I've never been a firm believer in flash; however, I have a speedlite kit on the way to try to get myself out of the habit (gotta learn how to use it though)!
I have a Canon 500d and have been having a bit of issues taking indoor photographs. I like natural lighting more than anything, but I can't seem to get a good photograph.
I usually will stay between ISO 800-1600, and my lens doesn't go past a f/3.5 aperture. With shutter speed, I will try to use about 1/60 but will get too dark of images.
Sometimes, I also have the problem when i'm in the aperture-priority mode (which I favor) where the shutter speed gets too slow to get a clear image (too much blur).
For indoor natural light I use my Canon 50mm f/1.8 and my 85mm 1.8, it does an awesome job. The wider aperture is the best thing I have found. On another note I am terrible with my speedlite :( So I cannot wait to hear tips from those who use it!
Now from my point of view (being someone that uses all types of flash a lot), I always find it interesting when people say they dont like flash... What they are really say in my opinion is they dont know how to use flash!..
I can see why you are getting crappy pictures as the camera have does not like high ISO and the image will be very noisy.
You have two choices
1) put my light into the room through the use of any available light (available light also means flash, window, lights, etc)
2) get a faster lens. If you get a bigger F stop then you can get better pictures in low light, just remember with that there is a trade of that your DOF will be less.
When I shoot indoor at events I will use TV most most of the time, even when I have flash on board. The reason being is that the only factor you can control is how you want to capture the action as people are generally moving around. i.e. do you want them blurred or sharp...
The camera will take care of the rest.
If you use AV with flash, the camera will try and expose the entire image so the shutter will stay open to try and capture the dark areas that the flash didnt get.
When my shutter speed is too low in AP I look at my A, S& iso settings, switch to manual and plug them in, then make sure my SS is at the slowest 1/60, and bump my iso & aperture accordingly. I often find indoors & night that I don't have to adjust my A or ISO, just go over to manual and put that SS at 1/60. My camera seems to overcompensate the shutter speed for low light in AP.
Hope that makes sense, typing on iPod with one thumb is not so awesome!
@kaseycarroll hi kasey, as a quick tip:
i don't know exactly what you are doing, so i will just throw a common solution. it's better to bounce the flash in the ceiling or white wall. Bounce in a wall usually results in a more pleasant light than the ceiling (which most of the times results in shadows in the eyes of the people). But all of those, used as a fill flash are better than a shaky photo with no flash.
I am in the same position as you. Flash can be difficult. If the light output is too strong, it kills most of the ambient light and the pics look unnatural. If the flash is too strong, get it in manual mode and reduce the flash power (or get physically farther from the subject you are shooting and zoom in to compensate) and bump up ISO and the shutter speed to 1/80 or something.
The ideal is not to have the impression the pic was taken with flash. It means when this happens that the flash is so soft it only helps the camera to register the image still. Also with flash on (even with less power), you can easily use lower shutter speed if necessary and still get a sharp image.
Other hint is to color your flash. If the flash light is not matching with the light you have in your scene, then for example put some yellow cellophane in front of it and see what happens!
And @agima is right. It is common to hear
"i don't like to shoot with flash. I preffer natural light"
I have found that most of this statements are from people who don't know flash, fear it and leave it be. As it is with people who don't know Photoshop and translate that with "i preffer the chalenge of doing it right on camera" (or: i am sticking to what i know, where i feel safe).
I have very little experience with using a flash and only have an in-camera flash at the moment. I have enjoyed playing around with different light sources though and would agree with @2sweetladybugs I try to use the widest aperture I can achieve, which on my lenses is F2.8. If that isn't enough and I shoot stationary object, I use a tripod (I only have a small table top one at the moment). Not saying that my indoor pictures are great, but I often like the quality of candlelight for example. Learning to use flash is on my to-do list though!!
@gabrielklee I am not sure yellow gel is the correct method. :)
They are called CTO gels and they change the temperature of the strobe to match the rest of the image. The are are referred to as in cuts. i.e. full cut of CTO, half cut of CTO. etc etc
Just a quick comment on if the extra light kills the shot and looks unnatural. It will only look weird if the temperature of the light is different to the rest of the image.
there are times when you want the light to be stronger than the ambient light but you still dont want it looking like a aftifical light.
For example:
The first image has a big kick arse flash on it and so does the second image. The first image was taken so the light matches the image where the second was taken to make the subject stand out more.
A tripod is your friend :-) My D70 is now permanently attached to my gorilla pod. As long as I'm not getting my kids or cat who move too fast I am able to catch all the ambient light I need.
Having said that I hang off every word @agima says waiting for the day I can afford my speedlite or equiv system - his photos are incredible and his use and knowledge of lighting is awesome!
@agima yes, i agree. I was suggesting a yellow cellophane as a way to expand the possibilities, as a curiosity, not a proper stand alone solution. I know CTO are way better. Don't have them yet (would love too).
I also agree with you about the stronger flash output. I said that because i had a feeling that it was more the kind of stuff @kaseycarroll was after: to make the most of the natural light, without getting blurred pictures. :)
I find that using a compact mirror to reflect the light from an on-camera flash so it bounces off the wall behind me gets a better (softer, more even lighting) result than using the flash alone. There is a commercial product that does this called a Lightscoop, but I can't afford one. Still, I'm quite jealous that you're getting a speedlight.
Talking about reflexes: you can bounce light from a window with a white cardboard or a mirror and get a more even light from all sides. And all that without flash. A tripod is also handy.
Slightly OT, but if you can't afford the camera manufacturer's speedlight you might try an aftermarket brand. I have a Nissin Di866 for my Nikon camera and I really like it. At the time is was rated equivalent to the top end Nikon speedlight. And, at half the price of the Nikon, it has turned out to be a good value.
Anyway, don't be afraid to check out the aftermarket brands.
I got a CHEAP speedlight this past year. It was $30 which is HUNDREDS of dollars less than the regular. I love it. I'd rather use that than have grainy off colored photos that are pain to edit. That is something I discovered on accident last night. Anyway, that is my opinion. Get your speedlight and bounce it off the walls to get the correct exposure
@agima@gabrielklee You both take amazing photos and know your stuff. I am still learing and had a similar question so thought I would add it here. I am thinking about buying a flash for my d5000, what would you recommend or think I would get the most use out of for basic use? And...when shooting at night, inside with no flash I am getting a red tint on everything...do you know why this is happening? My guess is that I have a lot of red tones in the room that are refelcting onto the image, but I really don't know. Thanks.
Kasey, I fall into the "don't know how to use the flash correctly" category. Brendan has helped me tremendously. I suggest you follow him. He has provided wonderful information on using the flash. I still am working on it (really just use fill flash so far but I am losing my fear of it). Another 365 member suggested to me the 50mm f/1.8 also. I love it! It is great in low lighting and stopping action without a flash but there is still more grain than I would like.
For those that say they don't like flash, I'm simply amazed. There are obviously times when a natural light photo is preferred, but if you are shooting indoors and lack of light is a factor, there is no reason not to grab a speedlite. Bouncing off the ceiling provides even lighting that looks very natural. I rarely take photos without flash, even outdoors. Those who are against flash may have only had experience with the popup flash, which I can understand as I would not use that either.
@agima i agree...if you hate flash it means you don't know how to use it to compliment your images. I am about to take a lighting class in school and i couldn't be more excited to learn how all of it works together. :)
@kaseycarroll this is an indoor portrait that I had to do for a school assignment using available light only, no flash allowed.
EXIF Info (with tripod on Manual mode):
Exposure:0.0333 sec (1/30)
Aperture:f/5.3
ISO Speed:400
Focal Length:80 mm
Windows are your friend if you don't want to use a flash or don't have an off-camera option. I like aperture mode as well, but if you use Manual you can control everything and experiment. Using a really high ISO in low light is not the best solution for portraits - the digital noise can get overwhelming. Experiment with lower ISOs, largest aperture possible, and start with your shutter at about 1/125 and slow it down with each shot to find the sweet spot. :)
So, let's see. I am not a Nikon user, so i went out to do a little research.
Your camera cannot alone command flashes wirelessly.
So your options are:
• use the flash only mounted on hotshoe.
• buy a radio transmitter or a nikon SU-800 (it's used to command flash at distance). see here: http://www.dpreview.com/news/2005/11/1/nikonremotefl
• buy a nikon flash with an integrated command support: SB-800 or SB-900. (they are the most expensive ones, but they are also the best and the professional standard in flash photography). So when mounted in the hotshoe, you can command other flash units to fire at distance. Which means you will also have to buy other cheaper nikon flashes to place at distance. (this may be your best option)
I love indoor flash - i use everything from the old baseball bat sunpak 611;s to vivitar 285's to nikon sb800's. they are great tools, and can be a lot of fun building add ons for them - grids, snoots, reflectors, etc. NOTE the older flashes are not voltage controlled and can COOK your cameras, go with cheap younguo rf 602 / 603 recievers or the sort. one downfall at least with nikon wireless shooting is they can be confused if there is concert or stage lighting or red lights sometimes, so the wireless triggers help. also super clamps, mounts, duct tape... oh wait, i sound like i might have an addiction hehe i suggest shoot a LOT and play around in manual mode and just see what comes about.
thanks everyone! my speedlite hasn't arrived yet--so i've just been having trouble achieving that natural light indoors
stacy thank you for those tips they were really helpful!
but i was wondering.. have any of you achieved great results from the ON CAMERA POP-UP FLASH? without any triggers/speedlites/etc. etc.
solely the camera and the pop-up flash.
@kaseycarroll I don't have a DSLR at all, only a Canon PowerShot (and before that, a good few years old Nikon Coolpix with no manual settings available), and I avoid flash like the plague. I hate it, personally. So I hae no flash, even external to use. And mine's very basic, but here's what I do. :)
My "set up" is a backdrop on the wall across from my bathroom mirror. It's a vanity mirror, so I make sure to have only fluorescents, since incandescents can give photographs a horrible yellowish tone. I get self portraits like this with this set up:
The light reflects off of the mirror and the flat black backdrop absorbs the light and creates nice, soft shadows and there's no glare. :) For macro, I have a makeshift light box made out of white poster board and I can get this:
The white of the poster board reflects the light and when a macro object in in the center of the box, the light reflects off of all surfaces evenly and because it's a white reflection, there's no blue or yellow light tones. :)
i need to add that its not that i hate all flash! i just hate the flash on my camera, its the standard one which came attached to the camera, i much prefer to use a tripod and use available light as i find this flash just rubbish. there is no way i could afford a decent flash so i just try and make do.
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Now from my point of view (being someone that uses all types of flash a lot), I always find it interesting when people say they dont like flash... What they are really say in my opinion is they dont know how to use flash!..
I can see why you are getting crappy pictures as the camera have does not like high ISO and the image will be very noisy.
You have two choices
1) put my light into the room through the use of any available light (available light also means flash, window, lights, etc)
2) get a faster lens. If you get a bigger F stop then you can get better pictures in low light, just remember with that there is a trade of that your DOF will be less.
When I shoot indoor at events I will use TV most most of the time, even when I have flash on board. The reason being is that the only factor you can control is how you want to capture the action as people are generally moving around. i.e. do you want them blurred or sharp...
The camera will take care of the rest.
If you use AV with flash, the camera will try and expose the entire image so the shutter will stay open to try and capture the dark areas that the flash didnt get.
Hope that makes sense, typing on iPod with one thumb is not so awesome!
If you look through my project you will see a heap of examples about lighting.
It might give you some ideas and feel free to ask questions against my photos and I can explain how I did some of my lighting.
i don't know exactly what you are doing, so i will just throw a common solution. it's better to bounce the flash in the ceiling or white wall. Bounce in a wall usually results in a more pleasant light than the ceiling (which most of the times results in shadows in the eyes of the people). But all of those, used as a fill flash are better than a shaky photo with no flash.
I am in the same position as you. Flash can be difficult. If the light output is too strong, it kills most of the ambient light and the pics look unnatural. If the flash is too strong, get it in manual mode and reduce the flash power (or get physically farther from the subject you are shooting and zoom in to compensate) and bump up ISO and the shutter speed to 1/80 or something.
The ideal is not to have the impression the pic was taken with flash. It means when this happens that the flash is so soft it only helps the camera to register the image still. Also with flash on (even with less power), you can easily use lower shutter speed if necessary and still get a sharp image.
Other hint is to color your flash. If the flash light is not matching with the light you have in your scene, then for example put some yellow cellophane in front of it and see what happens!
And @agima is right. It is common to hear
"i don't like to shoot with flash. I preffer natural light"
I have found that most of this statements are from people who don't know flash, fear it and leave it be. As it is with people who don't know Photoshop and translate that with "i preffer the chalenge of doing it right on camera" (or: i am sticking to what i know, where i feel safe).
They are called CTO gels and they change the temperature of the strobe to match the rest of the image. The are are referred to as in cuts. i.e. full cut of CTO, half cut of CTO. etc etc
Just a quick comment on if the extra light kills the shot and looks unnatural. It will only look weird if the temperature of the light is different to the rest of the image.
there are times when you want the light to be stronger than the ambient light but you still dont want it looking like a aftifical light.
For example:
The first image has a big kick arse flash on it and so does the second image. The first image was taken so the light matches the image where the second was taken to make the subject stand out more.
Having said that I hang off every word @agima says waiting for the day I can afford my speedlite or equiv system - his photos are incredible and his use and knowledge of lighting is awesome!
I also agree with you about the stronger flash output. I said that because i had a feeling that it was more the kind of stuff @kaseycarroll was after: to make the most of the natural light, without getting blurred pictures. :)
Anyway, don't be afraid to check out the aftermarket brands.
@kaseycarroll this is an indoor portrait that I had to do for a school assignment using available light only, no flash allowed.
EXIF Info (with tripod on Manual mode):
Exposure:0.0333 sec (1/30)
Aperture:f/5.3
ISO Speed:400
Focal Length:80 mm
Windows are your friend if you don't want to use a flash or don't have an off-camera option. I like aperture mode as well, but if you use Manual you can control everything and experiment. Using a really high ISO in low light is not the best solution for portraits - the digital noise can get overwhelming. Experiment with lower ISOs, largest aperture possible, and start with your shutter at about 1/125 and slow it down with each shot to find the sweet spot. :)
Hey, thanks Heather.
So, let's see. I am not a Nikon user, so i went out to do a little research.
Your camera cannot alone command flashes wirelessly.
So your options are:
• use the flash only mounted on hotshoe.
• buy a radio transmitter or a nikon SU-800 (it's used to command flash at distance). see here: http://www.dpreview.com/news/2005/11/1/nikonremotefl
• buy a nikon flash with an integrated command support: SB-800 or SB-900. (they are the most expensive ones, but they are also the best and the professional standard in flash photography). So when mounted in the hotshoe, you can command other flash units to fire at distance. Which means you will also have to buy other cheaper nikon flashes to place at distance. (this may be your best option)
I don't know aftermarket brands. Although you can find a starter's kit very cheap here: http://improvephotography.com/2065/jims-off-camera-lighting-gear-recommendations-a-shopping-list/
To finish: if you want to get the most out of your flash: go with the SB900.
If you want a simpler but robust flash to use: SB700 or SB600.
About the red tint... Must be the white balance. You can be using a daylight setting to shoot indoors at night, for instance.
But hey, i am not used to nikon equipment. I might have said something wrong here. If so, sorry for that.
stacy thank you for those tips they were really helpful!
but i was wondering.. have any of you achieved great results from the ON CAMERA POP-UP FLASH? without any triggers/speedlites/etc. etc.
solely the camera and the pop-up flash.
My "set up" is a backdrop on the wall across from my bathroom mirror. It's a vanity mirror, so I make sure to have only fluorescents, since incandescents can give photographs a horrible yellowish tone. I get self portraits like this with this set up:
The light reflects off of the mirror and the flat black backdrop absorbs the light and creates nice, soft shadows and there's no glare. :) For macro, I have a makeshift light box made out of white poster board and I can get this:
The white of the poster board reflects the light and when a macro object in in the center of the box, the light reflects off of all surfaces evenly and because it's a white reflection, there's no blue or yellow light tones. :)