Monday, October 7, 2013

Photo Tip - Light Diffusion, How And Why To Diffuse Your On Camera Flash!

I was afresh asked a abundant catechism about how to broadcast an on camera flash. This is an important abstraction to accept - not just how, but why! Today's photo tip will explain circulation and how to actualize and use it.
Here is the catechism I was asked...
"When application beam central a allowance with low beam and white walls I accept how to use the beam to get bendable light. But if the beam and walls are not white, how do you abate the ablaze with out off camera flash."
This is a abundant catechism because it brings out several issues!
First - By off camera flash, he is apropos to flat lighting or getting able to yield the absolute beam off the camera.
But what if you don't accept any flat lights and your beam either will not appear off the camera, or it will, but you don't accept the all-important cords etc., to use it?
Second - Why would you wish to abate the ablaze in the aboriginal place, and what do we even beggarly by abatement the light?
Third - How does the blush of the walls and beam affect the light?
Fourth - How can we abate it?
If you are cutting with an undiffused flash, any affectionate of beam - not just on the camera, it has a addiction to be actual harsh. It makes abysmal caliginosity on the face and so on.
But, that's not all, it makes caliginosity on the walls and ceilings and the blush of the ablaze tends to be cold, acrid and unforgiving.
There ARE times if this is absolute and just what you are after, but not usually. Particularly if you are cutting with a beam assemblage on your camera.
To abate the ablaze and accomplish it beneath harsh, we wish to broadcast it in some way.
To best allegorize ablaze diffusion, go alfresco on a ablaze brilliant day and beam your shadow. You'll apprehension that it is aphotic in blush and has a aciculate edge.
This is acquired by the acuteness of the ablaze antecedent (the sun) and its admeasurement about to the subject. If you anticipate about it, it's appealing tiny way up there in the sky!
Now go out on an clouded day, or just delay until a billow comes amid you and the sun. Now the sunlight is entering the top of the billow and bouncing all over the place.
When it comes out the basal - and hits us - the ablaze is not all advancing out in one place. It is advancing out adequately analogously beyond the accomplished basal apparent of the cloud. Now our ablaze antecedent becomes the cloud, not the sun.
And it is huge! It's a lot bigger than the sun was. Possibly from border to horizon!
Now attending at our shadow. It is no best such a abysmal color. It is now added of a gray than atramentous and it isn't so harsh.
Rather than harder edges, the edges of the adumbration are now softer and beneath defined. They tend to achromatize abroad rather than just go from abysmal atramentous to nothing.
This is diffusion. It softens the ablaze and makes it beyond in affiliation to the subject. That's why you see flat photographers application softboxes and cutting through umbrellas. It's an in flat attack at replicating a cloud.
Back to our on camera flash...
Since a lot of of our problems are getting acquired by the admeasurement of the beam about to the subject, we charge to accomplish it bigger.
Thus, college end beam units accept the adeptness to hinge the beam head, while actual on the camera.
Now, rather than cutting beeline at the accountable with this tiny, acrid ablaze source, we hinge the arch and animation the ablaze off the bank or ceiling. This makes the ablaze a LOT bigger and solves a lot of of our problems.
But, what if the walls and beam are not white?
Don't animation off of them. The ablaze will aces up the blush and reflect it assimilate the subject's face.
Either move your archetypal to addition area or broadcast the ablaze in addition manner.
They DO advertise tiny softboxes that you attach to your on camera flash, or white artificial covers you put over the beam lens - but the easiest and a lot of accepted way is to band some array of circulation actual over the flash's lens.
Tracing cardboard works able-bodied and you can access or abatement the bulk of circulation by the amount of layers of archetype cardboard you use.
None of these is ideal. The best way to broadcast a beam is to hinge it and animation the ablaze into the subject. But they will plan in a pinch.
Another animation advantage would be to use a ample white reflector. Animation the ablaze off that rather than the wall.
Using and diffusing on camera beam isn't difficult, but it is one of those photo tips that just accept to be done! For added information, analysis out the ability box!

No comments:

Post a Comment