Flash too harsh!

af_thefragile

Hi, I was wondering what you could do to reduce the harshness of a flash. Now i don't have a hot shoe flash so i only use the pop up flash of my camera when i need it.
I was at a gig last week and I had to use the flash to take decent pics (without flash it was all very blurry and i was at the very front so i couldn't use my nifty fifty as i couldn't get a proper field of view though it) and the flash in the pictures turned out a little too bright overexposing areas in the pictures.

So i was wondering what i could do to 1. reduce the harshness of the flash in the pictures i have already taken through post processing.
And 2. what i could do in the future to make sure the flash is not that harsh but still bright enough to take pictures without blurring it all out.

Cheers!

Ricky91t

Seen tissue been used infront of the flash
Or a little see-through film cartridge you used to get,
If you do a search for your camera model on google and put flash diffuser after you should find some to buy and some to make

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Pop-Up-Flash-Diffuser-for-CANON-400D-450D-300D-XSi-XTi_W0QQitemZ310118210135QQcmdZViewItemQQimsxZ20090126?IMSfp=TL090126149001r37327

ThOnda

You have to put something in front of the flash to soften it's ligh. It is possible to do it DIY way. Just google it :-)

af_thefragile

Cheers for that. I was thinking about making one of those too... Might do it one of these days...

Though you guys still got any tips on how to fix the pics that i've already taken.
Here's one i've got for a sample:

Like you can see the flash being too harsh on the bass guitar...

Thanks.

ThOnda

The flash (or the camera) are trying to evaluate exposure for the whole scene. And if some objects are closer, they will be lit considerably more.

Mycroft H

Sometimes underexposing down to -0.3 or -0.7 can reduce blown out highlights while still giving a natural tone.

A tissue paper can make a simple flash diffuser too

af_thefragile

So like can i fix it to like reduce the exposure just on the bass and leave the rest of the pic the way it is?

ThOnda

Well, no. You will reduce power of the flash. The closest object will be less lit (correctly), but everything inthe background gets quadruple less light (talking about path of the light there and back together). You could improve that by using longer exposure to allow ambient light to fall onto the sensor.

af_thefragile

So looks like the diffuser is the best way to go for future pics.
Cheers for it though. This was my first time taking pictures at gigs so i'm still learning! Looks like i've still got a lot to learn!
Also i'll take note of under exposing the shots to see if i get better results...

AnimalRights

slightly off topic but Nissan were formerly known as Datsun. :pac:

af_thefragile

Haha, these guys are from New Zealand though...!
Pretty cool guys and their music isn't too bad either...

PoleStar

Look up Stofen diffuser on google

Im in the same boat and Im hoping this will solve my fill flash problems!

You can put in make and model of flash and it will give you custom fit diffuser!

coylemj

AnimalRights wrote: »

slightly off topic but Nissan were formerly known as Datsun. :pac:

That's correct, the reason being that the CEO of the Nissan Corporation came to the UK on a vist and nobody would meet him because they had never heard of Nissan so when he went home he ordered the change of the car brand from Datsun to Nissan. Next time he came to the UK they rolled out the red carpet.

AnCatDubh

hmnnnn..... yes to all of the above - all good advice but for future gigs, would you not be better concentrating on getting to grips with that 50mm - they are really a super lens. There are a series of problems at gigs. Lighting being very difficult, auto focus if your lens has it will struggle at best assuming challenging light conditions, and from previous threads you'll read that the majority of people will go to manual focus. This can be bloody difficult until you get used to it but so rewarding when you get it right.

That blur that you mention is a symptom when your shutter speed has slowed down and hence the camera isn't able to freeze the action appropriately and/or focus not happening properly. It is one of the many challenges of photography. You will end up dispensing with a high percentage of the shots and gradually work to a better 'hit' average. The problem with flash gig photography is that unless you are an accredited photographer in the pit at a massive gig then performers and the entrance paying punters might get annoyed pretty fast with flash firing regularly. If you master low light, low aperture, and manual focus then you'll take away to your hearts content without being 'in the way' of anyone enjoying the gig. There are many others here that are more familiar with gigs and will be able to advise but I just think to concentrate on getting flash right for this purpose mightn't be the wisest of options.

I was at a gig recently where it was announced that "No flash photography is allowed". I hadn't intended using flash but a lot of other people put away their cameras at that point. Mine needed a lot of processing / white balancing sorting and the like and yes I threw away many but I was definitely better than previous attempts. Manual focus still a problem for me but again I think it was easier / better than previous attempts.

My twopence worth is that you'd be better sticking with the 50mm and work on getting it right. Flash (particularly onboard) won't necessarily solve all the problems that you'll have (although will to an extent sort the blur issue) however it will probably will create some other issues to deal with like the harshness of resultant portions of the image / unbalanced light of foreground and background / etc...

Other posters - more advice if you've been there?

ThOnda

If you are going to use flash, try to have the same distance of all people from the camera. And be aware of reflections from shiny objects.
Definitely increasing ISO and opening the aperture when using nifty-fifty is one good way to go.

Fionn

if you have to use the camera's pop-up flash maybe something like this might be a solution

http://www.lumiquest.com/products/softscreen.htm


looks hilarious but if it does the job!!!

af_thefragile

The only problem with the nifty fifty was that i was right at the front of the gig (like right by the stage, 2 feet away from the band), so i really couldn't get much into the frame with the 50mm lens. I had to change to my 18-55 kit lens and ended taking most of the shots at 18mm.

That gig wasn't an mcd gig and there weren't any bouncers or anything so i got away with using the flash. Also met the band and they were pretty cool about the pictures n stuff. Though i do feel i need to learn to take pictures without the flash cuz using the flash wouldn't work every time and also wouldn't wanna piss of the band!

Oh and yes, i should have used manual focus too. The camera was taking ages to auto focus during the gig cuz no one was staying steady and everything was constantly moving... I'll try to use manual focusing next time...

Crispin

read in a magazine that placing the top of a deoderant bottle (the clear semi transparent ones) over the pop up flash diffuses the light and makes it less harsh. Tried it myself to good effect, unfortunately no evidence to hand.

Dragan

What type of camera as you using? You may be able to bring the flash down a few stops?

I was very surprised by how soft the direct flash on the 40d can be after you mess around with it.

CabanSail

I have not done Gig Photography for many years, so these are general observations.

Flash can be useful in certain situations but try to avoid it when you can. It is difficult to get good results from pop up flashes. You can try to diffuse, as suggested, and that can make things a bit better. With a Flash unit you can bounce the flash & that way get more even lighting. By adding flash you drown out the natural light & so you lose the mood.

Bumping up ISO & using available light will often give better results, noise being the major downside but that can often look good, especially in a B&W conversion.

As you were close to the stage, maybe an option would have been to use the 50mm & try to concentrate on details rather then broader shots?

challengemaster

af_thefragile wrote: »

Cheers for that. I was thinking about making one of those too... Might do it one of these days...

Though you guys still got any tips on how to fix the pics that i've already taken.
Here's one i've got for a sample:
Like you can see the flash being too harsh on the bass guitar...

Thanks.

I think a bigger problem is there's a giant guitar there that's really adding nothing to the shot.. If you compose the shot better to start, then the flash reading will light the subject better, which really makes your work that little bit easier

af_thefragile

Well, i just went into town today and bought myself a couple of photography books. One of them is about composition and the other one is about exposure.
Hopefully i can learn more about composition and exposure now to make sure i can get better pictures at gigs without using the flash and getting rid of the ambient light.

The main problem i realised with the flash was that apart from being too harsh on the subjects, it added too many highlights to the pictures making the backgrounds very dark and pretty much getting rid of the ambient light which set the mood of the gig.

Well first gig, so i guess i did a good job composing many pics but i think i didn't get the exposures quite right and the flash ruined most of the pics i took.
I'll post some of the better pics later for you guys to check em out and lemme know what you guys think of them...

melekalikimaka

af_thefragile wrote: »

Well first gig, so i guess i did a good job composing many pics but i think i didn't get the exposures quite right and the flash ruined most of the pics i took.
I'll post some of the better pics later for you guys to check em out and lemme know what you guys think of them...

thats what we all said after our first gigs, ya only learn from your mistakes, best get them all outta your system early on and let the good shots roll