Metering with strobes in manual mode

[d^2b]

Given strobes in manual mode (e.g. because the trigger only supports manual), do people have any better strategies than manual mode for setting aperture and shutter speed? I am getting OK results using trial shots and histograms, but it does seem a bit of a waste of all of the fancy spot-metering capabilities of my OM-1.

 

[Interceptor121]

Ignore the camera metering you are not trying to have even illumination of the centre
Strobe power relates mostly to aperture not shutter speed. Shutter speed controls ambient light.
Set the strobe based on your aperture and understand how the power of you strobe and distance change

 

[Tassie_Rohan]

As @Interceptor121 mentions:

• You shutter speed controls ambient light (the flash is so fast that changing shutter speed does nothing)
• Your aperture and iso control both ambient and strobe light
• Your strobe power controls the amount of strobe light.

Given the above I follow the following procedure at the start of a dive, with strobe, camera mode and camera flash mode all set to manual:

1. Set aperture based on the required depth of field. This depends on the lens: I use f8 on my wide angles.
2. Dial shutter speed to the highest sync speed (for my EM5iii it's 1/250)
3. Set Iso to a value that gives the darkest background/ambient light that you need (could be black for macro, or could be a deep blue for wide angle). Take a few test shots with the flash off until happy with the level of ambient light. A histogram helps a lot here: you do not want to loose detail due to under or over exposure, unless for creative reasons (i.e. black background).
4. Set your strobe manual power level for your subject: Turn your flash on and take a few test shots until the strobe power is dialed in for the aperture, iso and distance to subject that you are using.

You are now ready to shoot manual, with your strobe power controlling foreground exposure and your shutter dial controlling ambient light – dial to 1/60 for lighter, 1/250 for darker. You are now in complete control of how well lit your foreground and background will be. Your creativity and imagination are the only limit.

When you change depth you may need to repeat step 3 (adjust the iso) to maintain the range of ambient light you shutter dial controls.

I also have a step 3B, which I forgot to add because I always forget to do it on the dive: set white balance (ie 'cloudy'), or at the very least take a photo of a slate for reference during post processing.

Check out the Instagram link in my signature for what this 4 step process can deliver: all my shots are manual.

Cheers,
Rohan.

 

[bvanant]

The thing is that your OM-1 doesn't know there is a strobe attached (unless you are in RC mode). So pick an aperture and shutter, shoot once, look, recompose and adjust.
Repeat til happy. After a while you will figure out what your jump settings should be.
Bill

 

[Nemrod]

During olden times we had light meters, this photo with my trusty Sekonic that rode atop a Nikonos II, an Ikelite Nikon FM and another Nikonos III and accompanied me into the digital realm with this Oly C5050 in Ikelite box:




Number 3 in @Tassie_Rohan list is a step I often flub or do not do correctly, especially up shallow near the dive's end after being deep, winding up in washed out blue cast photos.

Blue cast, arrrggh, the bane of my existence and others too I am sure .

 

[Interceptor121]

During olden times we had light meters, this photo with my trusty Sekonic that rode atop a Nikonos II, an Ikelite Nikon FM and another Nikonos III and accompanied me into the digital realm with this Oly C5050 in Ikelite box:




Number 3 in @Tassie_Rohan list is a step I often flub or do not do correctly, especially up shallow near the dive's end after being deep, winding up in washed out blue cast photos.

Blue cast, arrrggh, the bane of my existence and others too I am sure .

Blue cast is due to clipping the blue channel in most cases. It is unrelated to the flash power.
If you meter the scene for ambient on mid grey and the sunball is in the scene the highlights will clip 100%
This is why with modern camera you need to ignore the meter and do other considerations

 

[Nemrod]

Blue cast is due to clipping the blue channel in most cases. It is unrelated to the flash power.
If you meter the scene for ambient on mid grey and the sunball is in the scene the highlights will clip 100%
This is why with modern camera you need to ignore the meter and do other considerations

That photo is from around 2003 at a dive where the participants were fitted with vintage gear thus my attachment of the Sekonic meter mostly for vintage appearance. I have two or three of those bought in the day when they were new.

I generally follow this advice, third bullet, to some good from Inon regarding blue cast, which requires me to bump strobe power often times if I have had to lower ISO or hit max sync speed and the only thing left is aperture or grab my other camera that has 1/1000 sync speed:



I think someone took the advice from the manual serious:



I try to expose for the water/background and use my strobes to light the foreground adequately, thus 50 strobes . Sometimes I can take several shots to get it right, other times I get only one chance and flub . Southern rays in Cozumel or Caymans in ten feet of water, arrrggghh.

Attached manual from Sekonic just for fun reading for those who have never seen a film camera or meter.