Carrying a flash at all times...
Discussion
Friday night was a special Zoo night at Whipsnade zoo so off I bumbled with my little 400d. I only had a 50mm prime with me, which was a little bit of an oversight but I did take my 430exII which was extremely useful, especially in the brilliant sun to lift some of the shadows.
As always there were a lot of serious bits of kit on display, 1Ds, 5Ds, D3s etc with lovely huge expensive lenses on making me feel like less of a man with my tiny 50
One thing I did notice was that out of the 100s of DSLRs I saw, only one other guy bothered to have a flash in his hotshoe for fill (he was shooting with a 1d, 70-200 IS L glass and a 580exII strobe so must have been semi pro).
Was I mad for bothering with the flash? You can get really close to the action at Whipsnade, even the Giraffes benefited from a little shadow lift! That said as some of you might have noticed I'm a little obsessed by off camera lighting, so leaving the house without at least something on the hotshoe seems a bit pointless to me.
I actually suspect there are far too many people with a bit too much spare money that think they'll be photographers if they throw money at the job and if I'd mentioned fill flash they'd have all starred at me blankly.
Overall it was a great night, the bbq was yummy and the atmosphere great. I should post a few photos, but I'm struggling to find time to do a little PP.
As always there were a lot of serious bits of kit on display, 1Ds, 5Ds, D3s etc with lovely huge expensive lenses on making me feel like less of a man with my tiny 50
One thing I did notice was that out of the 100s of DSLRs I saw, only one other guy bothered to have a flash in his hotshoe for fill (he was shooting with a 1d, 70-200 IS L glass and a 580exII strobe so must have been semi pro).Was I mad for bothering with the flash? You can get really close to the action at Whipsnade, even the Giraffes benefited from a little shadow lift! That said as some of you might have noticed I'm a little obsessed by off camera lighting, so leaving the house without at least something on the hotshoe seems a bit pointless to me.
I actually suspect there are far too many people with a bit too much spare money that think they'll be photographers if they throw money at the job and if I'd mentioned fill flash they'd have all starred at me blankly.
Overall it was a great night, the bbq was yummy and the atmosphere great. I should post a few photos, but I'm struggling to find time to do a little PP.
I nearly always use fill flash, and it does indeed help to lighten the shadows even in full sun (given reasonable distance of course). It also gives the whole image a bit of a zing and puts a small highlight into eyes.
Perhaps those not using flash either like heavy shadows, or don't care/don't notice, or use 'Active D-lighting' or processing to deal with the shadows.
Perhaps those not using flash either like heavy shadows, or don't care/don't notice, or use 'Active D-lighting' or processing to deal with the shadows.
Am a big fan of fill flash also, but would be wary of using it in a zoo environment, in fact would probably leave it at home in fact. Would be scared of distressing the animals or causing them eye damage. I'm probably paranoid though, esp. in bright sun.
When I was in Rwanda the trackers made you tape up your flash before treking to find the Mountain Gorillas (they wouldn't accept that it was turned off and wouldn't pop up when I wasn't expecting), but then I wouldn't want to be on the wrong side of an angry silverback!
When I was in Rwanda the trackers made you tape up your flash before treking to find the Mountain Gorillas (they wouldn't accept that it was turned off and wouldn't pop up when I wasn't expecting), but then I wouldn't want to be on the wrong side of an angry silverback!
I don't disagree that using a flash might have resulted in better photos, but I'm not sure about the idea that you have "too much" money if you've got a 1D or a pro lens but aren't skilled at flash photography. How good do you have to be to justify owning any particular bit of kit? I don't get the most out of the relatively cheap cameras I've got, but if I had a spare twenty grand that wouldn't stop me buying a Hasselblad and a digital back if that's what I wanted.
I hadn't had a proper flashgun for years - just the built-in one on my compacts and the D70. I got an SB-800 for my D2X. What a revelation.
Oddly enough one of the things I like is cheap - the diffuser, coupled with the ability to angle the flash at the ceiling etc, means you don't get that awful "Portrait of the Damned" red-eye effect and harsh shadows.
And with the fact that the flashgun and camera talk to one another properly even a numpty like me can get some decently exposed shots...
Oddly enough one of the things I like is cheap - the diffuser, coupled with the ability to angle the flash at the ceiling etc, means you don't get that awful "Portrait of the Damned" red-eye effect and harsh shadows.
And with the fact that the flashgun and camera talk to one another properly even a numpty like me can get some decently exposed shots...
SamHH said:
I don't disagree that using a flash might have resulted in better photos, but I'm not sure about the idea that you have "too much" money if you've got a 1D or a pro lens but aren't skilled at flash photography. How good do you have to be to justify owning any particular bit of kit? I don't get the most out of the relatively cheap cameras I've got, but if I had a spare twenty grand that wouldn't stop me buying a Hasselblad and a digital back if that's what I wanted.
My comment was a little tongue in cheek. If I won the lottery I'd probably have a Hasselblad sitting on my desk right now, without too much of a clue as to what to do with it! At least I'd be able to shoot lovely 60mp images 
My point was £2ks worth of L glass and £4ks worth of body doesn't maketh the photographer if they don't know what to do with it, or how to simply highlight some shadows. It's like buying a Gallardo solely to do the shopping in... actually that's something else I'd gladly do if I had the money Gassing Station | Photography & Video | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff