Beautiful shots from Morris Canal Park. I never thought of going there for a backdrop. Thank you for answering those questions and thank you for sharing
I think also a good piece of advice is, especially if you have a fairly modern full-frame camera, is to not be afraid to bump up your ISO. I've done some amazing shots at night at like 3200 ISO like no problem on an A7III.
Just for completeness: if you want the skyline to be sharp, there is now other way than increase the apperture (bigger number), lower speed as low as you and model can handle and increase the ISO, so the background is well exposed. Then add flash to lit the model. Note that the power of the flash can be too high in this case. You might need to use a ND filter on flash itself
Won't really matter much if the model isn't moving. Second / rear curtain is great for movement so the "motion" is behind the movement instead of in front. But without motion, it won't make a difference.
Thanks for doing these series David, so 2 questions... 1) So if we want to completely take out the blur, would a faster shutter speed help taken that out? Or is it being completely frozen by the flash duration? Meaning probably need to lower the flash power (compensate by higher ISO?) 2) @9:05 When it’s ISO 400 1/30 @ f2, without changing anything on the flash, we could up the ISO to 800, that will give us 1/60 @ f2 (able to freeze motion better) or 1/30 @ f2.8 (deeper depth of field) is that correct? Or does nighttime motion gets frozen by flash power as well, shutter speed only controls the background brightness?
Yes - a faster shutter speed would likely eliminate the blur. Think of it this way - it’s the movement of the model (or the camera) during the time that the shutter is open but the flash is off. That’s where the blur happens. If I was on a tripod and she didn’t move at all, there would be no blur.
Correct me if I'm wrong but I have discovered that the lowest power I can get away with on my flash will give a short flash duration and minimize motion or ghosting. Thanks for another great video!
On MOST flash systems, lower power will shorten flash duration. Not all, however, as I think the Paul Buff units (like Alien Bees) work the opposite way. BUT... that has no effect on ghosting. Even the longest flash duration (usually around 1/250) is flash enough to freeze a model standing still. Ghosting comes from the amount of time beyond that while your shutter is still open, expoing the sensor WITHOUT flash. Your flash duration might be 1/250, but if your shutter speed is 1/2 second, that's a lot of time for the ambient light to expose your image while the flash is off.
yes, but not for 30sec. The ambient light (regardless of how dim it is) will make your model ghosty, as it is impossible to be perfectly still for 30sec.
Ever notice that your FLASH picks up DUST in the night air when you shoot with flash at night outdoors using a FAST SHUTTER SPEED with NO "drag the shutter" effect? Those white spots look like big, out-of-focus sensor dust spots! (You can avoid the problem by using a longer shutter speed or by taking the flash OFF-CAMERA.)
The lower your flash power, the shorter the flash duration. So if you want to freeze a subject in motion, you need to use a low power setting on the flash. If your subject is not moving and is posing, then you could use a higher power.
For a moving subject, yes - you want a shorter flash duration (and that's a different topic from this video!). Be aware that while most flash systems work that way, there are some (like the Paul Buff Alien Bees) where lower power is actually a longer flash duration.
Thanks David for all your information 🤘🤘🤘. I've been looking for tutorials of how exactly works the Sekonic L858D but nit success, maybe you can explain more about this toy? All the best gracias por tú información
I was thinking the reason for the 30-seconds was to have a smaller aperture to create star patterns from the highlights. If you did use a longer shutter speed I was thinking like light painting, keep the model out of frame until the last few seconds and let the flash fire on the second curtain to freeze the model.
Challenge with that is any spot where the background is brighter than the model will show "through" her and won't look natural at all. She would have to stay relatively still if you wanted that long of an exposure. Unless you wanted to combine images in post (not a big fan of that myself as it's more fun to get it right in-camera!).
Great use of 50 mm 1.2 it gives the edge for shooting in low light project and it was fairly able to let you shoot without a tripod and give a nice separation of the model and skyline with right hind of light. Well done David
Thanks for the kind words. First or second curtain really won't make much difference unless your subject is moving. If you want to show motion, second curtain will put the "blurry shadow" part BEHIND your subject (which looks more natural) instead of in front of them. But for a portrait like these where she's basically standing still, it makes no difference to the final image.
The problem with Flash is in general, one has all the troubles to get on location on schedule for the right day or nighttime and have the weather right and bring all the equipment - BUT when not using Flash very carefully and only sparsely, the result looks like shot in the studio and just replaced the background. This is the case here. It does not look like shot on location.
Yes. Front or rear curtain would have virtually no impact on these images. It really only makes a difference when you WANT to show motion. Using rear curtain, the blur “trail” would show behind your subject as they move forward. That’s preferable in most cases because it looks more natural as opposed to the blur being in front of the moving subject. Actually - this would be a good subject for another video. Can you submit it at www.AskDavidBergman.com ?
If you’ve watched any of my recent videos, you know I like to provide context to help as many viewers as possible. We also give chapter markers in the description if you’d like to skip ahead. :)
Great contents as always. Was thinking about that subject recently! Last Saturday I've tried but there were too much shadow. Will try ur method n see what results I'll have. Thx David n Thx Adorama TV!
Very informative video! Is there a specific reason you didn't carry/use a tripod? I noticed the widest you went was F2.0 despite having an F1.2 lens. Would shooting at F1.2 make the subject very blurry and difficult to autofocus?
Good content except for 2 things: - Not straight to the point. It's not that the informations at the begining are not useful but they are totally off topic. If you make a video like this, the title should be "Different looks with flash through out a day", not night portrait. It's very misleading - The reflection of the softbox on his glass which is very distracting, unprofessional and reduce the level of the video.
The photos look like the model was photoshopped into the image. The strobe should compliment the sunlight, not look like a completely separate light source.
David, your clarity and friendliness make the information incredibly easy to take in. Thank you!
Beautiful shots from Morris Canal Park. I never thought of going there for a backdrop. Thank you for answering those questions and thank you for sharing
Shhh don’t give away that secret spot! 😜
@@DavidBergmanPhoto What spot? What are you talking about? Lol 🤣😆🤣😆 All kidding aside, thank you very much for sharing and teaching.
@@DavidBergmanPhoto did that in liberty park ? before 9_1_1.
I think also a good piece of advice is, especially if you have a fairly modern full-frame camera, is to not be afraid to bump up your ISO. I've done some amazing shots at night at like 3200 ISO like no problem on an A7III.
Truth
What is the flash output ?
Just for completeness: if you want the skyline to be sharp, there is now other way than increase the apperture (bigger number), lower speed as low as you and model can handle and increase the ISO, so the background is well exposed. Then add flash to lit the model. Note that the power of the flash can be too high in this case. You might need to use a ND filter on flash itself
That last bit helped a LOT! Thank you!
For longer exposures at night using north camera flash, set your camera to rear-sync mode so that the flash happens at the end of the exposure.
Won't really matter much if the model isn't moving. Second / rear curtain is great for movement so the "motion" is behind the movement instead of in front. But without motion, it won't make a difference.
Thanks for doing these series David, so 2 questions...
1) So if we want to completely take out the blur, would a faster shutter speed help taken that out? Or is it being completely frozen by the flash duration? Meaning probably need to lower the flash power (compensate by higher ISO?)
2) @9:05 When it’s ISO 400 1/30 @ f2, without changing anything on the flash, we could up the ISO to 800, that will give us 1/60 @ f2 (able to freeze motion better) or 1/30 @ f2.8 (deeper depth of field) is that correct? Or does nighttime motion gets frozen by flash power as well, shutter speed only controls the background brightness?
Yes - a faster shutter speed would likely eliminate the blur. Think of it this way - it’s the movement of the model (or the camera) during the time that the shutter is open but the flash is off. That’s where the blur happens. If I was on a tripod and she didn’t move at all, there would be no blur.
How do you know which cto gel to choose? Thanks, awesome tutorial
One of favorites of your channel David, thank you.
Correct me if I'm wrong but I have discovered that the lowest power I can get away with on my flash will give a short flash duration and minimize motion or ghosting. Thanks for another great video!
On MOST flash systems, lower power will shorten flash duration. Not all, however, as I think the Paul Buff units (like Alien Bees) work the opposite way. BUT... that has no effect on ghosting. Even the longest flash duration (usually around 1/250) is flash enough to freeze a model standing still. Ghosting comes from the amount of time beyond that while your shutter is still open, expoing the sensor WITHOUT flash. Your flash duration might be 1/250, but if your shutter speed is 1/2 second, that's a lot of time for the ambient light to expose your image while the flash is off.
yes, but not for 30sec. The ambient light (regardless of how dim it is) will make your model ghosty, as it is impossible to be perfectly still for 30sec.
@@DavidBergmanPhoto Well, I suppose that there will always be a balancing act with shutter speed and the ambient light.
@@pattymattes7124 Truth!
Great tips for that kind of photos.
Ever notice that your FLASH picks up DUST in the night air when you shoot with flash at night outdoors using a FAST SHUTTER SPEED with NO "drag the shutter" effect? Those white spots look like big, out-of-focus sensor dust spots! (You can avoid the problem by using a longer shutter speed or by taking the flash OFF-CAMERA.)
A good question ... And a great answer. The type of picture we all want to try.
Thank you very much for this lesson.
The lower your flash power, the shorter the flash duration. So if you want to freeze a subject in motion, you need to use a low power setting on the flash. If your subject is not moving and is posing, then you could use a higher power.
For a moving subject, yes - you want a shorter flash duration (and that's a different topic from this video!). Be aware that while most flash systems work that way, there are some (like the Paul Buff Alien Bees) where lower power is actually a longer flash duration.
Thanks David for all your information 🤘🤘🤘. I've been looking for tutorials of how exactly works the Sekonic L858D but nit success, maybe you can explain more about this toy? All the best gracias por tú información
Awesome David!!! Thanks from Switzerland!
Thank you for the video! Did you use ETTL for the flash? Thank you☺️
I was thinking the reason for the 30-seconds was to have a smaller aperture to create star patterns from the highlights.
If you did use a longer shutter speed I was thinking like light painting, keep the model out of frame until the last few seconds and let the flash fire on the second curtain to freeze the model.
Challenge with that is any spot where the background is brighter than the model will show "through" her and won't look natural at all. She would have to stay relatively still if you wanted that long of an exposure. Unless you wanted to combine images in post (not a big fan of that myself as it's more fun to get it right in-camera!).
This shoe was fire I have to add this to my catalog of go to wonderful job thank you so much sir
If using a light meter, how would you meter the shot and set what ratio?
For the flash did you use any soft light shield?
At exactly 10:30 there's a million dollar lesson!!
I learned a lot from this.....Thanks
Great use of 50 mm 1.2 it gives the edge for shooting in low light project and it was fairly able to let you shoot without a tripod and give a nice separation of the model and skyline with right hind of light. Well done David
Thanks David! Great info!
Great photos. Loved seeing Orlit strobes in use as they are such a value.
Grwat video and I will be taking up David's advice. The question I have when it gets darker should you switch to 2nd curtain for flash ! ?
Thanks for the kind words. First or second curtain really won't make much difference unless your subject is moving. If you want to show motion, second curtain will put the "blurry shadow" part BEHIND your subject (which looks more natural) instead of in front of them. But for a portrait like these where she's basically standing still, it makes no difference to the final image.
The problem with Flash is in general, one has all the troubles to get on location on schedule for the right day or nighttime and have the weather right and bring all the equipment - BUT when not using Flash very carefully and only sparsely, the result looks like shot in the studio and just replaced the background. This is the case here. It does not look like shot on location.
You could take a photo without the model at the proper exposure then one with the model and merge the background post processing
The only proper answer is this one. Everything else is bad workaround....
I still consider myself somewhat new at photography. Would you be able to accomplish pretty much the same thing by using rear curtain flash?
Yes. Front or rear curtain would have virtually no impact on these images. It really only makes a difference when you WANT to show motion. Using rear curtain, the blur “trail” would show behind your subject as they move forward. That’s preferable in most cases because it looks more natural as opposed to the blur being in front of the moving subject. Actually - this would be a good subject for another video. Can you submit it at www.AskDavidBergman.com ?
7 mins into a 12 min video before the question begins to be answered...
If you’ve watched any of my recent videos, you know I like to provide context to help as many viewers as possible. We also give chapter markers in the description if you’d like to skip ahead. :)
@@DavidBergmanPhoto I was overly snarky. I do watch; subscribed to Adorama channel. Thanks for all you do!
I have issues with my camera focusing in dark light situations, to achieve this will I need to switch to manual focus?
You guys are grea, learning a lot here!
Hi David, i want to shot with my flash. I want to shot without my flash going off. But i still want a pretty picture..
Do you think Michael's goal was to have both the skyline and model in focus = reason for his long shutter/likely small aperture?
He posted below and has already put the technique in practice.
awesome information. love the shots.
hay David how would u photograph a model car ?
You should submit that at www.AskDavidBergman.com
Although not sure I can get hold of one of those to do it anytime soon. :)
Great contents as always. Was thinking about that subject recently! Last Saturday I've tried but there were too much shadow. Will try ur method n see what results I'll have. Thx David n Thx Adorama TV!
Thank you!
You give such valuable, easy to interpret explanations!!
I’ve just submitted a question for ya! 🤞🏼
Thanks!
Very informative video! Is there a specific reason you didn't carry/use a tripod? I noticed the widest you went was F2.0 despite having an F1.2 lens. Would shooting at F1.2 make the subject very blurry and difficult to autofocus?
Great Video!!
Great video, but you didn't mention rear curtain sync which is very important when shooting portraits with a longer shutter 👍👍
Great stuff. I have a shoot similar to this planned for when lockdown is eased here. Most useful!
How about the white balance?
Thanks.
david is the freakin best
Very useful video , I learned lot from it, looking forward more videos like this keep it up good work, R.manohar , india,chennai
Why iso 400 ? I'd go for 2000 at least
Truly amazing and clear explanation David, learnt a lot, got clarity on many things, Thanks a ton for this. Love from India.🙏🙏
The city background would have been so much better.
Hold on! Since when do NY photographers come here to Jersey to shoot? I thought you guys always say jersey is too far and there's nothing here? 🤔🤔
Hi you said everything but you did not answer the question
Good content except for 2 things:
- Not straight to the point. It's not that the informations at the begining are not useful but they are totally off topic. If you make a video like this, the title should be "Different looks with flash through out a day", not night portrait. It's very misleading
- The reflection of the softbox on his glass which is very distracting, unprofessional and reduce the level of the video.
You talk to much and show nothing.
The photos look like the model was photoshopped into the image. The strobe should compliment the sunlight, not look like a completely separate light source.