My Best FLASH Photos ever! C&C welcome...

[Viky]

A few days back we had this 'Deepawali Cultural Evening' hosted by my wife's club which consisted of some stage shows, dance competitions, followed by a lavish dinner...a nice fun filled evening

My sister & brother in law were also having a performance in the dance show and I had carried my gear to take a few of their pictures. I wanted to be discrete and quietly took the center seat in the 1st row All the pics were taken fron the same seat.This place had a high ceiling..about 20' and I was about 10' from the stage. The party hall was lighted with incandescent lights.

I was shooting with my 400D + Sigma 18-50 2.8 + 430EX. With the Focus Assist of the 430EX, the sigma was extremely snappy and locking focus instantly.... Loved it! To overcome the WB issues, I decided to shoot RAW. Dialed in 1/80 SS to freeze the action, f/5.6 for sufficient DOF, ISO 400 and vertical bounce flash with a large 7"x5" index card added to the flash for front fill. Took a few test shots and adjusted FEC accordingly..

Here are the results...













Personally I found the photos to have very even lighting... no harsh lightings, no blown out details, no dark back grounds, etc.

What do you guys think?

C&C welcome...

[Rooz]

outstanding shots, great work viky. they are shots you should really be proud of. how much difference does a flash make huh ?

you can blow those up to A3 and still retain great quality. if you shot it at iso 1600, the colour would have been crap, they woulda been grainy, a tiny spec of the dancer would have been in focus and it'd be good for web use only.

hopefully this is the start of your flash experience which you'll end up growing to love as much as your camera. i know i'm completely and utterly hooked.

if i could make a suggestion ? next time, try a few at different apertures and shutter speeds to see what the effect will be. thats the best way to learn imo. who knows you may find a different combination that works even better for the next time you're shooting a function.

[Viky]

outstanding shots, great work viky. they are shots you should really be proud of. how much difference does a flash make huh ?

Thanks Rooz! remember, around the time when i was seeking advice from you on selecting my first SLR setup, you had suggested getting an Sb 600, and i had shrugged off you advice saying the clinched line "I'm more of a natural light guy".... that was a clear case of 'ignorance is bliss'.

I realized the need for a proper flash after i shot my neice's birthday party this August, and now I know how much of a difference it can make to your indoor photos if properly used.

hopefully this is the start of your flash experience which you'll end up growing to love as much as your camera. i know i'm completely and utterly hooked.

Yes I know,when mastered, on camera flash photography can give great results, but wait till you take it off the camera and get into multi flash wireless setups..that opens a whole new world of creativity...i've heard its very addictive!

if i could make a suggestion ? next time, try a few at different apertures and shutter speeds to see what the effect will be. thats the best way to learn imo. who knows you may find a different combination that works even better for the next time you're shooting a function.

Yes! will surely do that next time.. thanks again rooz!

[toriaj]

Wow, Viky, great work!! I love the last one, in particular.
I find it hard to get natural-looking people shots if I use a flash ... most of my friends/family will freeze up if they know the camera is on them. That's why I've kept to available light. I don't do any studio or performance photography yet ... but seeing the great work you and Rooz are doing makes me want to learn about flash anyway!!

[Viky]

Thanks Toriaj!

Available light photography is good, however, there are times when you just can't do without a flash. I realised this only after i bought my 430ex flash

I'm sure you too can get great results once you get yourself an external flash unit.