Tweaking Fill Flash
February 20th, 2008 | Published in Tutorials
Fill flash is a wonderful tool for opening up shadows and creating some light where the situations call for it. In using fill flash we many times refer to ‘Ratios.’ The ratio refers to the amount of light that we add to the ambient. If you think of them as f-stops it may be helpful.
For instance, if you have an ambient exposure of f-8 and you add light at f-11 you have added twice the amount of light. 2:1. If you add light that is f-8 would be a ratio of 1:1. Adding a fill that meters at f5.6, then it is is 1:2, in other words, there would be twice as much sun as there is fill light.
In the images we are looking at today, there are two ratios at work. Both are fine and have their own look. That is a decision that is made by you, the photographer, and you will see both of these used with various types of imagery. For the example, I am using two shots I did back to back in the same wardrobe in the same place. I rarely ever use 2:1 as I don’t really like the dark faces it produces.
Continue at Lighting Essentials
Additional Resources for Fill Flash: