Strong Contrast & DOF Using Flash

Pete Nolan Oct 27, 2007

  1. Pete Nolan

    Pete Nolan TrainBoard Supporter

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    I posted this on the Photography and Trains Forum without much response, so I'll try it here.

    Chaya asked a while back if there was a way of mimicking daylight on model railroad shots. The problem is that most layout shots have rather flat lighting because they are taken under diffuse lighting.

    I'd been playing around with "slow synch", where the flash goes off at the end of the exposure, after letting the camera gather the room light. Today I took out my D70 manual and really read the correct sections. I am beginning to have some success.

    I did not use my normal three compact fluorescents in cheap reflectors due to lack of time. The results would have been much better, as I could have avoided backgrounds darkening in the distance. That's for next time.

    This time I was trying to achieve distinct shadow lines, brighter colors, and more contrast. I'm using a Nikon D70 with a 24-85 lens, and an SB800 Nikon flash.

    [​IMG]

    Let's ignore the background, which I didn't light and is cloudy anyway. I've got some nice distinct shadows on the ships.

    Here's how I got this. It probably requires a DSLR to have these controls.

    1. I set the "Slowest Flash Speed", normally 1/60, to 1 sec, the limit.
    2. I set the flash sync mode to "Slow." The "Rear Curtain" mode is essentially the same.
    3. I set the "Color Mode" to III, which is Nikonese for sRGB with some color enhancement
    3. I chose "Aperture Priority" and closed the lens as far as it would go, f/25 for this lens.
    4. I set the camera on the tripod and composed the scene.
    5. Now for some fiddling. The D70 would not fire at first if the shutter speed was greater than 1 second (see step 1). So I had to turn the aperture to f/16 to get it to fire. Curiously, it would then fire without a problem at f/22 and f/25.
    6. I used their remote trigger so I wouldn't have to touch the camera.

    The color enhancement is apparent in these two shots. First, with all the settings described above:

    [​IMG]

    Now just a plain shot under the room lights, plus three compact fluorescents:

    [​IMG]

    I'll continue these experiments as I have time. In the second trial, I will move the flash off the camera, and use the compact fluorescents to make the background lighting more even.

    In the third trial, I'm going to try to use this technique with Helicon software. It should work, but might be tricky.
     
  2. RRfan

    RRfan TrainBoard Member

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    nice pics what setting is it that you dont need flash but is not blury
    and is fast so i dont miss a good shot (happend many times)
     
  3. Scott Stutzman

    Scott Stutzman TrainBoard Member

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    Good lighting.:) or no movement.
     
  4. RRfan

    RRfan TrainBoard Member

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    are floresent lights OK
     
  5. Scott Stutzman

    Scott Stutzman TrainBoard Member

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    Weell, Pete knows more about this than I do,and I don't really want to Hijack the thread...... So Pete, It's on you now.:tb-biggrin:
     
  6. Pete Nolan

    Pete Nolan TrainBoard Supporter

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    Not sure I understand the question, RRfan. Are you talking about shooting layout pictures, which are stationary, or action shoots on a layout, or action shots outdoors?

    If you tell me what type of shots you are missing, I can give you some advice.
     
  7. RRfan

    RRfan TrainBoard Member

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    I tried them all i am using a panasonic Lumix Dmc-fz5
    and the train moving not the layout
    i would post pics but i dont know how
     
  8. Pete Nolan

    Pete Nolan TrainBoard Supporter

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    The Lumix FZ5 is a fine camera, but doesn't have all the features of a full-fledged DSLR like a Nikon or Canon. It's smallest aperture is f/8, which will give you only marginal depth of field at the widest angle setting. But that's not fatal.

    To get a good model shot, I'd suggest two things at the beginning. First, stop the trains, unless you want them blurred. Second, use a tripod or another way to make the camera stationary. The reason for these is that your shutter speed is going to be much slower than anyone can hand hold a camera.

    Then you want to go to aperture priority, which your camera has, and set it to f/8. Shut off the flash. With only room light, your shutter speed will be up there beyond 1/4 sec; it could be a few seconds.

    I believe you don't have the adjustments for slowest flash speed or slow flash sync; read your manual and, if you do, then you can follow my steps.

    As far as posting images, you'll need to get a Railimages account at Trainboard (it's free) or elsewhere. There are plenty of tutorials here about how to get an account, how to upload, and then how to download.
     
  9. RRfan

    RRfan TrainBoard Member

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    i rest the camera on something
    my mom said to use the mico setting its her camera
    i will try what you said
    i tried all the others
    i took pocs of the train passing on shutter 8 il post pics once i get an account

    thanks paul
     
  10. Chaya

    Chaya TrainBoard Supporter

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    I had no idea this thread was out there, Pete. I'm glad you're trying to figure it out. One thing has me confused: the "just a plain shot under the room lights" looks the best of all to me for sharp, linear lines of light. 1: Where do the three compact fluorescents go (all in a bunch?), and 2: What is a "just a plain shot"? You mean it's just regular camera settings?

    I'm certainly looking forward to seeing more results of your experimentation. :tb-smile:
     
  11. Pete Nolan

    Pete Nolan TrainBoard Supporter

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    Chaya,

    The plain shot was taken on a gray card, so shadows will be more apparent than against scenery. I was actually referring to the color boost between 2 and 3, not so much the shadowing.

    My normal setup for a quick shot would be one main light and one fill light positioned about 90 degrees away at about twice the distance of the main light. If I have to add more light on the subject, yes, I put it as close as I can to the main light. If that gives me double shadows (often) I'll put it straight above the subject at about 1.4x the distance of the main light.

    With a reflector, light intensity falls off at roughly the square of distance.

    Most of my lighting, on my linear layout, goes to lighting the background evenly.

    By plain shot I meant standard camera settings, with no Helicon Focus tricks.
     

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