Flash Advice Needed

Hi Folks

I recently took some shots at 40th birthday celebration, an afternoon tea at
a grand hotel. The room we were in was quite dark; all wood panel and dark
leather sofas, with no natural light. As a tripod was out of the question I
knew flash was the way to go. Although some pics are bright enough, on most
the colour is quite washed out.

I feel like I can salvage a few shots with some editing, but any advice on
how I can cut down on this happening in the first place would be greatly
appreciated.

Many thanks in advance

JonB

On Jun 21, 4:15 pm, "Jon Burke" <jon.burk...@ntlworld.com> wrote:
> Hi Folks
>
> I recently took some shots at 40th birthday celebration, an afternoon tea at
> a grand hotel. The room we were in was quite dark; all wood panel and dark
> leather sofas, with no natural light. As a tripod was out of the question I
> knew flash was the way to go. Although some pics are bright enough, on most
> the colour is quite washed out.
>
> I feel like I can salvage a few shots with some editing, but any advice on
> how I can cut down on this happening in the first place would be greatly
> appreciated.
>
> Many thanks in advance
>
> JonB


Get a bigger flash. What were you using?

> Get a bigger flash. What were you using?

Doh! I should have said that shouldn't I.

I have an Olympus C765 which has a decent amount of control but I assume
nowhere near as much as a DSLR. It has an internal flash. I don't think its
possible to attach an external one.

Jon Burke wrote:
> I recently took some shots at 40th birthday celebration, an afternoon
> tea at a grand hotel. The room we were in was quite dark; all wood
> panel and dark leather sofas, with no natural light. As a tripod was
> out of the question I knew flash was the way to go. Although some
> pics are bright enough, on most the colour is quite washed out.

What flash were you using (guide number(!)) at what distance using which
exposure?

jue

> What flash were you using (guide number(!)) at what distance using which
> exposure?
>
> jue

I've put some info on the flash in my other follow up post. The photos were
all taken between 2 and 6 feet, I've no idea what exposure. Please forgive
this enthusiastic amateurs ignorance, but what do you mean by guide number?

"Jon Burke" <jon.burke50@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:T0Cei.2119$H61.90@newsfe4-win.ntli.net...
>> What flash were you using (guide number(!)) at what distance using which
>> exposure?
>>
>> jue
>
> I've put some info on the flash in my other follow up post. The photos
> were all taken between 2 and 6 feet, I've no idea what exposure. Please
> forgive this enthusiastic amateurs ignorance, but what do you mean by
> guide number?

I read your other reply and do not have any first-hand knowledge of your
camera. But, at 2 - 6 feet, you should have done better.

Which mode was the camera in? The EXIF data (I assume your camera adds this
to each shot) might give you some answers.

"Jon Burke" <jon.burke50@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:T0Cei.2119$H61.90@newsfe4-win.ntli.net...
>> What flash were you using (guide number(!)) at what distance using which
>> exposure?
>>
>> jue
>
> I've put some info on the flash in my other follow up post. The photos
> were all taken between 2 and 6 feet, I've no idea what exposure. Please
> forgive this enthusiastic amateurs ignorance, but what do you mean by
> guide number?
>
You divide the guide number by the distance to the subject to get the fstop
to use.
It is also a measure of the amount of light that the flash emits.

You should make some test shots with your camera and flash before you use it
again.
Look at the histogram to get some idea as to whether the shot is
underexposed or not.

Jim

Jon Burke wrote:
> Hi Folks
>
> I recently took some shots at 40th birthday celebration, an afternoon
> tea at a grand hotel. The room we were in was quite dark; all wood
> panel and dark leather sofas, with no natural light. As a tripod was
> out of the question I knew flash was the way to go. Although some
> pics are bright enough, on most the colour is quite washed out.


Is the colour that is washed out that of the subject or the entire
photo. Often with that kind of situation you have two things working
against you. First the subject is closer than the background so it is
brighter than the background. Most cameras don't know which is your
intended subject so it goes down the middle which will over expose the
subject and under expose the wall. Second, in order to correct the exposure
you will need to adjust manually or use a spot metering on the subject.

This kind of problem is usually handled by experience. It may well
require a more powerful flash than the one built into the camera.

I suggest that you take out your camera manual and see what options are
available to you and do some testing. The experience will teach you want
works best with your equipment.

Good Luck


>
> I feel like I can salvage a few shots with some editing, but any
> advice on how I can cut down on this happening in the first place
> would be greatly appreciated.
>
> Many thanks in advance
>
> JonB

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia 's Muire duit

On Thu, 21 Jun 2007 20:15:19 +0000, Jon Burke wrote:

> Hi Folks
>
> I recently took some shots at 40th birthday celebration, an afternoon tea at
> a grand hotel. The room we were in was quite dark; all wood panel and dark
> leather sofas, with no natural light. As a tripod was out of the question I
> knew flash was the way to go. Although some pics are bright enough, on most
> the colour is quite washed out.
>
> I feel like I can salvage a few shots with some editing, but any advice on
> how I can cut down on this happening in the first place would be greatly
> appreciated.
>
> Many thanks in advance
>
> JonB

What sort of flash unit did you use? If it was the built-in unit which
comes with most digital cameras, they are not very powerful - the manual
will usually tell you it has a useable range of about 10-15 feet. Beyond
that I've found that a hot shoe slave and an auxillary flash unit can make
all the difference in the world (assuming your digital does not have a hot
shoe).

Jon Burke wrote:
>> What flash were you using (guide number(!)) at what distance using
>> which exposure?
>
> I've put some info on the flash in my other follow up post. The
> photos were all taken between 2 and 6 feet,

Hmmmm, even a simple build-in flash in a compact should be powerful enough
for that.

> Please forgive this enthusiastic amateurs ignorance, but
> what do you mean by guide number?

Each flash is rated by its guide number which is a direkt indication of how
powerful a flash is.
There is also a simple formula which allows you to directly compute the
correct apperture based on the guide number and the distance to the object.

jue