http://www.digitalcameraworld.com JUNE 2019 DIGITAL CAMERA^57
CAMERA COLLEGESometimes you may want the flash
to be more subtle or more obvious.
You may also need to correct the
exposure when the camera gets
things wrong. The easiest way to
change a TTL flash exposure is to
use flash compensation. It can be
set either on the camera or on a
flashgun; on some camera systems,
one overrides the other, and on
others the settings are cumulative.
Check this in your manual.The way a camera’s exposure
compensation function works
with flash compensation also
varies between systems. With
Canon’s EOS cameras, for example,
exposure compensation only affects
the ambient exposure, while flash
compensation only affects the flash
exposure. Adjust the exposure
compensation on a Nikon SLR,
however, and you also make the
flash exposure brighter or darker.RȒɯɎȒɖɀƺˢƏɀǝǣȇƳƏɵǼǣǕǝɎ
Separate the exposure for the background and the foreground, and you won’t go far wrong
It can be hard to get
well-lit results when
you’re shooting outdoors in
bright sunlight. If the light
strikes the person from the
front, side or above, you’ll end
up with hard shadows across
their face; if the sun is behind
them, then they’ll end up in
shadow. To get around this,
you can make sure the
background is exposed
correctly, and then use flash
to illuminate the person.
This means there are two
exposures to think about
when you want to use fill-flash:
the exposure of the ambient
light and the exposure of the
flash. Today’s cameras can
handle both or either of them
for you, but using your
camera in Manual exposure
mode will give you the most
control over how flash
balances with the ambient
light. You can also set the
flash to Manual, adjusting the
strength of the flash exposure
by changing the power and
distance, but TTL mode can
give great results if you don’t
want the hassle of making
manual adjustments.- Rather than having your subject
squinting into the light, position them
so that the sun is behind them or
they are standing in shade. - Set your camera to Manual (M)
exposure mode, and dial in your
camera’s flash sync speed (or ‘x-sync’):
you’ll find this in your camera’s manual,
but it’s usually around 1/200 sec. - Set an aperture and ISO that correctly
exposes the background: your subject
should appear too dark at this stage. - Now power up your flash. Make
sure it is in TTL (Through-The-Lens)
mode: this works in conjunction with
your camera’s metering system. - Take a shot. The camera should
automatically adjust the flash
output to give a balanced result. - If the flash exposure is too dark,
use positive flash compensation to
make it brighter. If it is too bright,
use negative flash compensation.
Expose for the
background...
...Then switch
on the flash
Camera skills Flash compensation
How to fine-tune the ratio of fill-flash to ambient lightSTAND OUT
By underexposing the background by one or two
stops, you’ll make the flash-lit subject stand out.