AggieDiver
Contributor
We finally broke down and bought a strobe. Now we need some ideas on settings to start out with so our first 2-3 days of diving aren't spent fiddling with settings. The strobe is arriving today and we are leaving Saturday for Cayman Brac, so we don't have time to go to the local pond to practice.
Here is the rig...Oly C5050, ike housing with TTL support, Ike DS51 strobe on Ike deluxe ball and arm system.
Hopefully, the following info will help guide answers to my questions. We typically do mostly macro/fish portrait type photographs, although if a shark decides to swim by 6 feet away, we aren't going to pass up trying to get a shot of it. Before buying the strobe, we typically shot aperature priority using the internal flash (diffused using Ike's housing mounted diffuser) with the aperature set between 1.8 and 5.6 depending on the available light. We shoot in Raw format so we have the ability to correct minor exposure problems to some degree in post processing. So with that said, here are my questions:
1) Where to set the strobe? I have read around a bit and know that it should probably be as far as I can get it from the camera, directly above the lens if possible, and aimed at or just beyond the likely subject distance to avoid lighting the water between the camera and the subject. Any other thoughts or guidance beyond those basic ideas?
2) Is aperature priority using the Ike/Oly TTL still our best bet short of full manual operation? If so, what settings would be a good starting point? If not, what should we be doing differently?
3) What is the best way to deal with the internal flash? I believe the 5050 has a setting that turns off the internal strobe and only uses the external...am I correct? If so, is there any reason not to do that? If not, is black electrical tape more effective than the ike housing mounted blackout panel that comes with the housing?
4) In the not so unlikely event that a shark or turtle swims by 6+ feet away with a beautiful sand bottom and deep blue background behind it, whats the best way to get a snapshot without spending 2 minutes changing settings while it swims away? Is leaving the strobe on likely to screw up exposure bad enough that photoshop + raw won't recover it? Or should we turn the strobe off manually and take the shot with natural light for the best chance at a clean photo?
Thats all I can think of for now, but feel free to give any other guidance on what we need to think about if I have missed any issues.
Thanks in advance!
Here is the rig...Oly C5050, ike housing with TTL support, Ike DS51 strobe on Ike deluxe ball and arm system.
Hopefully, the following info will help guide answers to my questions. We typically do mostly macro/fish portrait type photographs, although if a shark decides to swim by 6 feet away, we aren't going to pass up trying to get a shot of it. Before buying the strobe, we typically shot aperature priority using the internal flash (diffused using Ike's housing mounted diffuser) with the aperature set between 1.8 and 5.6 depending on the available light. We shoot in Raw format so we have the ability to correct minor exposure problems to some degree in post processing. So with that said, here are my questions:
1) Where to set the strobe? I have read around a bit and know that it should probably be as far as I can get it from the camera, directly above the lens if possible, and aimed at or just beyond the likely subject distance to avoid lighting the water between the camera and the subject. Any other thoughts or guidance beyond those basic ideas?
2) Is aperature priority using the Ike/Oly TTL still our best bet short of full manual operation? If so, what settings would be a good starting point? If not, what should we be doing differently?
3) What is the best way to deal with the internal flash? I believe the 5050 has a setting that turns off the internal strobe and only uses the external...am I correct? If so, is there any reason not to do that? If not, is black electrical tape more effective than the ike housing mounted blackout panel that comes with the housing?
4) In the not so unlikely event that a shark or turtle swims by 6+ feet away with a beautiful sand bottom and deep blue background behind it, whats the best way to get a snapshot without spending 2 minutes changing settings while it swims away? Is leaving the strobe on likely to screw up exposure bad enough that photoshop + raw won't recover it? Or should we turn the strobe off manually and take the shot with natural light for the best chance at a clean photo?
Thats all I can think of for now, but feel free to give any other guidance on what we need to think about if I have missed any issues.
Thanks in advance!