Posted by Wick Smith on September 3, 2009 at 11:40 AM
I've seen several posts & other instructional material on using a flash for fill light in landscape photography. Has anyone got any suggestions on a good A-Z book or other instructional source to get comprehensive info on how to get started using that technique for landscape work?
Check out Nikonians, Wick. There's a wealth of info there.
Posted by Kent Staubus on September 3, 2009 at 8:19 PM
"Light: Science and Magic" seems to be the standard text. I have it, but will wait until I've finished reading McNally's "Hot Shoe Diaries" first. How much area are you trying to fill? I'm ramping up my own lighting system from current 14 lights by adding two more 1400ws monolights. I'm thinking of attempting to light up Devil's Tower in WY this winter, once the snow is down. I haven't really found any books that deal with lighting on a massive scale. Not many want to do it, and it gets very expensive very quickly.
Hi again, Wick. I'm betting the articles at Nikonian will be just right for you. Before going there, I'll pass along a couple of things that seem hard for many to grasp when moving into flash.
First is the "rule of squares," which says that flash output varies as the SQUARE of the subject distance, rather than linear. In other words, if you double the subject distance, it takes four times as much power for the same amount of illumination rather than twice. Cut the distance in half and you have to use 1/4 of the power. Camera mounted strobes and most portable strobes therefore have a limited range, and therefore usually work best for things closest to you.
That also comes into play with multiple pops, or flashing several times in the same exposure to achieve more illumination. It takes two pops for one extra f-stop of exposure, four pops for 2 f-stops, and 9 pops for 3 f-stops.
Oh, and here's a very useful one to keep in mind for landscape or any other static subject: The sync speed of your camera is the MAX or fastest shutter speed at which the strobe and shutter are in sync. Any shutter speed below max will work just fine. I regularly use strobe exposures of up to 8 seconds with people, which is just about as long as you can manage to keep a subject really still if they have something to brace against. Proper strobe exposure of the subject in the foreground might be f/11, which would leave the background hopelessly black at your camera's max sync speed because a much longer exposure is required for ambient light on the background at an aperture of f/11. It's an important trick for us with all our location shooting where strobe power is limited.
Hope I haven't muddied the water for you with that intro.
Woops, one more insight:
Area of coverage can be a concern with wide angle lenses. They can actually "see" a broader area than your strobe is able to cover. Check the paperwork on your strobe. It should tell you the minimum focal length for full coverage. That's an issue conventional strobe users don't often face, but which devils landscape shooters. There are devices to help spread the light onto a broader area for use with wide angle lenses, but they all accomplish the job at the cost of depth of coverage or "reaching power."
Posted by Kent Staubus on September 4, 2009 at 11:39 AM
Sounds like you will be taking photos where there is significant ambient light, and the flash will mainly be fill. Use the Slow Sync setting on your camera. Next, get the flash off the camera whenever possible. On-camera flash usually just kills the shot. The newer Nikon cameras and flash units SB-600/800/900 can be used off camera in CLS mode. The range for the built in trigger is about 30 ft., line of sight. Don't be afraid to set camera & flash to manual to get what you want. The iTTL was designed more for portraits and indoor shots. You're going to find that the little SB flash don't do a whole lot in the daytime, but if you're keeping the area small it might do the job. Here's one I did with just a single off camera SB-800: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3192/3282908885_eebf5ecba8_o.jpg
Discussion
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Kent in SD
First is the "rule of squares," which says that flash output varies as the SQUARE of the subject distance, rather than linear. In other words, if you double the subject distance, it takes four times as much power for the same amount of illumination rather than twice. Cut the distance in half and you have to use 1/4 of the power. Camera mounted strobes and most portable strobes therefore have a limited range, and therefore usually work best for things closest to you.
That also comes into play with multiple pops, or flashing several times in the same exposure to achieve more illumination. It takes two pops for one extra f-stop of exposure, four pops for 2 f-stops, and 9 pops for 3 f-stops.
Oh, and here's a very useful one to keep in mind for landscape or any other static subject: The sync speed of your camera is the MAX or fastest shutter speed at which the strobe and shutter are in sync. Any shutter speed below max will work just fine. I regularly use strobe exposures of up to 8 seconds with people, which is just about as long as you can manage to keep a subject really still if they have something to brace against. Proper strobe exposure of the subject in the foreground might be f/11, which would leave the background hopelessly black at your camera's max sync speed because a much longer exposure is required for ambient light on the background at an aperture of f/11. It's an important trick for us with all our location shooting where strobe power is limited.
Hope I haven't muddied the water for you with that intro.
Woops, one more insight:
Area of coverage can be a concern with wide angle lenses. They can actually "see" a broader area than your strobe is able to cover. Check the paperwork on your strobe. It should tell you the minimum focal length for full coverage. That's an issue conventional strobe users don't often face, but which devils landscape shooters. There are devices to help spread the light onto a broader area for use with wide angle lenses, but they all accomplish the job at the cost of depth of coverage or "reaching power."
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3192/3282908885_eebf5ecba8_o.jpg
Kent in SD