Comments interspersed below.
At 4:54 PM +0000 12/11/02, olympus-digest wrote:
>Date: Wed, 11 Dec 2002 08:46:35 -0600
>From: "gries" <gries@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>Subject: [OM] fill flash and burned-out faces
>
>Richard:
>
>The ONLY way to get exact exposure with flash is by using the manual
>guide numbers. [snip]
Actually, there is an even better way, although it too is manual: Use a
flashmeter to meter incident (not reflected) light right at the subject, and
set the camera accordingly. This is *very* reliable, and cannot be fooled by
bright faces or dark backgrounds.
I have been using an old Quantum Calcu-Flash II for many years with no problems.
>I would recommend shooting print film as it is usually a lot more
>forgiving on faces than any slide film. Some object to the occasional
>cool cast of the Fuji 4-layer films, but I have always been pleased.
>You can try any of the Kodak Portra films for guaranteed success.
>However, the best general lighting is always diffused. In indoor
>situations, I will bounce a T-32 off the ceiling, and have always been
>able to get f8 when shooting in the 200-400 ISO range. If you are out
>doors, then you can fashion a bounce card and it will work the same way.
To get the best results, set things up so the light illuminating from one side
is about three times brighter than from the other side, to fit the illumination
range seen on the subject into the relatively limited dynamic range of the
film. Three to one works fine for slide film, and negative film may benefit
from a larger ratio. Experiments are in order. The flashmeter is invaluable
for setting this up; the eye isn't good at this at all. A scene properly
illuminated for color photography will look a bit flat to the eye, because the
eye has far greater dynamic range than film, even negative film.
Joe Gwinn
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