Why do my continuous fill and rim lights disappear when I add flash in a portrait setup?
Asked 4/24/2018
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2 answers
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I'm learning portrait lighting with mostly DIY gear. My key light is a flash inside a homemade softbox on camera-right. I also have two continuous 5000K bulbs rated at 1750 lumens: one on camera-left for fill and one above/behind for rim. Camera settings were Nikon D5200, 38mm, f/5.6, 1/100s, ISO 100.
When I add the flash, even at its lowest power, the continuous lights barely seem to affect the photo. The left side of the face doesn't fill much, and the top light doesn't create much rim. Why does the flash overpower them so easily, and how should I balance flash with continuous lights? Also, is my fill light placement part of the problem?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
8y ago
2 Answers
17
Nothing at all against LightBender's calculations and advice, but the OP's question is about balancing flash and ambient light, which is a valuable concept to tackle.
Check out this great how-to on the Strobist blog.
To summarize:
First, turn off your flash completely and find a good manual exposure for the ambient (hot lights). Then, dial that down a stop or two darker. Now bring up your flash. If it really overpowers the hot lights -- even in Manual at 1/128th power? -- you should be able to move it further away from your subject (and/or the hot lights closer) to achieve balance.
The other key point is that shutter speed uniquely controls ambient exposure without affecting flash exposure. In your example, going from 1/100 to 1/30 sec should brighten the fill/rim by a couple of stops.
Originally by user56556. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user56556
8y ago
0
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Your flash is much brighter to the camera because it dumps a lot of light in a very short burst, while your bulbs emit light continuously. At 1/100s, the camera only records about 1/100 of a second of the continuous lights, so they contribute far less than their lumen rating suggests.
To balance them, set exposure for the continuous lights first with the flash off. Then make that ambient exposure 1–2 stops darker if desired, and add flash back in. If the flash still dominates, reduce flash power, move it farther away, and/or move the continuous lights closer.
Shutter speed is the key control here: slowing it from 1/100s toward something like 1/30s will brighten the continuous fill and rim without significantly changing flash exposure.
Your fill placement also matters. Fill is usually placed near camera/lens height so it softens shadows from the camera’s viewpoint. If it’s too far off to the side, it won’t act like effective fill. Keep fill weaker than the key, typically about 1 stop lower for a natural portrait ratio.
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