B&W with a flash

[coops]

I have been asked to take some outdoor portraits in B&W. Before I use my 4x5 I think I will use my RB67 AND Ilford HP5. I am buying a flash (a used Sunpak 522) seems to be a good choice. Anyway, not knowing much about about flash photography but being fairly comfortable with the zone system, I would appreciate tips particularly regarding metering.

Cheers

[Randy]

It's been a while since I shot outdoors in daylight with a manual camera and flash. I believe we called it syncro-sun?
My technique was to do an incident reading from the subject, set my camera lens at that reading, then, with the flash on manual, I would cut the power on the flash down until the dial on the flash indicated that I was underexposing by 1-2 stops on the flash for the metered f/stop and the distance.

Ex - metered reading is 1/250 @ f/8 and the distance from camera and flash to subject is 20 feet. Set the lens at 1/250 @ f/8.
Set flash on manual. If at full power, the exposure with the flash @ 20 feet is f/11, you would want to cut the power by 2-3. You should probably set your flash at 1/4 to 1/8 power.

If I had one of my flashes handy I'd be able to better explain. If no one chimes in I'll do better tomorrow when I can look at a flash. I have several Sunpaks, though probably not the 522, but I think I have used it before.
I believe Ansel Adams suggested that the light from the flash be 1-2 stops less than the metered reading, so that it just fills in the shadows but it isn't obvious that you used a flash.

[dsphotog]

Fill flash is very helpful, it'll give your subjects eyes catchlight for that extra sparkle.

[Jay DeFehr]

Randy's advice is great, but if you follow it, you won't get that oh-so-cool P&S effect, by which the subjects are lit from the camera position eliminating any interesting modelling, and rendering the background like a Weegee crime scene, with the glowing eyes of non-distinct persons or things peering out towards the viewer. But, if that's your thing.......

[coops]

Thanks guys. I did some reading on the Sunpak and it seems to be very accurate on auto mode at providing the right amount of flash. A specific question is this. Say I meter the skin tones and give one or two stops more exposure, do I make any changes with using the flash, that is expose differently, or increase exposure as I just said?

[Frank Petronio]

You get yourself an instant film back and some Fuji instant film. Better yet, also get a flash meter, and a digital SLR with manual controls that can sync with your flash. Otherwise you're just guessing.

[Randy]

Just looked in my camera gear closet and lo and behold...I had a 522 in there. Coops, looks like my advice won't work since the 522 is not a variable power flash. My Sunpak 120-J and 383's have a switch to go from full power all the way down to 1/16th power, which is great for cutting the flash brightness when you can't move the flash back or don't want to change your aperature. Guess you'll just have to try it in auto.

[Robert Oliver]

I say put the sun behind your subject.... and use your sunpak on manual in front of your subject and at an angle just enough to light one side of the face and a little bit of the other side. The distance/f-shop/iso scale is fairly accurate, so simply move the flash to the correct distance away from your subject. You might need a fairly long sync cord for this or rent a pair of wireless units. You can also try putting together a cheap umbrella system by purchasing a umbrella head adapter and a light stand. (just make sure somebody is holding it) The distance scale won't work with the umbrella though so you will need some way to meter it. (digital slr would get you into the ballpark)

Maybe look for an Sunpak Auto611 instead so you can reduce the power.

Sun in the face always leads to squinty eyes so turn them away... you can add a reflector to the shadow side of the face if you want to fill in the shadows.

[Brian Ellis]

If this is a one-off deal and you won't be using flash for anything else, and if the project is just for a friend and not something you're getting paid real money for, just set the exposure for the ambient light, put the flash on auto, bracket a lot, and hope for the best. But if this is something you want to learn how to do well then buy a good book on flash photography and a good digital camera. Very few people who are serious about learning flash photography use film and flash meters any more. The film is too expensive and the feedback isn't fast enough. Once you know what you're doing you may choose to use your medium format or LF camera and a flash meter but at least learn with a digital camera so you can experiment without worrying about film costs and you can see your results instantly.

[rdenney]

Thanks guys. I did some reading on the Sunpak and it seems to be very accurate on auto mode at providing the right amount of flash. A specific question is this. Say I meter the skin tones and give one or two stops more exposure, do I make any changes with using the flash, that is expose differently, or increase exposure as I just said?

Set the flash for auto mode on the smallest f-stop allowed by your required distance, as shown on the flash controls.

Then, meter the scene, and set the lens exposure for an aperture one stop larger, with the appropriate shutter speed.

The automatic flash will provide an exposure of the scene one stop less bright than the ambient lighting, which will fill shadows but only slightly add to the exposure of the highlights. Your black and white film will handle that easily.

If you have Fujiroid, you can check the effect. If the flash is too bright, adjust the lens aperture to be two stops brighter than the f-stop setting recommended by the flash, and then adjust the shutter speed accordingly. That will reduce the effect of the flash on the scene by another stop.

If you want the flash to be as bright as the ambient lighting, though, set the aperture according to the flash recommendation, meter the scene, and then set the shutter speed to be a little less exposed than the meter reading.

If you want to match the flash to the background, meter the background first using a reflected meter. Find a combination of f-stop and shutter speed that matches one of the automatic settings on the flash. The only way this will work is if the ambient lighting is less on the subject than on the background. If it's more, then find shade for the subject. You can't add to the brightness of the background with a flash.

Edit: It's easier to bring a large reflector. I have one that folds up to an 18" circle but unfolds to 6 feet. With that, you can move the reflector around as needed to fill shadows, and it's a lot more predictable, especially when using an automatic flash.

Rick "be glad you have a leaf shutter that syncs at all speeds, but avoid speeds faster than about 1/250" Denney

[Frank Petronio]

Of course he could use a location with open shade and avoid the ugly fill flash look all together, which is what I'd want from a large format Zone System kind of portrait. If I wanted a flash going off in my face I'd just get some yahoo with a digital camera to spray and pray.....

Just saying... they probably want you to shoot their portrait because you're a fine B&W large- and medium-format film photographer. If you have limited experience with flash, why mess things up? Stick to with your competence and strengths - save the experiments for Guinea Pigs.

[tlitody]

I'd suggest getting rid of the flash too, and get yourself a big white reflector and someone or something to hold and point it. That way you can see if you got rid of the harsh shadows and adjust to taste before you trip the shutter. And you'll be sure you got the shot before developing it. And it'll save you film in bracketing and the time and money that takes. Only use fill flash if you really have to.

[coops]

Thanks for the advice. Think I will go the reflector route for now.

[tlitody]

Thanks for the advice. Think I will go the reflector route for now.

have a look at the uplight reflector or one of the big plain ones

http://www.lastolite.com/reflectors.php

[Randy]

...meter the scene, and set the lens exposure for an aperture one stop larger, with the appropriate shutter speed.

The automatic flash will provide an exposure of the scene one stop less bright than the ambient lighting, which will fill shadows but only slightly add to the exposure of the highlights. Your black and white film will handle that easily.

Why didn't I think of that? I just can't seem to get out of this box :(

[lawrencebrussel]

Nice tips. Need to try some of it.