Nikon Flash Settings

[scottphotography]

Nikon sb800. Most used setting is TTL. Some people develop as overexposed and some come out great. I've lowered the flash setting to -1/3 and lower to compensate for brightness. Am i using this setting correctly?:scratch

[pathfinder]

What mode is your camera set to? Av? Or Manual Mode?

Scott, I am moving this to the Technique thread also, it really is not about Finishing School, or post processing.

[scottphotography]

What mode is your camera set to? Av? Or Manual Mode?

Scott, I am moving this to the Technique thread also, it really is not about Finishing School, or post processing.

Its in auto focus w/TTL set on the flash.

[scottphotography]

Its in auto focus w/TTL set on the flash.
Sorry, its usuall on Apature Priority.

[Shane422]

You might check your metering mode. I think I read about a compatibility problem when using Aperture priority and Spot metering with a flash. Also check your shutter speed and make sure that you are under the max sync speed. D50 and D70 are 1/500, most other Nikons are 1/250 for flash max sync speed.

[scottphotography]

Thanks Shane. I'm using a D200/D2x. I've got my metering set to Matrix. Can I reduce the flash output by reducing the EV and increasing flash by incr. EV?

[Arkayem]

Nikon sb800. Most used setting is TTL. Some people develop as overexposed and some come out great. I've lowered the flash setting to -1/3 and lower to compensate for brightness. Am i using this setting correctly?:scratch

I use an SB800 with a D200 to shoot weddings and receptions.

I set the SB800 to TTL whenever the subject is brighter than or equal to the background. That is about 99% of the indoor shots. In this mode, the flash does not take into account the background and simply exposes the subject correctly (usually). The flash automatically exposes the subject correctly, and the camera settings adjust the brightness of the background.

I use TTL-BL whenever the background is brighter than the subject. The BL originally meant BackLit. In this mode the flash and camera work together to brighten the subject to equal the background. The background exposure is set by the camera settings. If the subject is brighter than the background to start with, the result is unpredictable.

I find that about 95% of the time the SB800 normally exposes correctly with 0 flash ev, but about 5% of the shots they come out overexposed at 0 flash ev. So, just as you have done, I set my flash at a negative ev, normally -1.0 ev to start with. That assures I don't blow out any faces. If the shots come out a little dark, I can fix them in PP, but if I blow out a face, there is no way to recover.

I always leave the camera ev at 0 for flash shots.

I have found that the camera metering mode is entirely separate from the flash metering. If you select spot, center weighted, or matrix, it affects the background, but as long as the flash is dominant on the subject, it does not affect the brightness of the subject. The flash metering always looks at the center of the frame for reflected light durinig the preflash, and sets the power of the flash accordingly. This is why you have to make sure your subject is centered when shooting flash, or you use flash lock before recomposing.

The flash metering is also influenced by the brightness of the subject in the center. If the subject is wearing white, or something white is poking into the center of the frame, the flash metering will reduce the flash power (a lot), and the shot will be underexposed. If the subject is wearing black clothing, the flash will increase it's power. If the clothing is a mixture of colors, the flash metering usually gets it right.

[gchappel]

[quote=Arkayem]
I use TTL-BL whenever the background is brighter than the subject. The BL originally meant BackLit.

In nikon flash the BL means balanced lighting. The flash "tries" to balance the ambient light with the flash. I personally find the mode not very useful- as the flash and camera are making decisions that I don't know about. I either shoot in TTL, and as you have found I usually set a flash EV of -.7; or I use my flash in manual. BTW the same flash mounted on my d3 usually gets an ev of +0.3, so it seems to vary from camera to camera. Shoot more!
Gary

[Arkayem]

[quote=Arkayem]
I use TTL-BL whenever the background is brighter than the subject. The BL originally meant BackLit.

In nikon flash the BL means balanced lighting. The flash "tries" to balance the ambient light with the flash. I personally find the mode not very useful- as the flash and camera are making decisions that I don't know about. I either shoot in TTL, and as you have found I usually set a flash EV of -.7; or I use my flash in manual. BTW the same flash mounted on my d3 usually gets an ev of +0.3, so it seems to vary from camera to camera. Shoot more!
Gary

As I said, BL originally meant BackLit, but Nikon marketing did not like that term so they changed it to BaLanced fill, which does describe it better, but if you are new to Nikon CLS, it is easier to remember to use TTL-BL whenever the subject is BackLit. That's when TTL-BL is most helpful.

I use TTL-BL outdoors most of the time with -1 to -1.7 flash ev selected. This keeps the subject slightly darker than the background which makes the image appear more natural. If you use straight TTL, then, you have to constantly adjust the camera exposure to move the background up or down as the scene changes. Or you end up with a subject too bright or too dark for the scene (not over or underexposed, just unnatural).

Russ