Outdoor Portrait Shots (Page 2): Only the Canon 600 and the newest 5xx series(maybe a lll) will do HSS. The non-ll won't be ittl. As far as I know!! SS...

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

GoofyNewfie wrote:

Glad to have a correction!
Is it this sentence?
"The High-speed Sync and Shutter Curtain Sync options are available only when the 580EX II is in E-TTL or Manual mode."
Or that you are using a 580 (non II)?

(I'm a Nikon guy just trying to help)

Only the Canon 600 and the newest 5xx series(maybe a lll) will do HSS.
The non-ll won't be ittl. As far as I know!!
SS

WILLARD98407 Loc: TACOMA, WA.

The old saw --. Aperture for flash, shutter for existing light. Thus- Synchro-sun.

2nefoto

What do you have clearly is a sun flash sync opportunity. What you have not told us is what flash you have. If you are doing this with a pop-up flash on a camera you're out of luck. Research sun flash sync. Basically allow your shudder to expose your background and the Flash to expose your faces.

wteffey Loc: Ocala, FL USA

I generally avoid taking portraits in direct, bright, mid-day sunlight. Appies to people and animals. Too many harsh, dark shadows, even when I get the exposure pretty close, too many squinting faces, too much contrast. I almost always ask my subjects to pose in open shade, then change the background in PP if necessary. If I have to take portraits mid-day outdoors I have a large white golf umbrella that makes a cute prop, and helps filter the light. I never take a portrait into the sun, always have the sun at my back.

CatMarley Loc: North Carolina

Mick 53 wrote:

Hello Friends br My question is. When shooting a g... (show quote)

Try spot metering on the face and use ttl flash with flash compensation of minus one or two stops. You may have to add some overall minus exposure compensation to get the balance just right. The object is to still have some suggestion of shadow in the faces - but have natural skintones and detail, while preserving the background light values as well.

jlsphoto Loc: Chcago SubBurbs

For a portrait try this with the person back to the sun. You will need a silver reflector. You can purchase one or make a poor mans reflector. Crumple up foil and then open it and place over a large piece of cardboard. Have an assistant hold the reflector to bounce the sun back to the person. Watch the subjects face when the reflector is at the right angle you will see their face light up. This will balance out the light ratios for you.

Another way is to use a large diffuser panel. This can be a large white shoot through umbrella or a white shower curtain liner stretched over a wooded frame. You can now turn the subject to the sun Have your assistant hold the diffuse striking your subject is gong through the diffuser. This will even out the shadows on your subject and give a very pleasing light.

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

Get a good condition Sekonic 758DR light meter on eBay or from KEH for $300-400 and learn to use it. It will meter better than your camera and will open up new possibilities for your photography and portrait shooting. There are many videos on YouTube to help you learn. Also you can download the manual from Sekonic nd learn about it.

You will likely need fill flash but the meter can measure your exposures with or without fill flash and even tell the percentages of light the flash is contributing. It is a pretty easy tool to learn how to use and will make your shoot much easier. Highly recommended...

Best,
Todd Ferguson

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

SharpShooter wrote:

Only the Canon 600 and the newest 5xx series(maybe a lll) will do HSS.
The non-ll won't be ittl. As far as I know!!
SS

Canon doesn't say whether it works in ttl or manual but this link from Canon says the 580EX II will do HSS.
It that a mistake?
(I think Nikon has a few mistakes on their website as well)

billnourse Loc: Bloomfield, NM

I do sunlit portraits by underexposing the background by 1/3 to 1 full stop depending on what I am trying for, and then fill with a White Lightning and sometimes an Alien Bee to get the correct exposure on the subject. All manual settings. This was WL with a 16" soft box and reflector. In the eyes you can see the soft box and the reflector.

(Download)

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

Mick 53 wrote:

Hello Friends br My question is. When shooting a g... (show quote)

Keep trying with fill flash. Expose for the bright background, then try either using a helper with a reflector, or use a flash. If you are using the flash with "auto" flash settings, and the subject is too bright, try using flash exposure compensation. Dial it down until you have the correct exposure of your subject. Or you can use the flash with manual settings. Usually about 1/8th power is enough but it really depends how far the flash is from the subject.

bkyser Loc: Fly over country in Indiana

billnourse wrote:

I do sunlit portraits by underexposing the background by 1/3 to 1 full stop depending on what I am trying for, and then fill with a White Lightning and sometimes an Alien Bee to get the correct exposure on the subject. All manual settings. This was WL with a 16" soft box and reflector. In the eyes you can see the soft box and the reflector.

A BEAUTIFUL, and perfect example of what I was trying to say. It's flawless....with a white dress to boot.

Nothing beats using a meter and studio lights. I'm still trying to work out the kinks of using speedlights for when there is no nearby electricity available. As another person who uses PCB flashes (white lightning) I keep thinking I just need to bite the bullet and get a Vagabond mini for power and forget messing with speedlights for portraits. I'm never "quite" satisfied, but gettlng closer. Even with 2-3 speedlights, I just don't get the power I want.

bk

billnourse Loc: Bloomfield, NM

bkyser wrote:

) I keep thinking I just need to bite the bullet and get a Vagabond mini for power and forget messing with speedlights for portraits. I'm never "quite" satisfied, but gettlng closer.

bk

Thank you!

I have the Vagabond mini and find that it lasts long enough for most any senior pic or personal or family portrait session that I do. I get about 300 shots with a single light.

Bill

Weddingguy Loc: British Columbia - Canada

GoofyNewfie wrote:

Canon doesn't say whether it works in ttl or manual but this link from Canon says the 580EX II will do HSS.
It that a mistake?
(I think Nikon has a few mistakes on their website as well)

Not a mistake Goofy . . . 580EX II will do HSS

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Mick 53 wrote:

Hello Friends br My question is. When shooting a g... (show quote)

Best advice is to avoid such harsh lighting situations. Fill flash is not a great solution - people will still squint in bright light. The solution is better control over your light usually picking a time of day when the light is flattering (golden hour), not necessarily fill flash. And before fill flash, you might consider large reflective surfaces to bounce light into a subject. Far more flattering that a tiny speedlight providing fill with more harsh light.

I suggest you follow respected and recognized portrait photographers, don't take my advice on lighting, I don't do much portraiture, though I have assisted several master portrait artists over the past 50 yrs.

http://www.duenkel.com/
http://duenkel.typepad.com/

http://neilvn.com/tangents/flash-photography-techniques/

Duenkel is a master of combining flash and ambient light

van Neikirk is expert at making flash look like ambient

Both utilize bounced light extensively.

Some DIY Reflector solutions:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1S4wjXM6_U
http://nofilmschool.com/2015/09/learn-how-make-your-own-dirt-cheap-diy-reflector-out-bead-foam

However, if you like that hard brightly lit look that you get using direct flash and/or monolight, then go for it.

ecurb1105

Mick 53 wrote:

Hello Friends br My question is. When shooting a g... (show quote)

This is the perfect situation for fill flash, which had been perfected back in the 1940-50s, just Google Peter Gowland cheesecake pictures, for example. I used to use fill flash a lot when shooting weddings in the 1970s.
First, flash to subject distance sets the main exposure by f number or aperture, shutter speed controls the overall background exposure, making sure your shutter speed is within the sync range of your camera. This works for flashbulbs, on-camera flash, and studio flash units. This is quick and easy once you practice a little and can avoid a lot of post processing.