Posting 3 photos tonight, all SOOC. Pulled the Canon Speedlight flash out because parents-to-be wedding in 2 weeks and photographer is not in the budget. So guess who's taking pics!!! And you guys know I'm all about outdoors and natural light, so this flash stuff is a stretch for me. My goal is to work with the flash for the next 2 weeks and get as much help and critique as possible! Be harsh!!!
So I've messed with the output of the flash to get familiar with using and setting the different "strengths". What I don't like is that the lighting seems harsh, not warm. Maybe I can change that in LR or PS, but wanted to start with critique request from SOOC pics. Please excuse the Halloween decorations in the background. None of these are posted for composition. Working on lighting at this point.
sweet capture! can't blame him for closing his eyes!
Sorry I have no advice about the flash, I prefer natural light too. Like you said, you just don't want harsh light and shadows, which is what my step-daughter got from a professional photographer and I was very disappointed with all of the pictures.
I have looked at all three of the photos here and not really sure what you mean about flash at 45 degree angle, but what you need to do is probably bounce the flash. Angle the flash upwards and bounce it off a piece of white card or painting canvas to soften the light. http://digital-photography-school.com/bounce-flash-secrets-bouncing-way-better-photography/
There are lots of hints on Google and the above may be of help but the light is not good on these shots.
Are the photos you are going to take indoors? If so you need more natural light too. good luck.
i cant help much as i choose to never use it...i guess experimenting with the available light is the key for me...i find direct flash is too harsh so the idea of bouncing it sounds like a good idea...good luck with your shoot ..
First, Henry is a darling Beagle! What a handsome dog, and obviously a good sport about being your practice model.
Thanks for the generous compliment on my Pug picture yesterday. I'm very much in the learning stages of studio photography so really can't offer any usable advice but I can tell you what I did for the pug's picture. I used two light stands and a home-made diffuser (a sheet of the white package material, an idea picked up from the reading I've been doing on the subject. I'd like to own a couple of soft boxes but don't want to spend the money.) There's a huge error in the pug picture in that the color of the lighting is different on the two sides. That's because I broke one of my incandescent photo bulbs and had to use a CFL which affected the white balance differently. Flash was not involved in the pug picture. One thing I use when using my on-camera flash is flash diffuser. Google 'flash diffuser' for ideas. Good luck with your wedding preparations.
November 7th, 2014
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Sorry I have no advice about the flash, I prefer natural light too. Like you said, you just don't want harsh light and shadows, which is what my step-daughter got from a professional photographer and I was very disappointed with all of the pictures.
There are lots of hints on Google and the above may be of help but the light is not good on these shots.
Are the photos you are going to take indoors? If so you need more natural light too. good luck.
Thanks for the generous compliment on my Pug picture yesterday. I'm very much in the learning stages of studio photography so really can't offer any usable advice but I can tell you what I did for the pug's picture. I used two light stands and a home-made diffuser (a sheet of the white package material, an idea picked up from the reading I've been doing on the subject. I'd like to own a couple of soft boxes but don't want to spend the money.) There's a huge error in the pug picture in that the color of the lighting is different on the two sides. That's because I broke one of my incandescent photo bulbs and had to use a CFL which affected the white balance differently. Flash was not involved in the pug picture. One thing I use when using my on-camera flash is flash diffuser. Google 'flash diffuser' for ideas. Good luck with your wedding preparations.