Do some of the camera settings intimidate you? Do you want to learn how to develop your photography skills and learn how to use your camera effectively without always going back to the “auto” function? These challenges are for you!
This week’s challenge is: FEC - Flash Exposure Compensation
Explanation:
What the hell is FEC I hear you ask.....
FEC gives you the ability to change how much exposure your flash has in an image.
Still confused???? Let me put it another way.... You know when you take a photo with your flash and then you look at the image and see that the subject is way over bright? This is where FEC comes into play... What you do is you dial down your FEC so the effects of the flash is reduced.
You can also do this the other way.... If you take a picture and the flash is not bright enough you can wind up the FEC.
Pretty straight forward hey??
Now here is the disclaimer - While most cameras will have FEC some do not, so please forgive me. Some camera have the on the dials, while other have it in the menus. Your first task will be to see if your camera does have it and where/how it can be adjusted.
Once you figure that out you will generally see it represented in numbers like -2 -1 0 +1 +2. The number represent stops. So if you wanted to put 1 extra stop of light into the image you would dial it up to +1 and if you wanted to reduce the light by 2 stops you would dial it down to -2...
Clear as mud?
Now on with the real challenge.
This week you have to use that flash and the FEC so that while you may have used flash it is not obvious in the photo. What do I mean by this???
If you take a photo of someone outdoors your flash should be used to fill the dark areas so that they have enough light so you can see the dark bit but the image still looks natural.
Confused?
Here is an example....
You are taking a photo of someone that is standing in the shade of a tree and behind them is a bright background. You camera will try and compensate for the bright background by making the image darker, to combat this you use your flash to fill that darkness and you use your FEC to adjust how the light affects the image so it looks natural.
Your main goal is to produce a photo that has flash but it is hard to tell that you have used flash!
This will be a tough challenge so be prepared to take some knocks along the way but the trip will be worth it. :)
Here is a photo I took that used Flash to fill the shadows
Obviously I don't expect this type of quality as I was using professional strobes but the girl in the first photo was sitting in shadow and without using the idea behind FEC she would be much darker and the image would of not looked as even in exposure.. You can see the effect the fill had in the second photo.
Few Tips (optional):
Start with you FEC on 0 then take a photo, Change your FEC to -2 and take a photo, then change it to +2 and take another photo. Have a look how it affected the image.
When trying to fill in the shadows it will work best that your subject does not have a background... Why??? Its because in the photo you will see the effects of the flash and a shadow on the background. For example you would take a photo of someone on a sunset, with the sunset behind them but you wouldn't take a photo with someone standing a meter off a wall.
Another important tip - Keep your camera in Shutter priority mode and at something around 1/60 or 1/100 of a second. Don't put it in manual mode for this one as it works differently on different cameras so just to keep it simple Shutter priority mode is the way to go.
Experienced photographers who are knowledgeable in this particular setting are encouraged to offer “kind and constructive” suggestions on the posted entries. Those entering this challenge want to learn and improve.
This challenge starts Saturday, 19th and ends Wednesday, 23rd 12:00pm Central Standard Time. All photos must be taken during these dates to be considered. TAG YOUR PHOTO CSC-3 AND post your picture in this thread to receive feedback from other experienced photographers specific to this challenge.
Voting will take place Thursday, 24th and the winner will be announced 25th. The winner of the challenge will select an experienced photographer to host a new challenge. It is the winner’s option on who they want to host the next challenge; it may be someone they follow whose work they admire, or someone who is active offering suggestions on previous CSC challenges. Expect to receive constructive suggests on how to improve your skills.
How to post your photo on this link:
1) Go to your page that has the photo you wish to post.
2) Copy the “share” code in the bottom right section of that page.
3) Return to this thread and paste the code under comments
Thank you Brendan for hosting the challenge again - this should be another great challenge. :)
I noticed on my camera there are ways to effect the flash and then I thought, oh I thought good photographers don't use flash. Now I'm learning that good photographers use flash but only to use it the right way.
This will be another learning curve for me. I'm excited again!
this is great, having not explored my new camera enough but knowing its a flashy one so must have this ability I have now found it and intend on giving this a go! Thanks :)
@myhrhelper@chantal@smithak@lisjam1 Best of luck with this challenge. It sounds complicated but once you've pulled off a few shots it will become second nature to you. Don't be frightened to play with the exposure levels on your flash...unless you are really dumb like me and forget to put thngs back to a neutral position when you finish your shoot. (I get some very odd shots when I first pick up my camera for the day and shoot with the previous day's settinngs)
@swilde Sue I am going to make a list of experienced photographers who are willing to host future challenges - sometimes winners may not know who to ask so I would like a list they can go to if they wish.
oh I know where this setting is on the DSLR - I rarely use the flash but I use this setting when pictures are coming out too dark, like in shady wood or something as a way of getting more accurate colours.
I'll have to see if I can find it on my bridge camera too. I've never considered using it combined with the flash!
another couple from today, have a question about the line on my boys face, is it because the onboard flash was on the left hand side in the portrait configuration? i dont have any off camera flash capabilities.
Would I be correct in saying that with the 2 setting for the flash, there is less red eye........practised on my dog. I could be barking up the wrong tree totally of course..............????? Great to see the different results. What a great find!
@chantal Correct you are barking up the wrong tree. You can get rid of red eye by moving the flash off the same plane as the lens or use red eye reduction to some extent.
http://365project.org/jester/365/2012-05-18
Fill flash can be made to work with even the most basic set-up with a little care.
Generally, I never shoot anything without using a hotshoe flash but I shot this yesterday using a Fuji S5700 bridge camera and it's own built-in flash.
@agima oh boy - you just cranked up the difficulty - but willing to give it a go after i have read my manual : - ) Silly question is it like exposure compensation but for the flash?
Ok, so I am trying but a bit confused on what I should be looking for.
Here are 3 photo's. One is positive 1 one is -1.0 and another .02
Please tell me observations - this was taken indoors where the lighting wasn't very bright.
I'm getting differences, but feeling unsettled about what I am trying to do. And when I went to turn on my flash, I found two settings I couldn't even guess at: slow sync and rear curtain sync.
@agima Thanks Brendan, yes and I totally agree with you, i have checked back and they are both at -2, the different angles made quite a difference.
Thanks so much for this challenge, I never tend to use my flash cause i dont like the washed out look, and i had heard of this variable power thing but had never investigated if my camera could even do it let alone try it out! I love it! :)
A few more from today
Taken at the park under a big shade sail flash at -1
These two were under the tree in our back yard first one is -2 the second at -1, as my subjects are very flighty its hard to get comparisive shots in the same position!! LOL
I almost cropped this one as they spaced themselves so far apart l but i just couldn't do it!!
@tigerdreamer Yes that is getting closer. I would wind it up a fraction more. The light seems very narrow and centered towards the center and not so much on the arms,but that is more of a side point to fec.
Please comment and offer any suggestions - I am not certain if I got the desired effect.
I decided to crop out some of the plants that I thought was distracting.
Now earlier this month I took a similar picture (possibly the same frog from our pond. I didn't use a flash - (I know other settings and time of day was different) do you think the filler flash made it better? Or perhaps I just need to try this out on people.
@agima OK now it's getting even more complicated. If the arms were correctly exposed through regular exposure compensation, would the stomach have needed the fill flash?
@agima Great choice! Using flash and flash compensation is one of the areas I really need to explore and practice with. Just wish I had remembered this yesterday while taking shots against the sunset...
Oh I don't think I'm ready for selective flash fill yet, that's another lesson for me. I'm working on the basics of "how do I use it, why do I use it, when do I use it and is this right". @agima You have opened up a whole new world of flash after learning I need to put that flash away if I want to be good.
Just for clarification - the best uses of fill flash would they be indoor or outdoor, direct sun or shade, or all of them? When do you use it the most and when is it not something to bother with?
I think I have to pass on this challenge, just toooo challenging and I dont have children to photograph.....lol...is that a good enough excuse. I am looking at your photos though and reading and trying to understand....so all is not totally lost, Brendan!!!!!
@chantal - I'm struggling with this one too, but as you say at least it's food for thought and we're learning something!
I'm struggling to find something to photograph with flash and after reading some comments here, am a bit confused as to whether I've been fiddling with FEC or just exposure compensation as fiddling wit the +/- numbers didn't seem to do much to my flash photos. I think I'll probably pass on this one as time is running out!
@chantal@roachling)
I would recommend that you just try the setting on something outside just for practice on finding the setting. You can post and get critique if you want but at least you learn how so when you need it. I'm not ready for spot flash fills etc. so I'm not doing that part yet.
For me - I have a Nikon 5100, I had to make sure the flash was on first.
Then I went to the spot that had the + & - for flash. I think if you take something outside such as a plant - you will probably see a difference in bright & dimness. Perhaps go in front of something reflective to check if your flash is working. The exposure says exposure (I think) please correct me if I'm wrong cuz I'm using my best guesstimate.)
Part of my hotel room in Birmingham. I use this one for the FEC challenge because shooting at that light bar makes everything in front of it dark. My FEC was -2/3 of a stop.
I have never used the FEC feature on my camera, but it was easy to find and adjust. I don't use the flash very often, but I can see how it's a useful tool. This is a shot of my cat trying to nap. Even though she was near a sunny window, there were a bunch of shadows without the flash.
@myhrhelper heheh i think you are on the right track,. my lens is alos in the repair shop, so have to use hubbies camera which is all too much. heheh but will give it ago. Thanks
wow can see a huge difference in the cat photos............much better with the flash. Now can you let her sleep in peace hehe the flash is soo annoying, lol.
@myhrhelper You use fill when ever you have shadows you want to remove. So inside, outside, it doest matter. You use fec to help you fill the shadows so it look natural.
@northy Fantastic example and that for going to the effort of putting it all in one image
@mikehamm Good example. A good point to note in your photo is the colour difference between the light on the wall and the colour of your flash. This is a type of shot that should be avoided as due to the different colour of each of the lights. There are ways to get around this but that is off subject. :)
Just for the record this idea do fill light works best when the subject is in the midday sun as your flash units should have the same colour as the middy sun
@snipsnap Your cat may hate you now but great example.
@myhrhelper I a not sure if I should say ouch or great work.....
I see you are really starting to get the hang of this with another excellent example of how you adjust your flash exposure to remove shadows using fill light. :)
@tigerdreamer Its about being able to adjust your flash to match the environment that the flash is being used. So to some extent it is fill flash.
You can use it for other ideas but just to keep it simple and not over complicate it just think of it as fill flash. :)
Ideally what you want to do is have a high contrast subject - bright at the back and dark at the front. Then adjust your flash so the exposure at the front matches as close to the exposure at the back.
@agima - Thanks. I thought it a good example for the challenge, color balance aside as you mention. However, I do see your mention of color balance as part of the challenge. That I will keep in mind going forward.
Not sure what to think of this one. The sun was so bright that I couldn't remove the shadows entirely and with +2 it looked completely overexposed. Hmmm.
Lisa in my opinion this is good (but I'm only learning), when ever I take pic's of people with glasses there is always a glasses shadow which you were able to get rid of.
Current Time Wednesday, May 23, 2012 at 9:24:49 AM NZST
In about 8 hours the challenge ends. So anytime between 8 - 16 hours we should post top entries to vote on. @agima (I'm only letting you know since you said you wanted to know about the time zone last time.
@traeumerlein87 Well done. It is difficult to take photos of people with glasses and this is a great example of how it should be done.
1) Angle the glasses so they are not square/or reflect the flash and
2) have the glasses close to the persons face to reduce shadows.
Just another note on fill flash: When you use fill it will make everything brighter. Yes I know that I hear you say.... :)
Now if we take the above photo for example the boy has his nose and cheek in the sun... Now when you fire fill at that you brighten the shadows but you also brighten the parts that are already in the sun making these bits over exposed...... Oh of course.... Why did I think of that... :-)
Some people make the mistake of putting the subject under a tree, but the tree has the sun coming through it and hitting the subject. So when they use fill they get even brighter bits. In this situation if you don't have complete shade then it is far better to put the person/subject out in the full sun and use this technique to match the subject with the background.
You will get even colour and exposure across the subject and the final image will be more pleasing to the eye.
I took some photos on the weekend that explain this a bit better that I might publish later today if I have time.
Unlike some of the other comments I read, I saw a huge difference. When I was at -2 it was way under-exposed and +2 was way over-exposed. Setting the flash isn't really user friendly with my camera, so I got so involved in that process I forgot to set the shutter speed. Mine were taken at 1/40.
I'm a bit late to enter the challenge, but wanted to say thanks to you Brendan for your great explanations and critiques. I have learned a lot from this
I'm sorry I missed this thread - I have appreciated reading through it though and I hope I learned something to try out on my camera in my own time. Your comments and explanations were very helpful Brendan.
@agima I think I have found another part of my camera and another assist to taking better pictures. I have started to train my eyes to look for new things in my pics and new photo opps. Progress made, but lots more to learn and practice.
Thank you for a wonderful and challenging challenge.
@atrog Looks like you are brand new to 365, Welcome! For the time I've been on I have learned so much! Not sure why you got the invalid data entry but I get that when I try to upload a picture on a day that has already been selected. You can only have one pic a day with a regular account.
@myhrhelper I am! Thanks!
I'm not sure why either.
The photo posted to my profile fine, and I tagged it with the tag for this challenge, but it was when I tried to post it on this page that I got the error. I'm not sure what happened. :/
Thanks for your reply though. :)
@atrog You will some times get the error if you are trying to post more than a couple of URL or if there i something in your text that the system thinks it might be spam.
Try just posting the copied URL from you image.
Oh I did look at your image before making my judgement and I almost selected it. What was missing was some information as to how you used FEC to take the photo as it was hard to tell, but I do know from experience that the photo you took is quite difficult to do, so well done.
@agima
Interesting. I just copied the share link from the page, so who knows, but if it doesn't work next time I'll just share the URL.
Thank you. :)
and thanks! I used the FEC to adjust my in camera flash to -1.3 so there was some fill flash but it wasn't overwhelming. I actually just got my camera a week ago yesterday (Wed.) so I'm going to try to watch these challenges because I think it will be a good excuse to learn all of the functions I might not otherwise think to use.
@atrog if next time you try to enter your pic on the post and can't let me know, I can try to help too if you need. Great pic by the way - I'm excited to learn these settings since I just got my first DSLR recently and now I'm learning the settings - it is so fun to expand my capabilities!
Missed out on this one... (The weather was to nice to crawl behind the laptop to even take a minute and upload... I did you some flashy shots hehehe... O well) but guess what... next one I might be able to join in as a proud owner of my first DSLR :-))) (YAY) @agima@myhrhelper
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I noticed on my camera there are ways to effect the flash and then I thought, oh I thought good photographers don't use flash. Now I'm learning that good photographers use flash but only to use it the right way.
This will be another learning curve for me. I'm excited again!
OK, I'm ready to try it.
Congrats on the double pick. And thank you so much for all the help you have given us/me in so many different ways on this sight.
Would you be willing to be added to this list?
I'll have to see if I can find it on my bridge camera too. I've never considered using it combined with the flash!
thanks for setting another challenge!
Without:
See the comments under the first pic for more info :)
Fill flash can be made to work with even the most basic set-up with a little care.
Generally, I never shoot anything without using a hotshoe flash but I shot this yesterday using a Fuji S5700 bridge camera and it's own built-in flash.
Here are 3 photo's. One is positive 1 one is -1.0 and another .02
Please tell me observations - this was taken indoors where the lighting wasn't very bright.
Also Which setting is like a regular flash zero?
today's play? assignment?
@myhrhelper What setting did you have your camera on? i.e. Shutter priority, manual etc
@chantal
Use Shutter priority for this one.
@tigerdreamer Curtain sync will come. :) The first one needs more flash as it should be balanced with the light coming in the window.
Thanks so much for this challenge, I never tend to use my flash cause i dont like the washed out look, and i had heard of this variable power thing but had never investigated if my camera could even do it let alone try it out! I love it! :)
A few more from today
Taken at the park under a big shade sail flash at -1
I almost cropped this one as they spaced themselves so far apart l but i just couldn't do it!!
I decided to crop out some of the plants that I thought was distracting.
Now earlier this month I took a similar picture (possibly the same frog from our pond. I didn't use a flash - (I know other settings and time of day was different) do you think the filler flash made it better? Or perhaps I just need to try this out on people.
I asked on your page, but I will ask here too. Which looks more like the color your eye saw?
Just for clarification - the best uses of fill flash would they be indoor or outdoor, direct sun or shade, or all of them? When do you use it the most and when is it not something to bother with?
I'm struggling to find something to photograph with flash and after reading some comments here, am a bit confused as to whether I've been fiddling with FEC or just exposure compensation as fiddling wit the +/- numbers didn't seem to do much to my flash photos. I think I'll probably pass on this one as time is running out!
I would recommend that you just try the setting on something outside just for practice on finding the setting. You can post and get critique if you want but at least you learn how so when you need it. I'm not ready for spot flash fills etc. so I'm not doing that part yet.
For me - I have a Nikon 5100, I had to make sure the flash was on first.
Then I went to the spot that had the + & - for flash. I think if you take something outside such as a plant - you will probably see a difference in bright & dimness. Perhaps go in front of something reflective to check if your flash is working. The exposure says exposure (I think) please correct me if I'm wrong cuz I'm using my best guesstimate.)
no flash full flash full flash
- 1/3 -1/3 -2/3
-2/3 -1 -1
not sure, but i think i like the ones with full flash the most... ???
another similar experiment here: http://365project.org/northy/365/2012-05-21
Without flash -
@northy Fantastic example and that for going to the effort of putting it all in one image
@myhrhelper Looks good well done.
@mikehamm Good example. A good point to note in your photo is the colour difference between the light on the wall and the colour of your flash. This is a type of shot that should be avoided as due to the different colour of each of the lights. There are ways to get around this but that is off subject. :)
Just for the record this idea do fill light works best when the subject is in the midday sun as your flash units should have the same colour as the middy sun
@snipsnap Your cat may hate you now but great example.
I see you are really starting to get the hang of this with another excellent example of how you adjust your flash exposure to remove shadows using fill light. :)
You can use it for other ideas but just to keep it simple and not over complicate it just think of it as fill flash. :)
Ideally what you want to do is have a high contrast subject - bright at the back and dark at the front. Then adjust your flash so the exposure at the front matches as close to the exposure at the back.
Confused?
In about 8 hours the challenge ends. So anytime between 8 - 16 hours we should post top entries to vote on. @agima (I'm only letting you know since you said you wanted to know about the time zone last time.
1) Angle the glasses so they are not square/or reflect the flash and
2) have the glasses close to the persons face to reduce shadows.
Just another note on fill flash: When you use fill it will make everything brighter. Yes I know that I hear you say.... :)
Now if we take the above photo for example the boy has his nose and cheek in the sun... Now when you fire fill at that you brighten the shadows but you also brighten the parts that are already in the sun making these bits over exposed...... Oh of course.... Why did I think of that... :-)
Some people make the mistake of putting the subject under a tree, but the tree has the sun coming through it and hitting the subject. So when they use fill they get even brighter bits. In this situation if you don't have complete shade then it is far better to put the person/subject out in the full sun and use this technique to match the subject with the background.
You will get even colour and exposure across the subject and the final image will be more pleasing to the eye.
I took some photos on the weekend that explain this a bit better that I might publish later today if I have time.
Unlike some of the other comments I read, I saw a huge difference. When I was at -2 it was way under-exposed and +2 was way over-exposed. Setting the flash isn't really user friendly with my camera, so I got so involved in that process I forgot to set the shutter speed. Mine were taken at 1/40.
Thank you for a wonderful and challenging challenge.
Oh well. Maybe next time. :)
I'm not sure why either.
The photo posted to my profile fine, and I tagged it with the tag for this challenge, but it was when I tried to post it on this page that I got the error. I'm not sure what happened. :/
Thanks for your reply though. :)
Too late for official entry but feedback welcomed
Try just posting the copied URL from you image.
Oh I did look at your image before making my judgement and I almost selected it. What was missing was some information as to how you used FEC to take the photo as it was hard to tell, but I do know from experience that the photo you took is quite difficult to do, so well done.
Interesting. I just copied the share link from the page, so who knows, but if it doesn't work next time I'll just share the URL.
Thank you. :)
and thanks! I used the FEC to adjust my in camera flash to -1.3 so there was some fill flash but it wasn't overwhelming. I actually just got my camera a week ago yesterday (Wed.) so I'm going to try to watch these challenges because I think it will be a good excuse to learn all of the functions I might not otherwise think to use.
Feel free to ask questions if you need a hand.
@atrog if next time you try to enter your pic on the post and can't let me know, I can try to help too if you need. Great pic by the way - I'm excited to learn these settings since I just got my first DSLR recently and now I'm learning the settings - it is so fun to expand my capabilities!
@agima @myhrhelper