A Winter Wonderland

Kids and artificial snow. What a combination. These three photos ran front page, below the fold, in the December 15 edition of the Journal. You can view a pdf of this issue by clicking here.

From a photographer's point of view, it was another "whole cloth" image with me scurrying about, looking for something, ANYTHING, that would capture the the viewer's attention long enough for them to read about the upcoming toy drive by the Belmont Fire Department. It turns out that the mountain of artificial snow was a gold mine for cute photos.

One thing that surprised me was the bottom photo of Madison. In my mad dash to make the photo, I resorted to a lighting modifier I never use: the Diffusion Dome that was included with the SB-800. Granted, it is not a particularly effective light modifier, but I will concede it has its place. Similar domes are made by Stoffen for a wide variety of flashes.

To my knowledge, Nikon is the only company that routinely includes this accessory with its high-end flashes. When used, the beam angle should be set to the widest level of disbursement, and the head tilted up to the 60 degree position. This does two things: It allows light to bounce forward and above onto the ceiling, and increases the apparent size of the light source. This gives a slightly better wrap around the shadow edges, and when used indoors allows for some light to bounce off any nearby walls. Probably the most important improvement is the elevating of the light source above the axis of the lens. Not as much as a Gary Fong Cloud Dome, but certainly higher that a direct, straight-on flash position and way more that the camera's built-in.

I admit that all these modifications to the light are relatively minor, but when taken together, produce a nicer photo than I had a right to expect. One thing is for sure: no light landed on the subject without being redirected, in some way, by the dome.

A closer examination of the main photo may give hints to why using the Dome worked so well. The shot was made at very close range using an 11-16mm Tokina wide angle lens. The camera, a D7000, was set to 1/60, 5.6, ISO 1600. The slower shutter speed allowed some of the light from the spotlight (seen in the upper right hand corner) helped to highlight Madison's hair. Notice too, that her movement caused the hair to blur, a necessary trade-off if I was to get that splash of light from behind her. Her face remains sharp because it was illuminated only by the brief burst of light provided by the flash.

The shot of Madison was one of the last ones taken that evening. Other lighting techniques were used earlier, with varying degrees of success. 

This photo was made by bouncing an on-camera flash onto the wall of the firehouse behind me. The light is extremely even and the image full of detail. I was a little surprised that my single, on-camera flash could provide such even lighting. Note too, the bit of highlight on the edges of the Santa suit coming from the spotlight illuminating the area.

This photo, taken early in the evening, combined an on-camera Commander flash with an off-camera Remote mounted on a monopod held high overhead. A close examination of Laurel's face shows the tell-tale nose shadow created by the key-light/fill light combination. Unfortunately, shadows from a multiple light arrangement come back, screaming, when you examine the young boy in the background. His outstretched arm has two distinct shadows: one from my elevated Key light, and the other from the spotlight behind me. When dragging the shutter (increasing the exposure time to allow the ambient light to contribute to the overall illumination), shadows created by the ambient light can be seen right along side those created by the flash key light.

I wanted to include this photo because it shows that the ambient can affect the overall appearance of the photo in some very subtle ways. This shot was made with the dome equipped on-camera flash, but the spotlight was behind me, not in front as it was in the first image. The snow looks a little flat, probably because both the ambient and the flash are providing front light. The subject to camera distance was considerably longer than the first shot, so the light is much closer to the axis of the lens. The photo looks a bit flat with no "twinkle" to the snow.

Kids and a mountain of artificial snow. Life doesn't get much better for them, or for me.

Flash Guide Numbers

Arthur "Weegie" Fellig

When we left our intrepid hero, he was struggling to make sense out of a non-automated flash that didn't provide a non-through the lens (TTL) or an  iTTL exposure control option. His mind was reeling with thoughts of diminished light intensity over unknown distances, the Inverse Square Law, ISO sensitivity settings, and the unfathomability of measuring a burst of light that would last less than a 1/1000th of a second.

Guide numbers to the rescue!

The guide number has been relegated to the status of "arcane", but once upon a time, it was the only way photographers could get reasonably close approximations of correct flash exposures. And until somebody got the idea to put an adjustable dial as a reminder, photographers had to tape this valuable information onto the backs of their flashes, or commit the data to memory. In fact, I have it on best authority that press photographers of yesteryear set their Speed Graphic shutters to 1/200 of a second, their apertures to F 16, and their distance scales to 10 feet. So adjusted, the photographer just had to stand about 10 feet from the subject, insert a flashbulb into the flashgun, and make a shot that would be properly exposed and in focus. Any modest variations in distance would be within the lens' depth of field, resulting in a reasonably sharp photo most of the time.

The Guide Number for a given ISO/ASA value brought together the two factors that governed flash power, flash to subject distance, and aperture setting, and combined them into a relatively simple formula:

Guide Number = Distance X Aperture

Establishing Guide Numbers: In come cases, flash and speedlight manufactures will suggest guide numbers for the products, providing one number for each popular ISO/ASA setting. However, most of these numbers assume that you'll be photographing indoors with a 10 foot ceiling and light colored walls. When working outdoors, you'll find that relying on these numbers will result in significant underexposure. This means that you'll need to determine your own guide numbers if you plan to work outside.

For these base-line exposures, I set a Nikon D70 camera in the manual mode to 1/500 of a second, ISO 200, and Flash White Balance. The Nikon SB-800 speedlight was set to 1/4 power with a beam spread of 35 mm. It was mounted on a light stand 10 feet from where I stood. I made these photos outdoors to simulate the how the SB-800 would behave outdoors where there were no walls or ceilings to reflect additional light onto the subject. These "selfies" were made with a Tokina 12-24 F 4.0 held at arm's length.

As you can see, this early morning sequence of photos was taken at one-stop increments.  Several things become apparent. First, there is an optimal aperture setting for photos taken with a flash-to-subject distance of 10 feet is probably F 8.0. (I chose this slightly underexposed image to prevent blocking of the highlights). Second, the direct lighting from the speedlight produces some very harsh shadows and lots of specular highlights (glare). Lastly, flash on the main subject (my face) does have an impact on objects in the background, as you can see by the pillars that are behind me. As I opened up my aperture, the sky would brighten accordingly.

Now For The Magic: Through some mathematical quirk*, you can calculate the guide number by multiplying the Distance (10 feet) by the best Aperture Setting (8.0) to get a Guide Number of 80for this specific combination of flash output, beam angle, and camera ISO. In use, you simply divide the guide number by the flash-to-subject distance to determine the proper aperture. For example: For a flash distance of 20 feet:

80(Guide Number)/20 (Distance) = 4.0 (Aperture Setting) 

Ambient Light: The existing, or ambient, light was not a factor in the initial series of photos. In fact, the 1/500 of a second exposure time was chosen to minimize any influence it would have on the foreground exposures. When when you start utilizing the background as part of the overall composition of your image, the background exposure becomes more important. Remember, the aperture controls the flash exposure, and must be set first and left alone. The exposure time controls the ambient light, which in most cases, will be the background. This you'll do with the shutter speed.

In this second series of photos, I left the aperture set to F 8.0 and lengthened the exposure time in one stop increments. Notice that the background gets lighter as the exposure time gets longer, exactly what you'd expect. However, when the exposure time reaches 1/30 of a second, you'll see that my face is starting to get lighter. At this point, the ambient light is now strong enough to add to the light provided by the flash, giving me a lighter foreground (face). This illustrates some of the problems you'll encounter whenever you try to match ambient with supplemental flash. A simple solution is to minimize the ambient's influence on the foreground in any way you can.

1/125 of a second, F 5.6, ISO 200, bounced flash at full power.

For this last shot, I stood in the alcove of my hotel's entrance, effectively blocking all of the natural ambient lighting. I bounced the flash off of the walls and ceiling and had to both increase my flash output to 100% and narrow the beam angle to 105mm to compensate for the light loss whenever bounce flash is used. I made the shot, called it good, and left for breakfast.

On viewing the image, I was bothered by how artificial it looked. Then it occurred to me: The soft and even bounce flash didn't look right when compared to the relatively contrasty morning light. The prominent background shadows don't match those in the foreground, something I hadn't thought about at the time.

Determining you own custom guide number can be an interesting exercise in understanding how flash works. But in researching this post, I learning something more profound when I examined that last image. Obtaining a properly exposed image is only half the battle. The continuity of lighting, or put another way its believability, is the finishing touch that can make, or break, the photo.

*It has something to do with the square root of two.

Ambient Light Carries The Day

Oh Boy, Oh Boy! I get to photograph inside a real fire house! With real fire fighters. Dancing fire fighters!

Huh?

The photo was to be a pre-event for an upcoming Fireman's Ball and Fund Raiser. When I got the word, I went into high gear, hoping to do some Joe McNally, big room lighting.

All Keyed Up: I saw Zack Arias use a silver umbrella in a rather novel way: Instead of opening it fully, he'd open it half way so it looked more like a cone than a dome. He would then choke up on the umbrella shaft so that the flash was actually deep inside the cone. This gave a narrow cylinder of light, wider than a grid spot, but narrower than a soft box. This would allow me to aim the light directly at my subjects with minimal spill onto the background. In theory, this would give me full control over my foreground lighting, since there would be no spill to worry about. If I wanted something lit, I'd have to light it.

Photographers Plan. The Gods Laugh: For nearly two weeks, e-mails flew back and forth, trying and re-trying to secure a location and some willing subjects. I made the decision to run with a "Princess At The Ball" theme, and had intended to pose two firemen helping a firewoman, dressed to the nines, emerge from a fire engine. I thought the idea of a woman having two possible dance partners would provide some visual interest. I assumed it would be easier to get to off-duty firemen to pose in the shot, since there would be more of them available. I even went so far as to fax this concept sketch to my Fire Department liaison. Plans were made for a 10:00 am shoot so that Cissie could join me.

Days pass. Then the wheels started to fall off.

Pot Hole #1: "We can't find female firefighters. Can we do two men?" I respond, "Wives, sweethearts, almost anybody will do."

Pot Hole #2: "We located the fiancé of a firefighter. Unfortunately, she's a teacher and would only be available after 4:00."  I respond, "I'll move the date and the time to something more convenient."

Pot Hole #3: "We have two women, but only one man." I respond, "We can just reverse the roles illustrated in my sketch. Now we'll have two ladies helping a fireman out of the fire engine."

Pot Hole #4: "I am down to a single female, and we'll need to make the shot at the administration substation where she works. I can have an antique fire engine available for your use." I respond, "That will work. I'll see you there."

I arrived at 4:03 pm, planning to begin photographing at 5:00 sharp, for no more than ten minutes. it turns out that this is where the two antique fire truck are stored. My female subject, a fire inspector, is getting dressed. Two fire engines inside the station, some ambient light, but workable.

With nearly an hour to set up, I start putting my lighting solution together. Key Light is a Adorama Li-on radio control flash, set to Group A. A second Li-on, designated Group B, serves as an Accent Light to illuminate the Station Banner in the background. Two SB-800s are placed to serve as kicklights from behind. I wasn't happy with the direction the photo was taking until I dropped the shutter speed down to 1/30 of a second. The background came alive with a large highlight on the floor behind my dancers provided by the windows (not the flash) in the back wall.

Pot Hole #5: Since this was a regional effort, I was asked to avoid showing any references to a specific city in the photo. Because the  fire engine on the left was marked "Burlingame", I had to take a lower shooting angle so that it wouldn't show. Then the shooting schedule was moved up because my subject had to leave at 4:45. I could have used those additional minutes, but deadlines are deadline, so I started shooting.

It quickly became obvious that the banner light was a little too "hot", but when I lowered the output of this  Group B light, the image wasn't improved. Still, the brilliant hair light (camera right) manage to brighten up my dancers without causing an excessive amount of lens flair. I had a number of usable shots, but this one had good expression and my dancer's left leg clearly defined.

After I showed my subjects some of the preliminary images, I turned around to see that several of my subjects' office mates were happily recording the event on their iPhones. When I showed them our progress, they too were pleased with the results.

At the last minute, I decided to make a few shots without Group B, knowing that the overhead banner would be darkened and therefore, less recognizable. As it turned out, these photos were lit with only one light because the (camera right) hair light, configured as an optical slave, couldn't detect my key light. The shots did emphasize how much the ambient light was adding to the photo.

One might argue that the shot could have been made using only the ambient light. After all, I could have arranged for the garage doors behind me to be opened. But there is still one point to remember: Without that additional flash, I would lose my ability to create a shadow on my subject, which is necessary to give the face a three-dimensional quality. In this enlargement, you can sense from the shadows under my subject's chin and nose that I'm looking at a real face. This low contrast lighting is more flattering and nearly all faces, so if it makes your subjects look better, why do it? The image isn't as crisp as I would have liked, but it was made at 1/30 of a second, and the subjects were moving.

For me, the take-away from the assignment is to get the ambient lighting right before adding my flashes. I think I was a little too quick to place speedlights where I thought they would help the image. Maybe then I would have had  a better idea of what areas of the image need additional light, and which areas I should have left alone.

Update: When the photo was printed, nearly all of the background and foreground was cropped out to make room for two additional photos and their captions. Admittedly, most of the spirit was retained. Perhaps I was showing too much limb.

I would love to return to the station and attempt to right the wrongs made during my first attempt. More likely, I'll keep those lessons in mind for the next time I must make a photo under similar conditions.

To Flash Or Not To Flash...

I was showing my friend a collection of some photos I had taken for the Journal. She paged through the samples, and stopped at two that I had taken and placed on facing pages. This was not an accident, I explained, as I had imagined that I could casually comment that one shot was taken with available light, while the other with the judicious use of an on-camera accessory flash. At this point, she asked, “How do you know when to use flash?”

This is an interesting question. While I might have answered “I use flash when the light levels are too low”, this is really no longer true, since the current crop of cameras is capable of insanely high ISO ratings. In theory, there aren’t many environments where a high ISO couldn't produce a usable image. There must be some other issues governing if, or when, one should pull out a speed light. I believe that the addition of a flash can completely change the appearance of a photo, allowing the photographer to direct the viewer’s attention to important areas in the photograph. I am therefore more likely to utilize a flash or two in my photographs than not.

I often find myself alone in my approach, since it appears that most photographers assume that there will always be enough available light to produce a proper exposure. This may be so, but relying on what is available puts you at the mercy of your lighting environment. Harsh, ceiling mounted light sources will create dark shadows devoid of detail.

It boils down to two basic questions: Is flash permitted, and if so, how will it improve the overall appearance of the image?

Permission To Flash: Let’s dispense with permissions. There are times when flash is inappropriate. Indoor stage performances are a universal no-no, especially when animals are involved. Frequent bursts of light will distract both the performers and the rest of the audience, so the best advice I can give is when in doubt, Don't. In other instances, particularly museums, exposure to bright lights could potentially accelerate the deterioration of the displays, so consider museums as absolute no-flash territory.

There will be some exceptions. The obligatory “picket fence” or “handshake” photos are fair game for flash work since the subjects expect it, and more importantly, the photos must turn out. I can’t say that I have never blown a handshake, but I have had some close calls where the image squeaked by through to the grace of post processing. Now, when I enter a new venue, I ask myself, “If I had to take a handshake photo, where would I stand?” If I can find a position with a nice bounce surface behind me and an appropriate background, I’ll remember it for possible use later on.

If flash is permitted, I must now consider whether flash will help, or hurt. In some instances, the available light will be satisfactory both in appearance and quantity. This is why my first test shot is usually an aperture priority available light shot. I have occasionally encountered professionally lit venues where the existing light was perfectly fine.

Once the decision is made to “flash”, the next decision is how it will contribute to the finished photo. Flash can contribute as a Key Light, a Fill Light, or an Accent Light.

Key	Produces the shadows that give the photo a three –dimensional appearance.	Appropriate when ambient is relatively even. It adds “snap” to cloudy-bright outdoor photography.
Fill	Provides details in shadow areas. Remember fill light will add to the ambient light, so overexposed highlights will sometimes occur.	Appropriate when the existing light produces dark shadows. Think fill flash on a sunny day.
Accent	Applied when you want light in a specific region of the photograph to draw the viewer’s attention.	When used as a background light, be sure the exposure compliments the key light exposure. When used as a “kicker”, use a gobo* to minimize lens flare.

Outdoor Flash Key Lighting: Under bright sunlit conditions, you’ll need lots and LOTS of light to overpower the sun. If you apply the “Sunny Sixteen Rule” to a possible outdoor shooting situation, you’ll know that on a sunny day, if you use an ISO of 200 and a shutter speed of 1/200 of a second, your shooting aperture will be F 16. With most speed lights, you’ll need a flash to subject distance of about five feet, which isn’t always easy to accomplish.

It is easier to use a key light flash if the ambient levels are less than "full sunlight". This shot was made in the early evening. The performer is essentially in the shadow of several buildings and has no direct sunlight illuminating him. If you look at his white shirt, you can still see some detail in the shadows. Light was provided by an 800 w/s Norman powerpack powering a flash head placed on a light stand 12 feet in the air and securely lashed to a flag pole 20 feet from the subjects. Exposure was 6.3 @ 1/125 of a second, ISO 200.

Outdoor Fill Lighting: Whenever you attempt to  balance flash with ambient, you have to consider the contribution the fill light will make to the overall exposure of your subject. When photographing for a newspaper, one should try to keep the contrast between the highlights and the shadows to a minimum. Deep shadows ultimately become large blobs of black on the printed page. Fill light will go a long way in cutting the contrast. But be careful: the addition of fill light not only brightens the shadows but also adds the the brightness of you highlights. Over-filling the shadows often results in overexposed or "blown" highlights.

You can avoid the blown highlights by underexposing your subject slightly and allowing the fill light "take up the slack". In this photo, I decreased the metered exposure by about 2/3 of a stop before apply a TTL adjusted at my normal +2/3 stop. The shot, incidentally, was done at very close range using a wide angle lens. Keeping things level minimizes the disturbing effects of perspective distortion.

Accent Lighting: Accents can be added to provide additional detail in the background. You have a little more freedom about coverage, just a puddle of light to add some detail to the image. Certainly, we see accent lighting and accept that perfectly even lighting is not only difficult to create, but just a little boring.

In this case, I used my usual Zumbrella for the foreground lighting. I noticed that the light fell off quickly, due in part to the angle of the wall. I placed a second remote SB-800 on a nearby staircase and aimed it directly at the painting, perpendicular to the surface. I didn't have a grid at the time, relying on a narrow beam angle adjustment to contain the light. It wasn't entirely successful because there is a definite hot spot below the center of the painting. If I had the time I could have fixed this, but with dinner guests just minutes away, my timely exit was probably more appreciated.

*Gobo is short for “Go Between Light”. They shield the lens from direct light coming toward the camera.

Bon Odori 2017

Photo #1: Bon Odori shot from 2010: 1/100th of a second, F 4.0, ISO 3200.

I have a soft spot for Bon Odori ("Bon", and contraction of Obon, and "Dori" the Japanese word for dance), the celebration of remembrance held at the Buddhist Temple here in San Mateo. I first photographed the event in 2010, submitting this photo of two cute girls talking to their Grandfather (Photo #1). I scored a two-fer: The shot ran on the front page of the Journal, and the Grandfather turned out to be the cousin of a close family friend.

I've always been drawn to the youngest participants when dressed in traditional clothing. Perhaps the basic premise of Obon, a celebration of one's ancestors, is an example of different cultures honoring the late members of their families. The folk dances of Bon Odori provide a way to celebrate relatives who are no longer with us, and to re-affirm their importance to family life today. All ages participated, with many grandparents lovingly guiding their young grandchildren through the concentric circles of dancers, moving the rhythms of tradition folk music.

Ambient Light: My first published photo captured an odd collection of ambient light found when shots are made at twilight. In this shot, you can see both the washed out sky in the background and the soft, directionless light coming from above. Shooting at a high ISO, proper exposure was achieved, but lighting is flat, and the colors lack saturation.

Bon Odori 2017

Lighting In 2017: A couple of years ago, I started using speedlights to give a "purer" color of light, and to extend my shooting time past dusk. This was the shot I submitted, as I liked the expression and the context provided by the older, and taller, dancers in the background.

Lately, I've been bouncing several speedlights off of a convenient white wall of a building adjacent to the open area where the dances occur. But my giant softbox come at a price: I can only photography the dancers as they walk/dance in front of me, from camera left to camera right. Most of the time, my shots would be "broadside" shots in profile, and the dances seldom turned in place, briefly giving me a head-on shot.

 

Missing Context: This photo would have been a contender had there been a fan showing. The facial expression isn't as strong as the one at the top of the page, but it's still a pretty good shot.

The infrequent and random turning of the dancers limited the opportunities to capture a face-on image, and the evening ambient light made for slower focus lock-on. I was using a Fuji X-T1 with a 56mm F 1.2 lens, and still had some trouble locking on. I am still struggling to find a happy medium between single servo vs. continuous, and face recognition vs. single spot. So far, I haven't found a Fuji setting that is as responsive as single-servo central spot focusing of my Nikons, but I still lean towards the Fuji, if for no other reason that the equipment is lighter. I'm confident that when I find that happy medium, my Nikons will be carried less and less often.

Considering the infrequency of a face-on shot, I pressed the shutter release at every opportunity. However, I was positioned between two enormous (and virtual!) softboxes created by these two bounced flashes, which gave a gorgeous light which rendered clean, bright colors. Flesh tones were well rendered, too.

 

Dusk Goes To Twilight:  Working in fading light causes some problems. As the light dims, the backgrounds, normally lit only by ambient light, become noticeably darker. Shadows darken, too. You can see in photo that the depth of the folds of my subject's gown define very dark shadows. The shot is saved by the simple act of my young subject looking slightly over my head.


Working under a variety of conditions is essential if one is going to develop a variety of tools to help a photographer create better lighting solutions. While I'm not disappointed with my results, I far from ecstatic about my submission. But you can't always orchestrate your subjects and their surrounds, so you learn to play every shot "where it lays".

Oh Wall, Oh Sweet, Oh Lovely Wall!*

Warning: Much of what is done in with speedlights in the field is only made possible by the instant preview feature available with digital cameras. There will be exposure adjustments made on the fly, resulting in some unexpected and disappointing first tries.  iTTL will get you to third base. With some fine tuning, you'll score a home run.

When I'm on assignment, I generally try to make two photos with two different viewpoints: A visually interesting shot for possible placement on the front page, and one with lots of local participants for the Community section on Page 18. For the former, I usually follow the old rule of the Four B's: Babes, Babies, Beasts, or Blood. Include one or more in a photo and you have it made.

I was at the Obon festival in the Buddhist Temple here in San Mateo, hoping to find an interesting shot that might make page 18, or with some luck, the front page. In the first shot, I found two sister dressed in beautiful kimonos. After introducing myself to their mother, I had to decide where to place them. You see, the Buddhist Temple courtyard has walls on three sides, so the prevailing light would be high overhead blue sky. However, since it was late in the afternoon, one white west-facing wall was acting like a giant reflector, so I positioned my subjects in front of this convenient, soft, light source. 

ISO 640, 1/2500, F 2.8

It took three shots to coax a smile from the younger sister, but the results, minus the fellow in the background, made for a nice shot. Incidentally, if you look closely at the fans, you'll find them slightly out of focus. Blame that on too much "shallow depth of field" enthusiasm!

ISO 800, 1/800 @ F 2.8

Ambient Light With Fill: It was twilight when the Bon-Odori, the dance done at the conclusion of the ceremony, started. I decided to use the wall behind me as  a bounce surface for a shoe-mounted SB-900 with a converted SD-8 battery pack attached for additional juice, as a lot of power (light) is diverted when bounce flash is used, especially outdoors. And when using High Speed Sync (HSS), there's even less. There was just enough light to add some twinkle in my subject's eyes, but not much else.

1/320, F 2.8, ISO 800

As the ambient light began to fall, I increased my exposure time. Same flash fill as before. When compared to the previous shot, you can see that the lighting is less directional because the ambient had dropped to a level  closer to that of the frontal flash fill. Remember that when using HSS, the rules on exposure aren't the same as those with conventional flash. While I had increased the ambient by a factor of slightly more than (1 1/3 stops), the longer exposure time actually increased the the flash output slightly. I doesn't make sense, so just trust me.

1/10, F 5.6, ISO 800

Dragging Shutter: The evening had grown darker still, and the decorative lanterns were finally lit. Since my shutter speed had dropped below the 1/200 of a second conventional flash sync ceiling, I was getting much more power from the shoe-mounted flash, so it behaved more like a key light and less like a fill. In a moment of whimsey I rotated the camera, giving me the arc-shaped streaks in place of the lanterns. It was a fun experiment, but I'm not sure I'd do it again, should these same circumstances present themselves in the future.

1/5, F 8.0, ISO 800

These shots are starting to get closer to what I had in mind. The darkened sky is now truly blue, and the background details are minimized by the decreased ambient. The lanterns look more like lanterns, and the overexposed windows and doorways in the background keeps the viewer within the courtyard. The wall bounce is now a very dominant key light, and in spite of the smaller (F 8.0) aperture, seems to provide enough light. I went with the small aperture for the increased depth of field, a concession necessary due to the difficulties my camera had finding focus in the waning light.

1/10, 5.6, ISO 800

I'm usually much more careful about "cutting off" my subject's feet, but it couldn't be helped. The shortest length on my zoom lens on my camera was 24mm, and it just wasn't quite wide enough. I find that wide lenses force me to get close to my subjects. But because of some obstacles behind me, I couldn't back up any farther.

1/10, 5.6, ISO 800

If your wondering why these photos a lacking in "eye contact" the reason is simple: They are dancing while walking in a circle, stopping only occasionally to turn around to face me. It seem that they were always facing towards camera right so they wouldn't trip, or facing the middle to get their instructions, so there a very few faces in these shots.

Lest you think there is some sort of magic afoot, all these images needed some post-production adjustment, but surprisingly, not much.


*Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night's Dream. Act 5, Scene 1

Light Modifiers For Shoe Mounted Speedlights

In an earlier posting, I mentioned that I had used an on-camera flash to supplement some weak existing light. In these cases, the on-camera flash served as the main, or key light, meaning it was responsible for creating the shadows on the subject. I must emphasize that on-camera flash is usually not the best way to light a photo. But for those instances where it is the ONLY way to supplement the existing light sources, you should be aware of the shortcomings of mounting a flash so close to the lens axis. Certain light modifiers can help minimize these shortcomings. 

Gary Fong’s Lightspheres, often referred to as “tupperware”, are the first add-on modifiers that comes to mind. It was my first on-camera light modifier, and I do not hesitate to recommend it. They are as close to fool-proof as can get. I must admit that Mr. Fong is a great salesman, and the large number of photographers using the Domes is testament to their popularity. In use, the flash head is rotated to the vertical position, raising the mounted dome as high above the lens axis as is possible without a flash bracket. This additional height all but eliminates red eye at most shooting distances. And because the Lightsphere sits high atop the flash body, it won't interfere with the lightsensor should you use the flash in the non-TTL automatic mode.

Now the bad news. The dome scatters the flash output a full 360 degrees on the horizontal, which wastes a lot of light unless you’re in a small room with light colored walls that will bounce the light  back onto the subject. (I know of one photograher who lined the backside of his lightsphere with duct tape in an attempt to redirect the rearward bound light). You’ll need to shoot with relatively high ISOs, which won't degrade your images as much as it once did. The decreased light output makes moderate wide angle lenses with relative open apertures the platform of choice.

This photo of papa Scott and young Hunter Tingley was done at ISO 400, 1/80 of a second, F 5.6, using a Lightsphere. The lens was set to 24mm, which gave me enough distance to get some great catch lights. Notice that the shadows are softened somewhat by the large relative size of the Lightsphere. Easy peasy. Just point, compose, and shoot. If I had to make the shot again, I'd have upped the ISO to 800 and shot at 1/160 of a second, since there is the tiniest bit of blur.

Considering the aforementioned shortcomings, why not just mount your speedlight on a flash bracket which would raise the flash well above the lens axis? For one thing, the apparent size of the Lightsphere. When viewed from the subject's perspective, the Lightsphere has an effective area of more than three times that of the unadorned flash tube. This distributes the light over a much larger area resulting in highlights that are not so "hot" and smoother midtones. The catchlights are bigger, and the glare from shiny surfaces are not so specular.The saturation of colors is decreased somewhat, but the result is often more pleasing to the eye. Lastly, brackets add one more step to the set-up and take-down process.

Which Lightsphere should you select? There are currently two models, and in my opinion they are both are superior to the original versions which were fitted to specific flash head sizes. The Lightsphere Universal can be attached to almost any flash head up to the Nikon SB-900, which must have the largest head of any current production speedlight. It uses a Velcro cinch strap and a rubber “traction band” to hold it securely in place. The Lightsphere Collapsible  cannot be attached to a head as large as the SB-900 but attaches easily to just about everything else. It is held in place by a series of flanges that hold the flash head securely in place. Think Chinese finger trap. Incidentally, a filter set can be purchased that fits inside of the Collapsible version, but the colors don't seem to match any of the camera's built in white balance presets. If you use the filters, be prepared to take the time to make a custom white balance setting.

June 19, 2015 Update: Gary Fong has introduced a new collapsible Lightsphere top melded to a Lightsphere Universal bottom half. This allows compact storage and the ability to mount on the larger head of the SB-900/SB910. This is the way to go!

If you want to see Gary Fong in action, the following link will bring up a number of his You Tube instructional videos. Certainly, this man is not camera shy! Click here.

  

In short, the Gary Fong Lightspheres are a good place to start if you plan on photographing indoor events. It is foolproof to install and easy to use, but the light it produces, while not particularly creative, is consistent and reliable. For best results, you should set your camera at a high ISO with a shutter/aperture combination that will yield a one-stop underexposure of the ambient light. I prefer to set the shutter and aperture manually and allow the camera's TTL speedlight metering to take care of the rest. For the record, I usually program the flash to over-expose by 2/3 of a stop. Watch out for off-color ambient light sources. You may wish to filter your flash for a better match.

Yes Virginia, that is a genuine Fuji S2 with a Nikon SB-900 Speedlight sporting a Gary Fong Lightsphere Universal,  1/2 cloud opacity. The photo was made with a Nikon D90, 13 seconds, F8, at an ISO equivalent of 100. The SB-900 on the camera was set to SU-4 mode to act as a simple slave and set to 1/128 power. Some additional facial tissue was stuffed inside the Lightsphere to cut the output even further. A second SB-900 with a  Lumiquest LTP mini-softbox was fired,hand held, 5 times during the extended exposure (twice on the left and right edges, and once along the lens axis). It was quite a hustle using the open flash button while repositioning the hand-held flash for each burst of light.

Painting With Flash

This classic Contax IIIa rangefinder camera, a gift from a family friend. It was her prized possession, and was so protective that she would not allow her (then) husband to touch it, let along make photos with it. It came with original instructions, box, and "never-ready" case, the latter a bit shop worn from the sharp edges of the top plate of the camera. Based on its serial number, its manufacturing date is placed in early 1961, and its overall mint condition makes this camera a rare prize indeed. Safely stored in my camera locker, I take  this flawless mid-century antique out occasionally to just admire its perfection.

Painting With Flash is a technique that is well suited for photographing objects that are highly reflective, such as the Contax. Done properly, the technique can create soft, non-specular highlights, incredible detail, and shadowless exposures similar to those you could achieve using a light tent, but with a much smaller investment in equipment. To make this shot, all you need are:

• A clean, flat surface for your subject to support your subject.,
• A camera capable of small shooting apertures (F16 or smaller),
• Two fast-recycling flashes,
• Light modifiers of your choice ,
• A steady tripod, and
• A dark room in which to work.

Lighting Is Cumulative: One quick note before we proceed: Light is cumulative. The shot will be the result of from twelve to fifteen individual flash exposures, each made from a slightly different position. This results in a "smearing" of the specular highlight to cover a larger surface without creating a "hot" highlight. Remember to that this a trial and error process, so it helps to remember how many flashes you had to make when you find the result particularly pleasing. In case you were wondering, Polaroid cameras were employed to check exposure during the pre-digital days.

The Setup: This shot was an attempt to show you what's going on in the darkened workspace. In my left hand, you can see a speedlight with a small softbox, triggered by a remote trigger in my right hand (More on that later). On the floor, there is an optically triggered flash with a Gary Fong Cloud Dome aimed to direct light towards the foreground while lighting the scene from underneath. It's partially hidden by a book I used to prevent light spill into the camera mounted on the tripod. And yes, the plane of focus is on the tripod, which explains my out of focus-ness.

The Technique: Painting with a continuous light source, a technique often used by interior photographers, had the photographer use brush-like strokes to put layer upon layer of light on the walls and ceiling,  just as one might do with a paint brush. The process usually involved a photo flood and a long extension cord. But since flash is not a continuous light source, the technique is different. First, I focus the camera in the manual mode, since the camera won't function in total darkness. Next, I position my foot light to where I think it will produce the most pleasing light pattern beneath my subject. I purposely set the output to 1/8 or 1/16 of the necessary output (I'm guessing here) for reasons you'll understand in a moment. Finally, I set my hand-held key light to about 1/4 power to start, set the camera to a 20 second exposure. Now turn out the lights so there is no ambient light to affect the final exposure.

Next, I'll manually trip the camera shutter. I now have 20 seconds to position my key light, trigger it with the controller, and re-position the light about 8 inches from its current location, and trigger the flash again. I'll do this as many times as I can, which means about 15 pops if my key light flash is recycling quickly enough. Each time I trigger my main light, I am simultaneously triggering my foot light, so that after 15 pops, my foot light has given me the equivalent of a full power burst of light. And because I move the key light after each shot, the highlights grow, and flow, into each other, giving me the large, soft highlights I wanted in the first place.

New be forewarned, the results are not always perfect the first time. But with a little practice, you'll start to get photos with plenty of fine detail in the shadows (if you have any) and no burnt out highlights.

If I had it to do over, I put a bit more light on Contax's right side, which is noticeably darker than the left. But overall, the normal glare-prone chrome finish glows more than sparkles, and there is lots of detail in the knurling of the control knobs.

They really don't make them like they used to!

Balancing Flash Output To Ambient Light

I was assigned to make a photograph at the San Mateo County Bar Association's 100th Anniversary dinner. I had contacted the event coordinator and asked for a "Bride, Groom, Maid of Honor, Best Man" grouping, which is my way of saying I wanted only the most significant participants from the event.

Cave Photography: I often photograph in venues that aren't well lit, but this location was as dark a setting as I've ever seen. There was enough light to eat by, but not much more. I scouted a suitable location for my shot, and found a position that provided an interesting background in front of me, and a slightly warm bounce surface behind me. Next, I made four exposures to help me visualize the background. This is done without flash, since I wanted to establish a base-line exposure.

With an aperture of 5.6 and an ISO of 800, I made four exposures at the following settings:

• Upper left: 1/80
• Upper right:1/16
• Lower left: 1/8
• Lower right: 1/2

Making these four exposures helped me decide how much detail the background lights would add to the photo. The long exposure times are not a "free pass" when you combine speedlights into the exposure mix.

From my last exposure settings, I photographed my hand to see the amount of ambient light on my subjects faces.This photo showed that the ambient would add to any additional light from the speedlight. When I saw how warm the lighting was, I changed my White Balance setting to the Incandescent preset and made mounted my SB-80 with the CTO gel already installed. By taking a quick "selfie", I established a starting point for my image.

 

Here's the final image once again. You can see enough architectural details lit by the existing lights.But the long exposure time does have some side effects. You can see the blurred people moving in the background. What's worse is the bleeding of the ceiling lights into the edges of some of my subjects. Look at at the enlargement below, and you'll see what I mean.

Notice that the ambient light is adding to the shadows created by my speedlight key light, My incandescent compensation (gel on speedlight and Incandescent white balance preset) lighting should rendered more neutral skin tones, in spite of the walls being warm-toned (just enough to be considered off-white in color). I could have avoided this be simply decreasing my exposure time, but I would have lost a great deal of ceiling detail. I tried imagining the photo taken at 1/8 of a second, and was not to pleased at the prospect of a background that could pass for a "galaxy of stars".

In case you wondered, this is Marsha, my harshest critic. A San Mateo resident, she does peruse the San Mateo Daily Journal, and when the photo finally appears in print, I'm sure she'll see it, and through her thoughts and actions, let me know exactly how she feels about it lining the bottom of her cage. She pretty much has the same reaction to all of my work.

So be mindful of the contribution any existing light will have on your flash-lit photographs. There is a point where the color contamination may well ruin you photograph. Just be prepared to make some modifications on the fly, and be thankful for that little LCD panel on the back of your digital camera.