Shooting With Overhead Flash Technique

[markandhisfish]

got this idea from a photography forum and ive finally managed to make it work , so i thought id share the results .
heres a shot as i was getting the "traditional" way

and heres with the changed setup

 

[Piti]

Can you post a link or tell us how to use flash without reflection? What type of camera? Oh yeah and STUNNING fish.

The Black Blue and Yellow one has my vote.

 

[markandhisfish]

thankyou . im using a canon eos 500d with an external speedlite flash . if there's enough interest il do a thread in the appropriate section with step by step photos of how i did it .

 

[Skins]

Your just showing off now as always Mark STUNNING!!!!!

Keith.

 

[markandhisfish]

lol thanks keith . im working hard to improve my aquatic photography , its nice to get such kind compliments

 

[raptorrex]

got this idea from a photography forum and ive finally managed to make it work , so i thought id share the results .
heres a shot as i was getting the "traditional" way

and heres with the changed setup

great shots

 

[moochy13]

does one technique show the natural colour of the fish more than the other ?

 

[raptorrex]

does one technique show the natural colour of the fish more than the other ?

ultimately yes, well no, well sometimes.

its about controlling reflections, flashback and helping stop motion. truth is, you need avaliable light for the best colour rendition. but not having the flash on top of the camera, makes things a lot better. only problem is, you have to find out how to do it first!

 

[markandhisfish]

thanks everybody , the flash above the tank gives much more usable light ,and tends not to wash out the colours so much . you will get some nice shadows from the rocks etc , but its still hit and miss as to the final result . depending on the angle , where the fish is in relation to the flash , how far off the substrate etc , some shots come out fantastic others awful. this was the 1st effort with this method , so with a bit of tweaking here and there i should be able to improve results further .

 

[Steve Randell]

Did you edit any of these photos in photoshop?
Monster fish keepers have a photography section that has a good level of advice on lighting etc.

Looking at the pics i would say that the level of flash is too high illuminating the whole tank rather than just the fish

Steve

 

[blue acara]

Excellent pictures.

 

[markandhisfish]

Did you edit any of these photos in photoshop?
Monster fish keepers have a photography section that has a good level of advice on lighting etc.

Looking at the pics i would say that the level of flash is too high illuminating the whole tank rather than just the fish

Steve

the trouble with the speedlite ive got is its power isnt adjustable , so its all or nothing , plus its not compatible with high speed sync on the wirlesss trigger ,therefdore restricting me to shutter speeds of 1/50th and lower , which then has a knock on effect that i cant use as wide a aperture as id like or the shots are blown out . id like a 430exII but cant afford 1 at the moment so im having to experement a bit and adapt things to suit. not perfect yet but getting there . i darkened the background in picassa on the 4th and 5th pics as id not long fed them and the flash shew up every tiny little particle in the water none of the colours etc have been tampered with in any way tho ( im not that clever lol)

Excellent pictures.

thankyou

 

[raptorrex]

Did you edit any of these photos in photoshop?
Monster fish keepers have a photography section that has a good level of advice on lighting etc.

Looking at the pics i would say that the level of flash is too high illuminating the whole tank rather than just the fish

Steve

the trouble with the speedlite ive got is its power isnt adjustable , so its all or nothing , plus its not compatible with high speed sync on the wirlesss trigger ,therefdore restricting me to shutter speeds of 1/50th and lower , which then has a knock on effect that i cant use as wide a aperture as id like or the shots are blown out . id like a 430exII but cant afford 1 at the moment so im having to experement a bit and adapt things to suit. not perfect yet but getting there . i darkened the background in picassa on the 4th and 5th pics as id not long fed them and the flash shew up every tiny little particle in the water none of the colours etc have been tampered with in any way tho ( im not that clever lol)

actually it is, ( the flash is full ETTL) your problem is you are too close for the flash minimum power. that's why i suggested some tissue. but if you press 'manual' on the flash it gives you power options. you need to know how to use a guide number, but full power control is there. you can also set "exposure compensation" here you will be able to over or under expose the shot. if you are getting washed out pics, set one and then two stops of underexposure, see which is best.

if you try manual flash. divide the guide number(43) by the flash to subject distance, this gives you the aperture needed for correct exposure.

 

[markandhisfish]

my flash doesnt have a manual setting rex its a 2nd hand speedlite 420ex . i may try knocking up a contraption to have the flash higher above the tank .

 

[hamfist]

my flash doesnt have a manual setting rex its a 2nd hand speedlite 420ex . i may try knocking up a contraption to have the flash higher above the tank .

Or use some sort of flash diffusing device (either expensive or cheap like greaseproof paper or something like that).

Overhead flash is a technique I have toyed with the idea of getting into for ages. The improvement in your pics is marked, even though you still have lots of fine-tuning yet to do. Maybe you have inspired me to actually do something about getting a slave flashgun.

Nice pics also Mark ! the africans certainly are photogenic !