Shooting TTL at f1.4 or should I use f8

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Neil Williams
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A couple of shots yesterday accidentally shot at f1.4 rather than say the box standard f8 (the end result came out ok) but is around f8 the preferred setting when shooting with studio lighting?
I am learning to shoot flash photography so looking for some help.
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As long as you have the correct amount of light for the exposure you want it matters not what f stop you use
 
F8 would just reduce the amount of ambient light. Depends what you are after. If you wanted a darker background reduce the aperture. Take a shot without the flash to see what affect it has on the background. I'd say the ones you have posted look just fine.
 
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The DOF on number 2 works fine for me but the picture on the wall behind the model is very distracting.
 
well of course shooting f8 is going to give a completely different look (much larger depth of field) to shooting at 1.4, you pick the aperture that gives you the look you want
 
Am I missing something? Shooting TTL wouldn't alter the lighting would it? The flash would simply add more power at f8 and less power at f1.4??

Also the aperture wouldn't alter the ambient light, it would alter the exposure. The shutter speed would affect the ambient. No?
 
Am I missing something? Shooting TTL wouldn't alter the lighting would it? The flash would simply add more power at f8 and less power at f1.4??
Also the aperture wouldn't alter the ambient light, it would alter the exposure. The shutter speed would affect the ambient. No?

Although strictly speaking you are correct, however opening the aperture right up does allow the camera to pick up more of the ambient as essentially your are just altering exposure. Forgetting flash altogether, 1/125 at f8 may make the picture really underexposed, however 1/125 at f1.4 may be the correct exposure for the ambient. If you are firing flash on TTL then although you should always expose the model correctly whether at F1.4 or F8, however anything not in the sweet spot of the flash light would be subject to how you have exposed for the ambient. (Think I said that right?) :confused:
 
Another quick question, why not?

Although I like shooting manual with lit shots, I also like doing TTL. Being a massive fan of Joe McNally I like the simplicity of TTL and using +/- exposure if need be.

My personal preference is that in controlled situations i.e. Studio lit scenes (rather than ever changing dynamic lighting situations) I like to be in control. As opposed to the camera making the decision for me. The ttl flash exposure can vary in my experience.
 
Thanks for all the replies guys.
First of all I wanted to try and blur out the background by shooting at f1.4. So my thinking was I set the camera to manual and using f1.4 exposed the background to the correct exposure which was 640 shutter speed. I then set the B1 heads to TTL and took the shot and got this.
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So I couldn't understand why it was so over exposed so I ended up dialling in an shutter speed of 2000 to get the finished picture.......still confused with that.
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There was another question about why use TTL and to be honest with you I just used it as that is what the youtube video said to use.
I guess what I was looking for was a magic number to go to when shooting portraiture with studio lighting i.e set the camera to f10/250 ISO 200 and snap away but I guess that isn't the best way to go.
Today I am going to try an outside shoot with a model and the B1 kit and see how I get on with that............Hopefully I will have some nice pictures to post tomorrow of that shoot
 
Perhaps you only needed fill in flash given you needed 1/640 for ambient light? If you use AV (aperture priority) the flash should (I think) know that only fill in flash is needed in ETTL mode. That's how Canon does this, not sure what system you use.
 
So I couldn't understand why it was so over exposed so I ended up dialling in an shutter speed of 2000 to get the finished picture.......still confused with that.
Which camera? Some are not compatible at all w/ B1 TTL, and the 1Dx is noted to overexpose in TTL mode (but can be compensated for with FEC).
 
Steven without a doubt it was user error, I am just looking for help.
I have also been playing at home shooting anything and everything and up to now happy with the results, just a wee bitty nervous introducing a model into my photography today and don't want to make myself look like a right plonker, if you know what I mean :)
 
Steven without a doubt it was user error, I am just looking for help.
I have also been playing at home shooting anything and everything and up to now happy with the results, just a wee bitty nervous introducing a model into my photography today and don't want to make myself look like a right plonker, if you know what I mean :)

D800E, D4S and B1 location kit... for playing about at home :eek:

What are you hoping to do in the long term Neil?
 
Did the camera shoot at max sync speed of 250?

Maybe you need to select hss?

Not familiar with Nikon but I had a similar thing happen to me and I needed HSS ( I'd selected the wrong mode, no glasses with me :D )
 
D800E, D4S and B1 location kit... for playing about at home :eek:

What are you hoping to do in the long term Neil?
Hi Adam
Not sure if I get what you mean but if its what I think it is then............... I have a full time job and do photography as a hobby, thats it "its a hobby" I like to relax on my days off either on the golf course or out shooting pictures. Yesterday I rented a model for the first time and had a fantastic time with her, so my gut feeling is I will be doing more of that kind of stuff which the B1 kit is kind of made for.....I think
You can check out my website at Neil's Photography and see the kind of stuff I do
 
Did the camera shoot at max sync speed of 250?

Maybe you need to select hss?

Not familiar with Nikon but I had a similar thing happen to me and I needed HSS ( I'd selected the wrong mode, no glasses with me :D )
Morning Mark
I have used the HSS at 4000 (I think) and it worked perfectly. This Flash photography is a who new ball game for me so I am just taking baby steps and trying this and that and enjoying the new challenges
 
I didn't know HSS went above 1/250? You can turn down the flash whilst in TTL by pressing the flash button on the front of the camera and dialling up to minus 3.
 
Hi
I didn't know HSS went above 1/250? You can turn down the flash whilst in TTL by pressing the flash button on the front of the camera and dialling up to minus 3.


I think you're getting muddled between the native flash sync speed on the nikon compared with the high speed sync which enables you to use much faster shutter speeds.

S
 
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