of DH @ Strobist, and while I haven't had many chances to put the stuff into pratice, I am thinking more about light, and how I can control it in my shooting. I like what you've done here, something different and unusual, the sky and flash really combine to make the scene more dynamic.

Ron - the final image is one of inspiration, contemplation and awe. A wonderful shot. Excellent work. Thanks for sharing your techniques.

that looks very good
I have also read that if you set white balance to tungsten and use the yellow/orange gel that comes with the flash (not sure if does with the canon but it does with the SB800) to the settings you mentioned you will get the blue/dark skies with the person warmed back to the correct temp straight out of camera

Thats great stuff there, shows how much you can actually depend on camera's meter for creativity, that is pretty much not really...


It looks like you had a dirty sensor on the first two pics...

Very nice final image Looks like you nailed the shot and effect you were after.

Nice effect with dramatic skies etc... subject is well lighted..

have been trying this technique for sometime but my off camera flash decides to malfunction OR the model (usually friends or family) run away because I take too long setting up

Your horizon is a little off...

Tim wrote:Your horizon is a little off...

Sssssshhhh

That looks great. I have got to try that.

Excuse my ignorance but isnt the flash sync on the 1Ds 1/250th, how did you manage to shoot @ 1/1250th and 1/320th?

Kept the flash in good olde High Speed Sync mode - drains the batts but worth it

Excellent result in the end. A very dramatic portrait

Man you have more dust bunnies hopping around inside that camera of yours than I have ever seen. Might be time for a clean. Much easier than cloning in Photoshop!