RVP45 wrote:
This phtotgraph needs the assistance of a light meter and a off camera strobe. first you have to check your light either with a incident meter, or with the camera using a grey card.
Then balance the fill light with your available light.
which means to lower your fill flash by aprox. 1/2 of a f/stop. remember when exsposure is important your camera meter is set to read 18% grey and skin is not 18%grey. A seconic L358 will read both flash and incident light and also give you the lighting ratio. If you have not gone to the seconic site on line you should as the have differant lighting tutorials on thier site that are edicational even if you don't buy the meters. Also if subject color is important, a grey card or whibal card in the first photo will give proper white balance.
This phtotgraph needs the assistance of a light me... (
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To RVP45
From rts2568
Ahh Huh. Thanks from all of us learner UHHers out here RVP45, but what sort of meter?
Please, don't hold your breath here, open up and inform us from your experienced practices of why, in backlit sunsets, why do you use a separate meter over the cameras meter; is your camera meter broken?
This incident meter you talk about too, is that another meter in addition to the off camera meter and the flash meter? How many light meters do we UHHers need to carry with us when we are on the beach at sunset? Isnt there something simpler, like a sunset meter perhaps? My eyes are boggling at the vision of a bag full of meters here.
You mention that my camera should be able to use a grey card - "...or with the camera using a grey card..."? I've asked my camera how it would use a grey card but it just shrugged its shoulders. How does your model/make of camera manage, could you fill us in please? What model/make of camera do you have anyway and do I need to change mine for the same as yours to get its grey card? Maybe mine isnt intelligent enough because of its age, or needs to be updated?
Ah, somebody has just whispered in my ear again; apparently we have to point one of the meters at the grey card and take the reading of the sunset off that? Wouldnt doing that block the light from the sunset? Ah, whispers in my ear again, we have to face the grey card in the other direction, but the whisper in my ear isnt sure which direction. Please, can you give us an example maybe, on one of the many photos of such a scene that you must have and, draw an instructive illustration on that submission to explain, how your cameras grey card is positioned? Thatd be just great!
You clearly know what you're about so what about that "strobe", what's a strobe. I can only use a flashgun. Oh, someone has just whispered in my ear again, it's something to do with studio lighting. Is that it?
Ah, I get it, we need to carry a set of scales with us also so that we can
balance the fill light with your available light
? Well I never, not heard that one before! Can I assume then that the
your available light
means the strobe and I put that on one side of the scales and I fill the other side with some
fill light
to get everything balanced? Well that makes sense, doesnt it! Got to have things balanced after all. Where do I get that fill light from though, do I have to bring a bottle of that too? Wow, Im going to need a horse and buggy soon with all these extras, my poor mind cant keep up.
Ok, Im glancing through the next paragraph with all its maths to do but at least I can go to the
seconic site
and get that all sorted like? If my computer can find it, maybe youre suggesting now that this site will be clearer to understand? Well, Im sure everyone will be rushing there to learn. Thanks for that, very useful.
This learning thing is very time consuming, isnt it and Im wasting so much of your time. Please forgive my ignorance but I must ask about the last sentence of yours;
Also if subject color is important, a grey card or whibal card in the first photo will give proper white balance
.
My subjects colour is important to me, very important indeed so I have to ask how I put the
grey card
into the first photo, do I copy it in somehow. Or does the camera do that somehow, all on its own and is that why I havent yet seen my cameras one? Does it have to be done on site or can I wait until I get back home when doing some post processing? My camera has automatic settings, so can I assume it can do this by itself? And you havent told us about this other card, the
whibal.. card yet. Maybe other, better informed UHHers than me will know what this is but Ive no idea. Ive looked it up on the web but cant find it; can you help further with this, after all, the camera has its grey card, maybe we can have a whibal card to ourselves? Maybe Im just greedy! All this modern technology stuff, one just can't keep up.
Anyway, if you can just tell us how we get either or both of those cards into the first photograph, and when they are in place, can we be assured that the rest of the photos will give us
proper white balance..., even though we really want the best colour? You have to understand here, the great depth of our ignorance and I know Im worried that if I dont put the grey or the whibal card into the first photograph correctly and at the right time, my photos wont colour balance for me and I do so want the subjects colour to be right. Id hate to have to go back to the beach and do it all again, the nearest is over fifty kilometers away.
Sorry to be taking up so much of your time but I for one have learned a lot I think?
I do so hope you understand my questions?
Best regards,
rts2568
quote=RVP45 This phtotgraph needs the assistance ... (