Wildlife Photography across the Water: Manual Flash

Monday 24 May 2010

Manual Flash

Using flash for fill or main lighting is one of the main questions that i get asked, Its probably one of the biggest fears for photographers and least understood of all the photography techniques, I find the Nikon flash very accurate and consistent and use the ETTL mode most of the time, However if you are a constant distance from your subject and want consistent exposures its best to set the camera and flash in Manual mode and then all your exposures will be the same saving some considerable time in processing, Here is how i set up to use flash in manual mode as a fill light, Firstly take an test shot without flash and once you have adjusted to get a good histogram turn your flash on, Make a note of your subject distance by looking at the distance guide on the lens barrel, Here i set up and my subject distance was 10m so i turned the flash down to that setting, You can see here on my SB900 it reads 9.8m which is close enough, This will give me full flash which is the equivalent of 0 in compensation, Now if i want to get -1 i turn the distance on the flash down until it reads 5m and if i want -2 i turn it down to 2.5m, As i say its best used for a subject at a constant distance, If your subject is moving then i prefer my flash set at ETTL and compensated as needed

Hope it helps

Dave

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Bio's

David Courtenay, a self taught wildlife and nature photographer, has been capturing images for over 30 years. He has had a passion for wildlife since early childhood and remembers being glued to the television whenever Survival, Wildlife on One and other natural history documentaries were shown. In the 2006 he swapped his established career for the life of a wildlife photographer, such a move demands a measure of uncompromising passion and commitment.

David has travelled extensively throughout Europe as well as spending more than 7 months in India working with local guides and trackers in search of Bengal Tiger, Asian One horned Rhino and Asian Elephant. He has also photographed Wildlife in Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, Sumatra, Africa, Canada and America. Working closely with Conservation companies he tries to raise funds to help Wildlife that has been put on the endangered list by poaching and habitation loss

Martin Dyer has had a passion for avian wildlife since childhood, particularly raptors. Photography was also another keen interest and it was with the specific availability and control of the whole process that digital offers that Martin was then able to combine the two in 2003. Based in the UK, Martin is a regular visitor to Scotland, specifically the Isle of Mull to watch the Eagles resident there. Other trips to Europe and around the UK are usually part of Martin’s agenda in a typical year.

However, as a firm believer on making the most of the local patch, Martin has spent a lot of time and hard work creating a wildlife garden which is reaping the rewards with many new species and varieties of wildlife. A keen member of a number of wildlife photographic groups, Martin is keen to expand his portfolio into other areas of wildlife, and has already established a wide portfolio of images of fungi.