Flash in Sports Photography

[Jonnyboy]

Hi John, you commented on my photo 'skate 1' in photosig and mentioned that it would be better to underexpose the background when when using flash on my subject, could you explain to me how. Also I take a lot of photos at indoor skate parks and when using flash it seems very hit and miss with the results. Is there a method to this type of situation e.g. bright strip lighting in the ceiling but overall low light. Thanks .

[Photo-John]

Jon-
It sounds to me like you're ready to step up to manual exposure. I can't remember what equipment you're using, but manual exposure of flash and ambient light leaves very little room for error.

There are essentially two separate exposures happening when you use a flash. One is the ambient exposure that you see in the background, and the other is the flash exposure that lights your subject. In full auto your camera makes all the decisions based on how its been programmed. With subjects like indoor skateparks, that programming might not be such a good fit. By switching to manual camera and manual flash exposure you take control and decide how all elements of your image are lit. With my Canon cameras do something in-between and set my camera to full manual exposure control and leave my flash on E-TTL. That way I don't have to figure out a flash exposure but I still have full control of my background light.

When I meter a scene to do flash photography, I ignore the flash and just pay attention to my shutter speed and aperture. Pick the shutter speed you want and then an aperture that gives you about 1/2-1 stop of underexposure. Then check your flash to see if those exposure settings will allow your flash to do its job. My Canon 550EX flash has an LCD indicator that tells me how far the flash output will reach at a given aperture setting. If I don't have enough power, I open up my aperture to get more flash reach.

One basic rule to keep in mid with flash lighting is that your shutter speed controls your background or ambient light, and your aperture controls your flash exposure. With manual flash you can fine-tune your exposure by changing your aperture. With auto flashes the flash just compensates by adjusting the output. If you want to get really anal have 100% control, start shooting with your flash set to manual. I used to do that a lot. You set your exposure, check how much reach you have with the flash at your chosen aperture setting, and then adjust your flash output or your aperture accordingly. It takes a little mental juggling, but it's foolproof.

There's your first lesson in flash exposure. I hope it wasn't too confusing. Let us know if you have more questions. And post some skate photos. There are a bunch of mountain bike photographers here and I want some variety! You might also want to take a look at the Studio and Lighting forum as the problems you're dealing with a really lighting and exposure problems.

[Jonnyboy]

Wow, ok lets see if I understand. What I should do is meter the situation and choose my shutter speed. Normally at an indoor skate park you'd probably get a reading of 1/15th @ f4, so I'd set the camera manually at 1/15th @f2.8. Then I get lost. I have a Canon 420 flash and it gives no exposure settings on the gun so I have no idea what power it's firing at on the selected aperture. Also as, if I stated, the shutter is low at 1/15th or even 1/8th at F2.8 how would I underexpose by 1/2 a stop. Will I be able to work out how far this flashgun will fire or is it out of my control?

Jon-
It sounds to me like you're ready to step up to manual exposure. I can't remember what equipment you're using, but manual exposure of flash and ambient light leaves very little room for error.

There are essentially two separate exposures happening when you use a flash. One is the ambient exposure that you see in the background, and the other is the flash exposure that lights your subject. In full auto your camera makes all the decisions based on how its been programmed. With subjects like indoor skateparks, that programming might not be such a good fit. By switching to manual camera and manual flash exposure you take control and decide how all elements of your image are lit. With my Canon cameras do something in-between and set my camera to full manual exposure control and leave my flash on E-TTL. That way I don't have to figure out a flash exposure but I still have full control of my background light.

When I meter a scene to do flash photography, I ignore the flash and just pay attention to my shutter speed and aperture. Pick the shutter speed you want and then an aperture that gives you about 1/2-1 stop of underexposure. Then check your flash to see if those exposure settings will allow your flash to do its job. My Canon 550EX flash has an LCD indicator that tells me how far the flash output will reach at a given aperture setting. If I don't have enough power, I open up my aperture to get more flash reach.

One basic rule to keep in mid with flash lighting is that your shutter speed controls your background or ambient light, and your aperture controls your flash exposure. With manual flash you can fine-tune your exposure by changing your aperture. With auto flashes the flash just compensates by adjusting the output. If you want to get really anal have 100% control, start shooting with your flash set to manual. I used to do that a lot. You set your exposure, check how much reach you have with the flash at your chosen aperture setting, and then adjust your flash output or your aperture accordingly. It takes a little mental juggling, but it's foolproof.

There's your first lesson in flash exposure. I hope it wasn't too confusing. Let us know if you have more questions. And post some skate photos. There are a bunch of mountain bike photographers here and I want some variety! You might also want to take a look at the Studio and Lighting forum as the problems you're dealing with a really lighting and exposure problems.

[Photo-John]

Normally at an indoor skate park you'd probably get a reading of 1/15th @ f4, so I'd set the camera manually at 1/15th @f2.8.

Nope. Set the camera to 1/15th @ f/5.6. Or better yet, 1/8th @ f/8. Slower is funner! Remember, the larger the number, the smaller the aperture, and the less light makes it to your film or sensor.

You won't have any control with the Canon 420. But if you set up your exposure as if you didn't have a flash, and then let your flash take care of your subject with its E-TTL metering, you should be fine. The important thing is to set up your exposure manually, and underexpose a little. Sometimes it's very nice to have a polarizer or neutral density filter to help slow down your exposure. Since the slowest ISO setting on my EOS 1D is 200, I'm almost always using a polarizer if I'm working outdoors.

[Ouvinen]

As you're running a dslr setup, you can really see the results. And you can adjust the flash exposure compensation from the camera too. (Unless you have a 300D) If there's a reasonable amount of ambient light the ttl will tend to use the flash as a fill only. I've been shooting at +1 FEC a lot to freeze the action. It does depend on your flash too I guess..

[Jonnyboy]

Thanks for the advice, just for the record I'm shooting with a Canon D60 and Canon 420 if anyone else has anymore advice, thanks again.

As you're running a dslr setup, you can really see the results. And you can adjust the flash exposure compensation from the camera too. (Unless you have a 300D) If there's a reasonable amount of ambient light the ttl will tend to use the flash as a fill only. I've been shooting at +1 FEC a lot to freeze the action. It does depend on your flash too I guess..

[FREELANCE2004]

I USE A SUNPAK 544,WITH A HOT SHOE ADAPTER.SET AT SHUTTER PRIORITY.SET AT HIGH SYNC,PROBABLY125,OR 250,SET FLASH TO AUTO AT 5.6.LET CAMERA PICK APERATURE.SO.125 SHUTTER,544 FLASH,SHUTTER PRIORITY.IT WILL WORK EVERYTIME,I PROMISE.THIS FLASH IS AMAZING.IT WILL LIGHT UP A CONCERT HALL,AND HAS A AWSOME BOTTOM END ALSO/FILL/.
FREELANCE1031@AOL.COM

[MotionBoy]

I use a Canon film set up with a 540EZ flash on the camera or a Vivitar 280hv on the Pocketwizards.
When I shoot the flash I generally shoot at fully manual. However there are times that I let the TTL help out.
I generally meter the ambiant light, and the flash. Then I decide what I want the shot to look like and adjust the power of the flash down or up, and the exposure to what I feel will make the shot I am looking for.
My best suggestion is not to do the same thing all the time when you are learning. Keep messing with different techniques, you will learn a lot more if you experiment.

[tadrscin]

Nothing like reviving an old thread. I understand how to meter for the background and use the flash to light the subject. If I understand it correctly, the Canon ETTL uses the set focus point to determine what the subject is. Is that correct? Also, could you explain why the shutter controls the background and is this only if you're using ETTL instead of manual? If I set the exposure manually to underexpose the background by say 1 stop, how does the range of possible shutter/aperture combos effect the flash output? Does it just come down to what the reach of the flash is at any given aperture? I understand that since the flash duration is faster than any shutter speed I have, only the aperture changing will have any effect on the flash. If my objective is to pan a rider for example and I decide that 1/30 is a good shutter speed for that, then it would seem that I'm locked into whatever aperture that will give me the underexposed background that I'm going for. At that point I would have to let the ETTL determine the flash output or set it manually. You mentioned that if the flash can't do the job to open up the aperture in which case I'm now brightening up the background which I don't want to do. Assuming I can't move the flash I guess my only option is to live with it or get a better flash? I'm getting some wireless flash triggers so I'll be playing with them soon and will have to use the flashes on manual and learn how to do that.

Jon-
It sounds to me like you're ready to step up to manual exposure. I can't remember what equipment you're using, but manual exposure of flash and ambient light leaves very little room for error.

There are essentially two separate exposures happening when you use a flash. One is the ambient exposure that you see in the background, and the other is the flash exposure that lights your subject. In full auto your camera makes all the decisions based on how its been programmed. With subjects like indoor skateparks, that programming might not be such a good fit. By switching to manual camera and manual flash exposure you take control and decide how all elements of your image are lit. With my Canon cameras do something in-between and set my camera to full manual exposure control and leave my flash on E-TTL. That way I don't have to figure out a flash exposure but I still have full control of my background light.

When I meter a scene to do flash photography, I ignore the flash and just pay attention to my shutter speed and aperture. Pick the shutter speed you want and then an aperture that gives you about 1/2-1 stop of underexposure. Then check your flash to see if those exposure settings will allow your flash to do its job. My Canon 550EX flash has an LCD indicator that tells me how far the flash output will reach at a given aperture setting. If I don't have enough power, I open up my aperture to get more flash reach.

One basic rule to keep in mid with flash lighting is that your shutter speed controls your background or ambient light, and your aperture controls your flash exposure. With manual flash you can fine-tune your exposure by changing your aperture. With auto flashes the flash just compensates by adjusting the output. If you want to get really anal have 100% control, start shooting with your flash set to manual. I used to do that a lot. You set your exposure, check how much reach you have with the flash at your chosen aperture setting, and then adjust your flash output or your aperture accordingly. It takes a little mental juggling, but it's foolproof.

There's your first lesson in flash exposure. I hope it wasn't too confusing. Let us know if you have more questions. And post some skate photos. There are a bunch of mountain bike photographers here and I want some variety! You might also want to take a look at the Studio and Lighting forum as the problems you're dealing with a really lighting and exposure problems.