How do you photograph shiny things using flash

I did this earler but it was harder than I thought, how do you avoid overexposure without underexposing too much using flash?

http://i49.tinypic.com/htxwf4.jpg

Hi Arith - Diffusion and bounce??

Cheers

David

I'll have to get a brolly then, I was using a diffuser on the slave and the ext fixed to camera was pointing away with only reflected light getting on the subject. :)

It is a pretty awful job really; I need more even light and it was even worse until I put a GG2 filter on. What I need is black card or something of high contrast to avoid having to photoshop or rather gimp.

I would like to see a sharp edge and all round definition.

Hi Arith,

Do yourself a favour and grab a copy of this book. It's THE industry standard text for teaching all about the fundamentals of lighting and covers this kind of thing VERY very well.

Cheers Colin but I'm very very confused now; you see I had another go and when the slave was off I got an image but when it was on nothing even though I'm using the same settings and the slave is optical. :(

This with the optical slave on:
http://img193.imageshack.us/g/crw0011hf.jpg

This with it OFF:

http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/5033/crw0011hf.jpg


But then I swapped them and did this although I'll have to get a backdrop if I start doing this seriously:



http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/791/ciccorkscrew.jpg

http://i50.tinypic.com/23vgti9.jpg Slave ON

http://i46.tinypic.com/2q3y6jc.jpg Slave OFF

Could it be the pre-flash doing it. Sometimes Jessops works... but it did go off and I heard it charging up after. :(

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by arith

Could it be the pre-flash doing it. Sometimes Jessops works... but it did go off and I heard it charging up after. :(

---

Is the trigger for the slave a camera-mounted flash like a 580EX or a built-in flash? If it's a camera mounted flash then switch it to manual mode and your optical slave will work like magic :)

Yes it is a camera mounted flash like the 580 ex, I didn't think of setting it to manual but I tested it in the shop by taking a photo of it and sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. My main flash can also work as a slave and always fires but requires the pre-flash and that is why I went for another eTTL. Jessops doesn't advertise their flash as a slave in fact the opposite however it has a very useful function, a manual zoom and I sort of prefer to use it that way round.

So I will try setting to manual, but if I still have problems I will use my main flash the Nissin as a slave. :)

I am going to buy a brolly, which is better for skin tones: Gold or Silver? Cheers Colin.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by arith

Yes it is a camera mounted flash like the 580 ex, I didn't think of setting it to manual but I tested it in the shop by taking a photo of it and sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. My main flash can also work as a slave and always fires but requires the pre-flash and that is why I went for another eTTL. Jessops doesn't advertise their flash as a slave in fact the opposite however it has a very useful function, a manual zoom and I sort of prefer to use it that way round.

So I will try setting to manual, but if I still have problems I will use my main flash the Nissin as a slave. :)

---

Good luck :)

Quote:

---

I am going to buy a brolly, which is better for skin tones: Gold or Silver? Cheers Colin.

---

Silver if you had to pick either of those two - but - if you're after soft/diffused light then softness is a function of the size of the light source and it's distance to the subject - so with that in mind - you can get a white shoot-through umbrella a lot closer to your subject than you can bouncing off the inside of an umbrella (bouncing off the inside also tends to scatter the light making it harder to control).

Cheers Colin :)

A larger light source will make the highlights larger and a little less intense.

Cross polarised flash can be used to control the intensity of flash highlights - I use Lee sheet polariser on my flash(es) and a screw in circular polariser on the lens. Not the easiest of techniques to use but it can certainly be very effective.

Is this more or less what you were after? It's just bounce flash off the hotshoe with a couple of secondary reflectors (actually just pieces of white paper). The trick is to block the primary reflection.

https://www.cambridgeincolour.com/fo...p;d=1265293250

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by will_c

Is this more or less what you were after? It's just bounce flash off the hotshoe with a couple of secondary reflectors (actually just pieces of white paper). The trick is to block the primary reflection.

---

Yes; that is about it but lit from underneath. The polorizer sounds good but this is metal. I want the edge shiny and the side like a mirror. cheers :)

You were right Colin; the Jessops flash does work better if the on camera flash is set to manual. Won't work like that the other way round but I prefer this.

Had another go but still not right.

http://i49.tinypic.com/zklfnc.jpg

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by will_c

Is this more or less what you were after? It's just bounce flash off the hotshoe with a couple of secondary reflectors (actually just pieces of white paper). The trick is to block the primary reflection.

---

How did you get the background so black; I bought some so called black card today but it isn't really black and selective brightness is really difficult to do without leaving a halo?

Arith

You are going to get some highlights or the image will not look right and it will be flat. I would try to get used to controlling the single flash before throwing a second into the mix. FEC is your friend and so is spot metering off an area which is some way between mid and max brightness. Dial the flash down a third of a stop at a time from zero until you get the desired effect. All the tips above will work singly and in combination. Personally I diffuse (old ketchup container) and bounce off the ceiling or a reflector. You can also try bouncing off black (I use a black bounce card) but you will need to compensate by increasing FEC. These images are taken with the flash bouncing off the ceiling. As Colin says white shoot thru at a distance is best for a brolly. I got a white brolly and stand at Christmas and I am starting to get some reasonable results

Edit: Always use the camera in manual mode. You can leave flash in auto/ettl mode. I always set shutter to 1/125 and aperture adjusted to suit the DoF I require.

http://rankamateur.smugmug.com/Still...70_Ad5FF-M.jpg

http://rankamateur.smugmug.com/Still...17_TSwgv-L.jpg

I think I've got the idea now although I try my hardest to make life hard, I find the idea of a polarizer and bouncing off a black card attractive. All I need now is a dose of creativity.

Launch Pad. :
http://i45.tinypic.com/hrwxgx.jpg

Confusing Light:

http://i48.tinypic.com/ncfdb6.jpg