RobertG

I hope someone out there can help me with this:

I'd like to take a christmas tree / family picture with my external flash, but I don't know how to adjust the exposure compensation for the ambient light on my t6i.

I'm in manual mode but when I push the exposure meter button on the back of the camera, it only brackets the exposure.

Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong?

Thanks for any help!
Bob

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

(Sorry, from the title I thought you were going to explain how.)

SS319

The first camera menu - flash control - if you have a Canon flash or a Yonguno equivalent, you can obtain full control of the off camera flash thru the menu.

Note that B&H has several YouTube Videos on flash photography with the 580 and or 600 Flash units.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gmgN8l7UFg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5byuHJ9uBns&t=60s

Plus others

northsidejoe Loc: pittsburgh

Hello Bob if i am understanding your question on your lcd screen you will have a flash symbol with a +O to adjust flash comp is one way or you can a adjust the power level on the flash itself going to youtube may be helpful to answer your question. Hope this helps saying hello from Pittsburgh.Also go to menu then to flash control

CO

Bryan Peterson, in his book, "Understanding Flash Photography", describes a method for dealing with situations like that. He puts both the camera and flash in manual mode. He exposes for the background with the camera settings. He then adjusts the flash output level with the command dial on the flash. When the flash is in manual mode, it should display the ideal flash to subject distance on its LCD screen. You estimate the flash to subject distance and rotate the command dial on the flash until it shows that distance. On my Nikon SB-700 it displays the distance in meters. That can be changed to display feet in the menus.

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

The T6i is capable of that. The other element in the equation is the flash, and you don't tell us what that is, so it's hard to give specific guidance.

You are trying to balance multiple light sources here, so it's probably more complex than it would initially appear.

You may have ambient light from windows, interior lighting, or both. You probably have lights on the Christmas tree. Any flash you use will change the lighting again and will need to be balanced to complement but not overpower the ambient lighting. So you most likely have a minimum of three light sources, possibly five or more.

Does your flash have flash exposure compensation or variable output control?

What is the primary subject you want to expose for? Tree? People? Both?

For Canon users I would recommend Syl Arena's Speedliter's Handbook, but you won't get that in time for this.

Take time to experiment, photograph the tree without flash to get the ambient light exposure, then add flash and a person and set the flash level down low, and gradually increase or decrease it until you get a good balance.

In my opinion what you are trying to do is certainly achievable, but may be harder than it looks.

Alternatively you could forget flash - light modifiers- take a fast lens if you have one, set it close to wide open, shutter to something like 1/200 and crank up the ISO.

Good luck, and Merry Chistmas!

Notorious T.O.D. Loc: Harrisburg, North Carolina

I think the first thing to do is try the flash in ETTL mode. Set your. Camera for 1/125 shutter speed, f/5.6 and ISO 640. The camera will expose based on these settings and the flash will try to make up the difference. Forget EC for the ambient and flash until you get things working at a basic level. Forget about bracketing for now too. I don't know what flash unit you have but if it is a 480, 500 or 600 series it should have enough power to pull this off. Also bounce the flash off the ceiling or wall if you can, as that will make the light softer.

If the photos are too dark at these settings then increase the ISO up to maybe 800 to 1000. Second you can lower the aperture to f/4 and lastly you can reduce the shutter speed. ETTL is the way to go for you at this point I do believe.

Best,
Todd Ferguson

RobertG

THANK YOU ALL for the great reply's!!


I'm using an Yongnuo YN568EXII and a 18-35 Sigma ART sense.

I'll be trying out all the helpful thoughts.

Thank you all again, Merry Christmas!!

Bob

ABJanes Loc: Jersey Boy now Virginia

It sounds like you have never taken a photo using the manual settings without a flash. I would suggest using Aperture Priority and set your ISO on Auto ISO. Take some test shots (without family members) without the flash and see how they look (F4-F11). Check the settings in the Meta Data. If the ISO is above 1600. Turn the ISO back to manual and set it on 800-1000. Affix the flash and set it on TTL and take another test shot. Depending on how low the natural light is in your room F8-11 is the sweet spot (sharpness). Higher ISO levels make the flash a kiss of light vs a blast of light helping to keep your flesh tones more natural. Daylight coming through your windows will help vs depending on incandescent lighting, which will most likely give your image a yellowish tinge when using flash, which is not easily fixed even in post processing. I couldn't bounce my light for our Thanksgiving Photo, so I used A Better Bounce Card and it came out fine. As others have said, bouncing the light is best but not always easy to do and colored walls can create other issues. Share your results.....

lhardister Loc: Brownsville, TN

I cannot give you a strict technical answer, but have 3 thoughts relating to your situation that I will share:

(1.) Why not put your camera in full automatic and attach your speedlite (ettl, I suppose) and fire away. The camera/light will probably deliver surprisingly good pictures. Practice beforehand with a subject, perhaps a large stuffed toy animal, and "chimp", or flash bracket to look for the best combination. Also, I do not know about the T6i, but todays, camera's have very sensitive ISO capabilities; try some shots without flash--you may not even need it. That way you would not have to worry too much about "overpowering" the ambient light and getting a totally dark Christmas tree. And while you are at it, you might check out the "Scene" modes on the T6i--possibly something like "night scenes" might offer some possibilities.

(2) On a variation of the foregoing theme, set up in your choice of aperture, shutter, or manual modes, use the lite in ettl mode, select the settings that you think will be close, and then chimp away. Bracketing can still be used as a form of chimping.

(3.) If you are really intent about this, you can tackle the manuals and literature, and probably solve the problem technically before time to shoot, but you may have other higher priorities right here in the holidays. As, mentioned by "CO", Peterson's 'Understanding Flash Photography" is, in my opinion, the best there is out there about flash photograpy with digital camera.

Good luck,

lhardister Loc: Brownsville, TN

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Hi Bob...

First, I am assuming your "external flash" is either a Canon flash or equivalent, with "ETTL" auto exposure capablities.

If that's the case, it's pretty easy to answer....

When your camera is set to M (manual) mode, the flash is the ONLY light source that's considered by the camera's metering system. So long as the flash is set to ETTL (and not also to M), you actually are getting a form of auto auto exposure mode (even tho the camera is set to M), except the ambient light conditions are largely ignored. Think of this as "FULL FLASH".

When your camera is set to any of the auto exposure modes (Av, Tv or P), the camera meters ambient light conditions and sets exposure according to that, then during exposure the flash is fired at reduced power (usually -1.666 stops by default, tho this is adjustable).... This is "FILL FLASH".

In Full Flash and Fill Flash, you can use Flash Exposure Compensation (FEC) to dial the strength of the flash up or down. This works exactly the same way as Exposure Compensation when not using flash at all, in any of the auto exposure modes (Av, Tv or P).

You also can use Flash Exposure Bracketing (FEB) where you can set the camera and flash to make a series of shots at different exposure levels, which you set up. All Canon cameras allow you to bracket at least 3 shots... some allow more. This might be useful shooting Christmas lighting, which can be tricky. The camera will probably want to underexpose, due to all the bright lights in the image area. So you migth set up bracketing where one shot is taken without any adjustment, a second is taken at +2/3 stop and a third is taken at +1-1/3 stops.

Lacking some things like a separate flash meter, you're going to need to experiment and take some test shots. You'll have to try to achieve a balance that you like, between the flash and the ambient light. The number and brightness of of Christmas lights, other ambient light, as well as the power of the flash, how wide a lens you're using and the distance the flash needs to reach are all things that effect exposure.

I'd set my camera to M, stop the lens down a little for greater depth of field, and set a shutter speed at or below the camera's flash sync speed (1/200 or slower on your camera). Then I'd take some test shots without any flash at different h ISO settings to see what records the Christmas lights the way I want. Once that's determined, I'd add flash and take some test shots, tweaking it with different FEC until I got the results I want. Adjusting the lens aperture will effect the distance the flash reaches... larger will show greater distances illuminated... smaller will be more limited. Shutter speed doesn't matter very much as far as the flash is concerned, but does have significant effect on how ambient light is captured. If anything is moving in your images, you'll need to watch out for "ghosting" that can occur when mixing ambient light and flash. (That ghosting effect can be useful to give images a sensor of movement, but to "look right" often will require you set the flash to "Rear Curtain Sync".) Shooting Christmas displays in particular with flash, you'll also have to watch for how any highly reflective objects bounce the flash back at the camera.

The great thing about digital is that you get immediate feedback with image playback and the histogram on the camera's rear LCD monitor. The test shot method described above is pretty quickly and easily done. (It was far more difficult to get these types of shots properly exposed on film... where you had no means of testing and wouldn't know if you did it right until after you got the film processed.)

I don't have a T6i and don't know what specific flash you have (and there are differences in how FEC and FEB are set, with different models). Consult the manuals for the camera AND the flash. I'm sure you'll find the specifics there. If you don't have the manuals, they can be downloads in PDF format from the Canon website.

Stein Loc: Garden City, Missouri

This is my first attempt at a post, so we'll see if it flies. I have just got a brand new T6i for myself for Christmas, birthday and a couple "honey thank yous". I took a picture of some family members and a Christmas tree just last week. As I am new to the camera and a number of photography classes I payed it safe and shot it full auto. My wife made a similar shot with her old point and shoot. My next challenge is to upload the two for your inspection. i think this is called breaking the ice. Hope I don't break anything else. Stein

TonyBot

Not quite sure, but on my 60D I would set the shutter to a slow speed (about 1/10 or so) in Tv, and set the Flash Compensation to about -1 stop. Use a monopod at least (if possible, although if you haven't had too much egg nog yet, you might try hand holding with IS on). Just check the display and see how it worked. (and then, you could always zoom during a shot of 1/4th or longer and get some wild effects)
Good Luck and Merry Christmas!

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

Welcome, looking forward to seeing them. Not the easiest of subjects...

Season's Greetings