8/03/2011

How to Create A Perfect Portrait By Employing A Balance Of Natural Light And Flash

By Clwyd Probert


Many newbie photographers have real problem when it comes to utilizing flash outside to create a subtle 'fill-in ' flash effect. The most common mistake is by utilising too much power in the flash which could suppress the natural light and produce a particularly synthesised look to the photograph. If you leave your camera on program mode the inclination of the on-camera exposure meter is to see the scene as 'dark ' and set the flash to high power with a fast shutter speed and medium sized aperture. The result may be acceptable as a party snapshot but is not satisfactory for a professional portrait.

There are several points to consider here and it is possible put together a simple step-by-step guide which may permit any person to make professional portraits.

The first thing to recognise is that there are 2 elements in the image which are receiving light from 2 different light sources. The 1st is the background which is lit from background light. This may be sunlight outside or possible artificial light from within a room. The second part is your subject which, being nearer to you, will receive some illumination from the background light but most light will come from the flashgun. Both these elements have to be considered independently for a good picture to be created.

We shall presume that the flash gun is positioned 'off-camera ', but this isn't a must have for this method to work.

Important things first we have to set the exposure for the background. Check that the flash gun is turned off and use your manual exposure reading to make an exposure to produce a nice background effect. This can involve modifying the ISO setting, lowering the shutter speed and selecting a wider aperture to allow more light into the camera.

Second turn the flash on and set it to manual. Experiment with different settings till subject is properly exposed.

In this fashion you are using two different light sources and methods of control. The camera exposure is being set for the background and the flash for the subject.

With a little experimentation you'll be making glorious exposures that any pro wedding photographer would be pleased with.




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