settings for off camera flash??

M

mtb matt p2

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matthew
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when i use my off camera flash for sports photography i know what i want the light to be like and how to make it do what i want but actually have no idea on how the ISO and the rest chhange the light.

could any one please explain ??

matthew
 
sure

You'll need the camera and flash to both be on manual unless your using cls as the metering will get really confused else.

consider flash and ambient exposure seperately

shutterspeed will not affect flash exposure only ambient exposure as flash is instant. But you must stay below your max sync speed (1/200th for a d40 I think)

aperture and iso will affect flash and ambient exposure in an identical way, but aperture will also affect DoF and iso will also affect grain.

What kit do you plan to be using?

I use a 430exII (sb600 equiv) for my main light and when I work one light as the power and recycle times of modern flashes are exellent (I also use it for on camera work). I also use a few old manual flashes (a vivitar 285 and a sunpack) as additional lights for more complex effects - often on lower powers. Choice of flash depends on budget and personal preference.

I use ebay triggers (pt-04) to fire the flashes and mine are rated to 600v sync (some are not and will blow up certain flashguns). Pocket wizards are superior but far more expensive. I am currently building triggers as part of my degree but they will be different.

What kit do you have? and what in the above made absolutely no sense? :D
 
i use a jessops 360afd (full auto) and a set of pt-04s, it all made sense in one wau or another lol, so what would happen to the picture if i changed sertian settings on the flash, for my photos at the moment i mainly play around with the power and use a diffuser, so i am wondering how the other settings on my flash and how they affect the photo in different ways

thanks a lot for a good reply..

matthew
 
so you can adjust the flash power manually ?

is it the camera on auto then ?

take a no flash shot that exposes the background right (for you) and has a shutter speed of about 1/100-1/125 - try tv mode for this. Note down the aperture and iso then set those as manual settings.

then fire the flash as well I usually start around 1/4 but it depends on distance and modifier and aperture / iso

then adjust the flash exposure so its right (turn the shutter to 1/200 to make the background go darkish while you do this if you want - not required ***) adjust whole stops on the flash and third stops in camera - remember every time you change the aperture you will need to change the shutter speed a corresponding amount to retain a proper ambient exposure on the background

check out strobist 101 for more on this written by someone with more skills than me
 
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