Fill Flash

[tjpowell]

My family is headed to Walt Disney World this summer. I will be taking a 50D with a 430EX Flash unit. I would like to take photos of my kids in front of some of the large structures like the castle and other buildings. Most likely some of these will be during the very bright day light hours.

I will not be able to use off camera flash due to logistics, etc. What would be the best way to take these photos and get fill flash to light up the faces of the kids?

I have a Sto-Fen white cap that I can place over the flash if needed to avoid the dreaded flashlight look if needed.

Also, I would like to get some photos in similar spots at dusk or night. Any suggestions?

This is the type of photo I am referring to

[cabbiinc]

The Stofen will not help you outdoors in bright sunlight. I'd typically just try to underexpose with the flash one or two stops and set the camera to Evaluative Metering. You'll just want to fill some of the shadows so you already won't have the deer in the headlights look. Also on a sunny day at ISO 100 you'll be shooting at f/11 @ 1/200th of a second. The 430EX at 50mm would be able to throw light a little over 10 feet for an f/11 exposure. A Stofen would just drop that power down and since you wouldn't have anything to bounce the diffused lighting off of you'd be throwing it away.

[krkrows]

During the daytime, I would suggest you you use Av mode so you can control the depth of field paticularly what is behind your subjects like buildings etc. Personally, I'd shoot for f6.3-7.1 and shoot loose. Now, put exposure comp at 0 or -1/3 or so and put your flash comp at +1/3. This will give each of your shots a little pop on your subjects. Aim the flash directly at your subjects without the use of your stofen.

At night, things become more of a challenge. Your best option is to shoot in manual mode on your camera to get your exposure correct. Disney has a ton of twinkling lights and such that will do a great job of throwing your camera off. Your stofen will not eliminate the deer in the headlights effect or red eye as you really won't be taking the flash off the same plane as the lens. Shooting under dark conditions will only make things worse. I typically take a shoe cord with me in situations like this and hold the flash up and to the left. Wear cargo pants so you can slip your flash into the side pocket when the camera is over your shoulder.

Your stofen will work fine at 45 degrees for indoor shots at close range (within 15 feet or so). Save that for restraunts, and other indoor attractions that allow flash photography.

Finally, and most important, you're on vacation with your family ... not on a fashion shoot. The best images I have of my family at Disney are in my mind and in my heart. Even our first visit (over 20 years ago) is still fresh in all of our minds. Don't be the parent who missed out on all the fun and spoiled the family vacation by taking pictures every 30 seconds. Plan things out....where will the most important shots be taken? In front of every park entrance, in front the the castle, next to Micky, Epcot sphere, MGM water tower, and so on. When you're out for dinner, ask the watress to take a picture for you so YOU"LL be in some shots as well. 20 well thought out family pictures is better than 2000 so-so happy snaps.

Enjoy your trip.

[Pip]

Couldn't agree with krkrows more. Great advice, and pay attention to the bit about making sure you're in some of the pics too!
It really would be worth seeing i you can pick up a little hot shoe cord so you can get a little bit off camera, shouldn't cost too much or take up hardly any room.

The other thing I would say is have a little practice if you can during a bright day in front of your house or something so you can get comfortable with shooting quickly - you don't want to spoil anyones fun by making them stand still for ages while you work out what to do!!!

Enjoy Disney, it's great!
Pip

[Pip]

Oh, forgot to say - make sure you're camera bag is water resistant if you're going on a log flume or anything like that, I got soaked!

[curtscamera]

krkrows is right on the money. My family loves Disney, and we go quite often. There are photo-ops at every turn, but of the thousands of pictures from all that time, I am in only a couple of them. Many times I have been scolded by the wife for trying to get "the shot". It takes the fun out of it for them and made for a less memorable trip for me when I spend all my time trying to make great photographs. Next trip, I'll be traveling light. A Canon G11 and a 580EX-II is all I need. And maybe the pocket wizard... and the long pc cord... monopod... reflectors... diffusers... extra batteries... cable release...

[tjpowell]

Thanks to everyone.

I took a test shot over the weekend and it is attached below. Minor edits in LR2, other than that nothing was done to it.

It was shot @ 1/250, f/7.1, -1/3 EV, ETTL +1/3 Flash Comp, ISO 200

[krkrows]

Your test shots look fine to me. Now, go have some fun and plan your shots accordingly.

[Syl Arena]

tjpowell -- You've received a ton of good suggestions from your fellow Speedliters. One suggestion for your test shots, also try them with the sun coming to the side of your subject and also over his shoulder towards you. There is not a lot of fill flash happening with the sun coming over your shoulder. Fill flash is best when the shadows are too dark/contrasty for the camera to record.

For the backlit shots, you will likely want to put the center circle of the viewfinder on your subject, push the Flash Expsoure Lock button (the * button), recompose the shot as you want to take it and fire (all within 16 seconds of hitting the FEL button). Hitting the FEL button meters the scene from the center circle rather than the whole frame. This is a big help with backlit scenes.

[zzhanzaib222]

The Stofen will not help you outdoors in bright sunlight. I'd typically just try to underexpose with the flash one or two stops and set the camera to Evaluative Metering. You'll just want to fill some of the shadows so you already won't have the deer in the headlights look. Also on a sunny day at ISO 100 you'll be shooting at f/11 @ 1/200th of a second. The 430EX at 50mm would be able to throw light a little over 10 feet for an f/11 exposure.