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How to Make Beautiful Portraits Using Flash and High-Speed Sync

14 Mar

The post How to Make Beautiful Portraits Using Flash and High-Speed Sync appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Sean McCormack.

how to use flash and high-speed sync for stunning portraits

The scene: Outdoors with full sunlight.

The gear: Your camera, lens, and flash.

The problem: You find that your flash only works at 1/200s or below, so you need to be at f/16 or f/22 to get a well-exposed shot. And at f/16-f/22, everything is in focus, including all the cars and other distractions in the background. (Those dust spots you keep meaning to clean are also perfectly visible.)

Why can’t you shoot with a higher shutter speed so you can have a wider aperture?

Well, it’s all down to the issue of sync speed.

More specifically, it’s about using flash and high-speed sync.

Generally speaking, to overpower the sun and stay below your camera’s sync speed, you’re forced to use a narrow aperture. Here I’m at f/20 just to stop the backlight overpowering the hair and the sky from blowing out:

The resulting aperture means that everything is pretty much in focus, leaving the background looking cluttered.

(This shot is for example only; you should generally make a point of choosing clutter-free backgrounds.)

What is sync speed?

Sync speed is the fastest shutter speed for which the camera can expose the whole frame at once.

It’s a bit technical, but when you fire any shot below the sync speed, the first shutter curtain opens fully, revealing the entire sensor to light. At the end of the exposure time, the second shutter curtain moves across the frame to finish the capture.

(Generally, the sync speed varies between 1/125s and 1/250s; it depends on your camera.)

When you go above the sync speed, the second curtain starts to move before the first one has completed its journey. As your shutter speed gets shorter and shorter, the gap between the curtains narrows to a tiny slit. Despite this, all parts of the sensor receive light and a full exposure is made. On a bright day with a prime lens, you can easily shoot at 1/8000s at f/1.4 and have a perfect exposure. All parts of the frame still receive light, because ambient (non-flash) lighting is continuous throughout the exposure.

So why does the sync speed actually matter?

The sync speed problem

It’s when you introduce flash that you start to have problems.

You see, when a flash is fired (which usually happens when the first curtain is opened), all the light from it comes out in a very short space of time (in the order of milliseconds).

When you go above the sync speed, the position of the curtains doesn’t reveal the entire frame at the time the flash fires. So the shutter curtain blocks part of the flash and prevents it from reaching the sensor.

Any ambient light will expose normally, but the flash gets hidden in part of the frame. As your shutter speed gets faster and faster, more and more of the flash is blocked until it’s no longer visible in the shot (i.e., your exposure is what you’d get if you never fired the flash at all).

Below is a set of images taken at 1/3-stop increments with a flash. The first photo is at 1/250s, the native sync speed of my Fujifilm X-T2 camera. The other shutter speeds are, in order from left to right (and top to bottom): 1/320s, 1/400s, 1/500s, 1/630s, 1/800s, 1/1000s, and 1/1250s. Note that 1/320s is potentially usable if the subject is away from the edge of the frame.

portraits with flash and no high-speed sync

Everything in focus

Normally, when you use flash outside in daylight, you end up having everything in focus.

Remember the Sunny 16 Rule? If your subject is in direct sunlight during the day, you can set your aperture to f/16 and your shutter speed will be one over your ISO value.

So if your ISO is set to 100, your shutter speed would be 1/100s (at f/16). If your ISO is 200, then the shutter speed would be 1/200s.

Now, to get a darker, richer sky while using flash, you’d really need to be at f/22. Because you can’t get faster than 1/250s (remember, it’s the sync speed!), you have to increase the aperture to expose the shot correctly.

portraits with flash setup — A behind-the-scenes shot showing my two flashes set to full power.

As you can see from the photos above, this is a huge problem. Shooting at an f/22 aperture just doesn’t give you the creamy bokeh that portrait photographers love, and it can leave you with unpleasant, distracting backgrounds.

So what do you do?

The solution: high-speed sync

There is a solution: high-speed sync, also known as focal-plane sync.

No, it’s not perfect, but it does work. You see, instead of firing the flash at the start of the shot, high-speed sync pulses the flash throughout the whole exposure, trying to simulate the effects of a continuous light.

My flash set to high-speed sync. Usually, there’s a single-button hold or a double-button combination to turn HSS on.

It looks good, but it comes at the expense of power and heat, because HSS works the flash really hard. After a few shots, the flash may even shut down for cooling.

Now, for high-speed sync to work, you need the camera to transmit a signal to the flash and for the flash to have high-speed sync built in. Cactus Image makes a trigger called the V6 II, which allows you to use any HSS flash with any camera.

a flash trigger — The Cactus Image V6 II offers power and zoom control over a wide range of speedlights, and it also offers high-speed sync capabilities.

The look of high-speed sync

You can use high-speed sync to go over the sync-speed barrier, so settings like 1/4000s at f/1.4 are achievable with flash. You get complete control over the light, but while using the wide apertures you usually associate with natural-light photographs. Yes, please!

By shooting wide-angle photos with a shallow depth of field, you can even create images that look like stills from a movie.

Settings for high-speed sync

Let’s look at a typical setup and settings for a photo using high-speed sync. This particular shoot was done in the evening when the light was relatively low, but I really wanted a shallow depth of field – and therefore required high-speed sync.

I set my camera to f/1.4 for a super-shallow depth of field. To get the clouds properly exposed, I had to boost the shutter speed to 1/4000s. To get the flash to work, I had to set it to high-speed sync. Using a Cactus V6 II trigger, I could easily get my Fujifilm X-T10 to shoot with high-speed sync.

portraits with flash and high-speed sync — An evening HSS photo shot at 1/4000s, ISO 200, and f/1.4. Notice the shallow depth of field.

portraits with flash and high-speed sync behind the scenes — The behind-the-scenes shot, showing an octabox in front of a model (photo by my assistant, Ola).

close-up portrait — Using high-speed sync, I captured this shot at about 3:00 in the afternoon with the sun high in the sky. I worked with an 85mm lens at 1/2000s, f/2.5, and ISO 100 on a Canon 5D III. The sun acted as a second light in the shot. Again, the background is nicely out of focus.

Another high-speed sync portrait example:

portrait with high-speed sync — An issue with shooting outdoors on overcast days is that your shutter speeds can be low enough to cause camera shake. By bumping up the ISO, you can get a faster shutter speed, keeping you safe from blur. Using high-speed sync then lets the flash do the work. Here, I’ve shot to keep the flash looking as natural as possible.
1/1000s | f/4 | ISO 800

The alternative

Note that high-speed sync isn’t the only way to shoot with a wide aperture and flash.

For one, you can always head out at the beginning or the end of the day when the light is pretty low; then the ambient lighting won’t add much to the shot, and you’ll be able to get a nice exposure at 1/200s. Plus, you can get great sky color and you won’t be fighting against strong sunlight.

portrait with high-speed sync flash — A shot of the band Drown for *Thin Air* magazine. The evening light made the shot. I needed a higher aperture to get the whole band in focus, so I opted not to use high-speed sync here.

Of course, if you’re doing any photoshoots with clients, you often have to work with the subject’s schedule rather than your own. So you may have to shoot at midday to suit them.

And that leads to the next option.

Using a neutral density filter

If you shoot landscape photography, you will be familiar with neutral density (ND) filters. This filter type allows you to slow the shutter speed down to get nice, silky water.

Neutral means that it adds no color, while density refers to blocking light. You can get ND filters in a range of values from 1 stop to 16 stops.

For portraits, neutral density filters allow you to widen the aperture instead of dropping the shutter speed. So a 4-stop ND filter would take you from f/16 to f/4.

The drawback is that, as you block light, focusing can become harder.

Another potential issue is that not all ND filters are actually neutral. Some tend to have a color cast. (I have a Firecrest 10-stop ND for landscapes, which is neutral, but the older 4-stop filter I own – also from Firecrest – is slightly pink.)

portrait without a neutral density filter — Without the ND filter applied, I was forced to use a narrow aperture; note how the entire scene is in focus.
1/250s | f/16 | ISO 200

portrait with flash and high-speed sync — With the 4-stop ND filter applied, the background can be rendered out of focus. The flash is still at the same power as the unfiltered shot above. The filter does have a color cast, which is hard to remove completely.
1/250s | f/4 | ISO 200

Flash and high-speed sync: conclusion

As you now know, you can make outdoor portraits even when the sun is bright – simply by using flash and high-speed sync.

So make sure you get a flash that has HSS capabilities.

And start practicing!

Now over to you:

Have you ever used high-speed sync? Have you ever struggled to get nice bokeh in bright sunlight? Share your thoughts (and high-speed sync images!) in the comments below.

The post How to Make Beautiful Portraits Using Flash and High-Speed Sync appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Sean McCormack.

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Vision Research launches its latest high-speed camera, the Phantom VEO 1310

10 Feb

Vision Research has released its latest high-speed camera, the Phantom VEO 1310. The new camera, which is part of Vision Research’s robust ‘VEO’ lineup, can capture 720p video at up to 14,350 frames per second (fps).

The new camera isn’t the highest-resolution phantom on the market, but it still offers plenty in the framerate department. Below is a list of the framerates and resolutions the Phantom VEO 1310 can record at:

1280 x 960 at 10,860 fps
1280 x 720 at 14,350 fps
960 x 960 at 13,333 fps
640 x 480 at 30,030 fps
320 x 120 at 423,350 fps

The camera features a native ISO of 25,000 D in Mono and 6,400 D in Color mode. It offers 18 µm pixel size, 12-bit color depth and has a minimum global shutter framerate of 50 fps.

The Phantom VEO 1310 comes in two models: Light (L) and Full (S). Both models offer SDI and HDMI video out, 12V battery input and include the option to add on a 10Gb ethernet adapter for remote operation. The difference between the two models is that the ’S’ version of the VEO 1310 offers six extra I/O ports (F-sync, TC in/out, trigger, strobe and a ready port), includes a CFast 2.0 port and offers on-camera controls, whereas the ‘L’ version lacks all of the above.

On both models, the lens mount is user-changeable with options for C-mount, Canon EF-mount and PL-mount lenses, with full electronic control support. The camera is made in the United States and comes with a handle, cheese plate, battery mounts (with the ’S’ model) and a case with custom foam cutouts.

Details on pricing and availability are unknown at this time. We have contacted Vision Research and will update this article with more information if and when we receive it.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Video: Watch 72 high-speed cameras capture bullet time slow-mo footage

13 Sep

Popular YouTube account Hydraulic Press Channel has introduced a major filming setup upgrade involving 72 high-speed Chronos 1.4 cameras mounted on a large rig suspended above the hydraulic press machine. The cameras are able to capture nearly 3,000,000 frames per second, according to the channel’s host, resulting in high-resolution 360-degree bullet-time videos.

The camera rig is used to show packs of playing cards exploding outwards under the pressure of the hydraulic press. It’s unclear how often this rig will be used for hydraulic press videos, but a comment published by the account indicates the team plans to introduce a new ‘Bullet Time Show’ on the Beyond The Press channel.

The Chronos 1.4 high-speed camera is offered by Kron Technologies with color and monochrome sensor options starting at $ 2,999.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Making the Shot: Your Guide to Creating Stunning High-Speed Splash Photos Without Flash

02 Apr

The post Making the Shot: Your Guide to Creating Stunning High-Speed Splash Photos Without Flash appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Rick Ohnsman.

1 - High-Speed Splash Photos Without Flash - Rick Ohnsman

The making of one of my most successful shots started with a little photo play on a hot summer day, and a try at some high-speed splash photography.

The image above, “Red Bell Splashdown,” went on to win first place in the Corel International Food Photography Contest.

Let’s take a look at the “making of” methods used to create the shot so that you too can have fun with this quite simple technique.

Freezing motion

There are essentially two ways to freeze motion with a camera:

Use a Fast Shutter Speed such that the “sliver of time” you are capturing is very short and the object being captured moves very little, if at all, during the extremely short duration the shutter is open, or
Use the very Short Duration of a Flash so that the object you are photographing gets illuminated for a very small sliver of time. The duration time of an electronic flash can be extremely short. For example, a Speedlight like the Canon 580EXII at 1/128 power is less than 1/19,000th of a second!

I’ve used the flash method, and indeed it can produce some dramatic results. I will perhaps show that process and the results in a future article. For my splash photos, however, I wanted to keep it simple and do it outdoors where water splashes wouldn’t require any clean-up or endanger my photo gear. When I did these shots, I was using my Canon 50D which has a maximum shutter speed of 1/8000th of a second. I figured this should be enough to get the job done.

2- High-Speed Splash Photos Without Flash - Rick Ohnsman

Let the sun shine in

Obviously, getting a proper exposure with a very high shutter speed would involve several possibilities:

Use a fast lens with a wide aperture – I was shooting with a Canon 50mm f/1.8 prime lens, so a wide aperture was possible. However, I still needed a decent depth of field, so opening it up all the way wasn’t a good option.
Use a high ISO – Cranking up the ISO can aid in getting a fast shutter speed but at the penalty of more image noise. I didn’t want that if I could avoid it.
Shoot in very bright light. Normally, shooting under mid-day summer sun would not be something a photographer would do, but in this case, blazing sunlight (and lots of it) was the perfect solution.

3- High-Speed Splash Photos Without Flash - Rick Ohnsman

The set-up

I wanted to use colorful subjects for the shoot. Bell peppers – easily found at the supermarket in red, yellow and green – seemed a good choice. I also picked up some other colorful fruits – strawberries and limes. To accommodate the size of the objects and also give me a flat glass “window” to shoot through, a 10-gallon aquarium was just right.

Wanting to get light not just from above but from below as well, I put a large 5-in-1 reflector on the table where I wanted to shoot, silver side up. I placed the aquarium on top of that out in the bright noon sun. I filled the tank with water about halfway and allowed the bubbles to settle out while I set up the rest of the equipment.

4- High-Speed Splash Photos Without Flash - Rick Ohnsman

I put a pepper in the water and let it float while I took a look through the camera to frame the shot. I could see I would need a plain and preferably dark background, so I put a piece of black paper behind the tank. The paper was still too bright with the direct sun on it, so I used another reflector, black side down, at the back to the tank to shade the paper backdrop. I had my camera on a tripod and moved it to get as much of the front of the tank in the frame as I could, being sure I could focus that close.

5- High-Speed Splash Photos Without Flash - Rick Ohnsman

To be able to drop my subjects into the tank and also trigger the shutter, I rigged up a Youngnuo RF-602C radio trigger so that I’d be able to fire the camera remotely. A wired remote with a long enough cord could have also worked.

Camera settings

I put the camera in Manual Mode. To get a good combination of the fast shutter speed needed, decent depth of field, and not too high an ISO, I found that shooting at ISO 400, F/6.3 and the key – fast shutter speeds between 1/2000 and 1/3200th of a second was about right. Letting a pepper float in the tank where I anticipated it to be when dropped, I set the focus and then locked it in manual. I also put the shutter in high-speed continuous mode so for each drop I’d get a burst of about 5 shots.

6- High-Speed Splash Photos Without Flash - Rick Ohnsman

Splash-down!

So, good to go, I dropped the peppers, strawberries, and limes, trying to fire the bursts in synchronization with my drops. My wife Kathy came out to join in the fun and did some of the drops. We quickly found it was necessary to squeegee and wipe the front of the glass between shots to clean the drops off the front of the glass from the previous shot. So it went: drop, shoot, squeegee and repeat. For each drop, one frame of the 5-shot burst might be good, but often not. Timing is crucial. With practice, while we gained some skill, luck was still a huge element. There was lots of shooting to get the keepers. We tried it with the peppers and fruits in different combinations too. I easily made over 200 shots that afternoon.

7- High-Speed Splash Photos Without Flash - Rick Ohnsman

Cleaning up your act!

Straight out of the camera, the raw shots were less than impressive. Of course, Raw files look flat, and so I knew they’d improve greatly with a basic Raw edit. There were also more drops, splashes, bubbles and other particles in the water than I wanted. However, the important thing – the action – was properly frozen and sharp!

My Red Bell Splashdown image used settings of ISO 400, f/4.0, 1/3200th sec. The rest was using editing tools to adjust the exposure, get good rich color and deep blacks, and eliminate distractions. My editing tool of choice is usually Adobe Lightroom. With the Adjustment Brush and the Spot Removal Tool, I was able to clean up the image to create the impact I was after.

8- High-Speed Splash Photos Without Flash - Rick Ohnsman

Other considerations and possibilities

With any photo shoot, it’s always a good idea to critique your work and consider, “What might I have done better? Differently? What variations might I want to try?”

Seeing I had used a shutter speed of 1/3200th for my splash shots, I was curious how much difference there might be at the maximum shutter speed of my Canon 50D which is 1/8000th. I didn’t want to set up the fish tank and all of that for this second experiment, so I tried something simpler.

This time, I poured liquid into glasses in the bright summer sun. This process was simple enough. I clamped the glasses in a stand, put up a black backdrop behind them, set up the camera in a similar fashion to the previous splash shots, and did the pours. This time my settings were ISO 400, f/3.5, 1/8000th of a second.

When checking the shots afterward, it was apparent that the freezing effect was even more pronounced. However, at such a wide aperture, my depth of field was much more shallow.

9- High-Speed Splash Photos Without Flash - Rick Ohnsman

What might I try next time?

I’d like to give different color backgrounds a try. Using black made editing much easier, and when cleaning up the shots, it was simple to “black out” any distracting elements. I’m not so sure that would be as easily achieved with a color background. Trying it with a white background for a high-key look might also look interesting.

10- High-Speed Splash Photos Without Flash - Rick Ohnsman

Of course, using different objects for the splash photos is also fun. In fact, we did do that when during the splash photo session my Mini-Schnauzer, Schatzi, wanted to play and decided to bring us her favorite ball. Looking at the “face” on the ball, I thought it might be fun to try it in a splash drop as we’d done with the peppers. When seeing the result – which looked like the “creature” was exhaling bubbles during a dive – it made me laugh.

11- High-Speed Splash Photos Without Flash - Rick Ohnsman

So, give this high-speed shutter technique a try. Take it outside in the bright sun, crank up the shutter speed as high as you can and have some fun. It’s a great way to improve your camera skills, learn the relationships between ISO, Aperture, and Shutter Speed, and then test your editing skills when tuning up your shots. I’m confident you’ll get some images of which you’ll be proud.

The post Making the Shot: Your Guide to Creating Stunning High-Speed Splash Photos Without Flash appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Rick Ohnsman.

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How to Use High-Speed Video to Capture Action Photos

23 Dec

The post How to Use High-Speed Video to Capture Action Photos appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Peter West Carey.

Sometimes 6, 7 or 12 frames per second (fps) isn’t fast enough to get the shot you want. Sometimes the action is so fast it is best to use a different concept altogether. I’m talking specifically about how to use high-speed video to capture action photos that you want.

1 - How to Use High-Speed Video to Capture Action Photos

Think of it this way; standard frame rate for video is either 24fps or 30fps. That’s good, but may not be fast enough. Most smartphones these days can shoot 120fps, which makes them a possible tool for this technique. Or you can step up to a camera with much higher frame rates, maybe 480fps or even 1000fps.

No matter the camera, the technique below opens up a world of possibilities for freezing high-speed action.

I had a request from my client Andy Suzuki & The Method to capture slow-motion burning clocks for a music video, which turned out to be perfect material for this post.

Shooting

When shooting at a high speed, lighting can be critical, as it is with any quality photography. The high frame rate should be accompanied by a higher shutter speed, which can be accomplished with more light, an open aperture and higher ISO.

There are benefits and drawbacks to increasing each of these factors that depend on your intended outcome. I find Adobe Lightroom does a good job of cleaning up most ISO noise, so I prefer to increase the ISO before anything.

Adding more light is the next variable I would adjust. Although, as you can see in my example here, it was not an option. Next, I will adjust the aperture as open as I can make it while still ensuring my depth of field is adequate for my subject.

Grabbing the frame in Lightroom

Grabbing the appropriate frame in Lightroom is incredibly simple.

Downloading your video in Lightroom, and while in the Library Module, play your video until you get to the frame you desire. When you find it, hit ‘pause’. The forward and backward arrows can be used to step your video frame-by-frame until you find the frame you need. You can run this exercise multiple times if you need or want multiple frames.

2 - How to Use High-Speed Video to Capture Action Photos

Once you have the frame you want on your screen, click on the rectangle at the bottom of the preview area.

There will be two options Capture frame and Set poster frame. Simply click Capture frame and a JPG of the frame will be stacked with the video.

3 - How to Use High-Speed Video to Capture Action Photos

4 - How to Use High-Speed Video to Capture Action Photos

The capture will be the same size as the original video. In this case, with high-speed video on a Sony RX-100 V, as demonstrated here, the image is 1920×1080. There will be some balance you need to strike in order to ensure the final image is large enough for your intended use.

Conclusion

High-speed video is an excellent way to produce images it would take hours to capture. Think of splashing on puddles, wine poured into a glass, breaking ice or any number of fast-moving subjects. The method described here does have some limitations, but it is fast, easy and just a bit of fun.

The post How to Use High-Speed Video to Capture Action Photos appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Peter West Carey.

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How to Create Dark and Dramatic Backgrounds Using High-Speed Sync

30 Oct

The Usefulness of High-Speed Sync

Among other things, high-speed sync lets you underexpose your backgrounds for dramatic images.

High-speed sync (HSS) is easily one of the most useful features in lighting. Not only does it let you overpower the sun for more flattering light in the middle of the day, it also lets you use your largest apertures in broad daylight.

It also lets you use another useful technique – underexposing your backgrounds by several stops. With a powerful enough light you can even underexpose the sun by three or four stops, thus making it a compositional element in your frame. This lets you create dark, dramatic backgrounds for visual impact. It also brings your subject forward in the frame, ensuring they’re the dominant aspect of your image.

Fortunately, using HSS to create dark backgrounds like this is easy. And in this short tutorial, I’ll show you how to do it using both E-TTL and manual exposure modes.

Why Darken Your Backgrounds?

While you won’t want to darken the background in every situation, dark backgrounds in scenes that would normally be very bright look great. It may be a stylised affair, but it’s a cool style.

Darkening the background brings your subject forward in the frame(providing they’re well lit), and emphasizes them as the focal point of the background. And the inherent contrast added by putting extremely dark tones in the frame helps to make things pop.

This shot was taken without a flash and is all natural light. You can see the background shares a similar tonality to the subject, reducing the subject’s impact within the frame.

By intentionally underexposing the background with HSS, the subject now dominates the frame.

What Do You Need?

To get started with this technique you’ll need:

A flash with HSS capability (and TTL capability if you don’t want to use manual).

Some studios strobes (such as the Pixapro Citi600) now come with HSS functionality built in.

A trigger or some other means to fire your flash. (You’ll need a TTL-compatible trigger if you want to use TTL.)

If you want to use manual mode, a PC Sync cable will do the job. But for E-TTL you’ll need a compatible trigger. (The icon circled in red is the HSS icon.)

E-TTL Mode

To use this technique with TTL metering, turn on the flash, trigger, and camera of whatever system you’re using. Set your flash mode to HSS and E-TTL. (If you don’t know how to do this, refer to your manual.) You should also zero out the flash exposure compensation settings on your flash.

Switch your camera to ‘Aperture Priority‘ mode and choose the desired aperture. I’m fond of f/4 and f/5.6 for this technique, but it’s not a rule.

Now dial between -1 and -3 stops of exposure compensation into your camera. What this does is underexpose all the ambient light in your scene. It’s how you achieve the dark backgrounds – everything that isn’t properly exposed by your flash will be darkened.

Backgrounds that are already in shadow (such as the one in this photo) may only need one stop of underexposure.

For dark backgrounds already in shadow, -1 stop of exposure compensation will be enough. For bright backgrounds or backgrounds in direct sunlight, you’ll need to underexpose more. To overpower the sun, you’ll need to underexpose by at least three stops.

Backgrounds lit by direct sunlight (such as the one in this image) may need up to four stops of underexposure.

Take a test shot, evaluate the image and the histogram on your camera, and adjust the flash exposure compensation as needed.

That’s all there is to it.

Manual Mode

HSS is great for overpowering the sun. Here, three stops of underexposure controlled the appearance of the sun in the frame. Notice how dark the rest of frame (lit in broad daylight) appears.

The steps for manual mode are almost identical to using E-TTL mode.

Set up the flash, trigger, and camera of your system.
Set the camera to aperture priority mode.
Set the camera to your desired aperture.
Dial in -1 to -3 stops of exposure compensation.
Take a test shot.
Adjust your flash power as needed.

However, in manual mode, the meter in your camera doesn’t relay any exposure information to your flash as it does in E-TTL mode. That means you’ll need to set your flash power yourself by evaluating your test shot and turning the flash power up or down as needed. You may need to alter the flash power a lot more than you would with E-TTL. Just keep taking tests shots and evaluating the exposure until it’s where you want it.

Adjusting the power in manual mode means dialing through all the increments on your flash. This isn’t a problem, but it’s harder than E-TTL.

As an aside, light meters are now available that can measure HSS such as the Sekonic L-858D. However, they’re very expensive. A Slovenian company called Lumu also makes a light meter that plugs into an iPhone to measures HSS. I saw these being demoed at a trade show and was very impressed with the results. They’re less expensive, but they currently work only with iPhones.

That’s It

Provided you have the necessary equipment, the technique is quite easy. And it can give you a variety of results, so make sure you experiment with different amounts of exposure compensation.

Though limited by your access to the equipment, this HSS technique is easy to employ and can result in bold, dramatic imagery.

Other Considerations

Here are a few things to keep in mind while using this technique:

ISO. Generally speaking, you should keep your ISO as low as possible. Of course, if you have a particularly low-powered flash you may need to bring it up.

Flash Meters. Most flash meters can’t meter for HSS exposures. There are specialist meters that can, but be prepared to pay through the nose for them.

Daylight Conditions. This technique works in all sorts of lighting conditions, from direct midday sun to diffused light on a cloudy day. You’ll need a powerful light to overpower the sun on a bright day, but if you do the technique works really well.

This HSS technique works well in all lighting conditions. The image on the left was created in overcast conditions, while the image on the right was taken in direct sunlight.

Flashguns / Speedlights. Many flashguns have HSS functionality built in and are capable of great results. If you have a flashgun, consider using them for this technique.

Give it a try

Now that you’ve seen what can be accomplished with this relatively easy technique, I encourage you to get out and try it for yourself. And let us know how you went in the comments.

The post How to Create Dark and Dramatic Backgrounds Using High-Speed Sync appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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NAB 2018: Watch these high-speed camera robots ‘dance’ at the Nikon booth

11 Apr

Nikon-owned Mark Roberts Motion Control (aka MRMC) brought its high-speed Bolt and Bolt Junior ‘cinebot’ camera robots to NAB this year. And in a fit of “just because we can, probably means we should,” the company decided to choreograph a little dance number for the two robots on the showroom floor.

DPReview decided to skip NAB this year, but friend of the site Jim Goldstein graciously allowed us to share his two videos of the bots in action. To quote Jim, it seems it’s “Out with ‘booth babes’ at NAB and in with ‘booth bots’.” We 100% support this change.

You can see the full routine from two angles in the video above and below.

Videos by Jim M. Goldstein and used with permission.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Kodak Alaris is bringing back T-Max P3200 high-speed B&W film

24 Feb

Film photographers are celebrating today after news broke that Kodak Alaris will resurrect another popular product: Kodak T-Max P3200 high-speed black-and-white film. After teasing the resurrection on Twitter, a brief press release confirmed the news this morning, revealing that the debut will happen some time next month.

Kodak originally discontinued T-Max P3200 film in October of 2012 due to a severe drop in demand, directing its customers toward the T-Max 400 as an alternative. However, the film photography market has seen an increase in demand over the last few years, and Kodak Alaris is using that demand as proof that products like T-Max P3200 and the soon-to-be-rereleased Ektachrome film deserve another shot.

The ‘rebirth’ of T-Max P3200 began on social media. In a tweet posted yesterday, Kodak shared an image that reads “Are you in the dark?” followed by a series of numbers that total 3200. The combination hinted at the T-Max P3200 film, which Kodak says can be push processed up to ISO 25,000.

pic.twitter.com/hYiuy573yC

— Kodak Professional (@KodakProFilmBiz) February 23, 2018

Though the company didn’t provide any additional details via that tweet, someone did spot an image shared by Australian film store Ikigai Camera on its Instagram account. The image—which has since been removed, hinting at an ‘accidental’ leak—showed the T-Max P3200 film box alongside the words, “Welcome back March 2018.”

Screenshot from the Kodak Alaris website.

Fortunately, it’s not just teasers and leaks anymore. The company followed up the unofficial news with an official announcement earlier today, saying it will begin shipping the product to US stockhouse dealers and distributors starting in March, followed by other markets “shortly thereafter.”

The company says the resurrected film is best suited for handheld street photography, as well as night shots and work in any “dimly lit venues where you can’t use a flash.”

Press Release

{PressRelease}

Kodak Alaris Revives KODAK PROFESSIONAL T-MAX P3200 Film / TMZ

Multi-Speed B&W Film to be Available in March, 2018

ROCHESTER, N.Y. February 23, 2018 – Kodak Alaris announced today that it is bringing back KODAK PROFESSIONAL T-MAX P3200 Film / TMZ, a multi-speed panchromatic black-and-white negative film. While the nominal film speed of P3200 TMZ is ISO 800, the “P” means it’s designed to be push processed to EI 3200 or higher. This film excels when shooting in low light or when capturing fast action. It is ideally suited for handheld street scene photography, night work, and in dimly lit venues where you can’t use flash.

“It’s no secret that we’ve been looking for opportunities to expand our portfolio” said Dennis Olbrich, President – Kodak Alaris Paper, Photo Chemicals and Film. “Darkroom photography is making a comeback, and B&W Film sales are clearly on a positive trajectory. Given these very encouraging market trends, we believe P3200 TMZ will be a great addition to our lineup”.

Kodak Alaris plans to offer KODAK PROFESSIONAL T-MAX P3200 Film in 135-36x format. Shipments to Distributors and Stockhouse dealers will begin in March in the U.S., with other regions around the world following shortly thereafter.

To learn more, please visit www.kodakalaris.com/go/profilms

Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/kodakprofessional

{/PressRelease}

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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8 Amazing Photography Tricks You Can Do With a High-Speed Camera Trigger

18 Feb

If you are a photographer, you probably heard that the camera doesn’t take a good picture, the person behind the camera does. It’s true because with right knowledge and practice you can take great photos with an entry level camera or even a mobile camera. But if you don’t have an idea about lighting, composition or the features of your camera, the world’s most advanced camera can’t take good photos for you.