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    Best settings please?

    Have been asked to take some indoor photos of a small group indoors so, using a 60D with a Yongnuo 600EX-RT II flash and a 24-105 Lens, does anyone have any advice on what settings I should use please?

    #2
    Re: Best settings please?

    I would love to provide some definitive settings, but there is so much we don't know that could affect things. How much ambient light is there, how many people, how large is the room, is the ceiling white so you can bounce some flash etc etc.

    However, that isn't much help to you, so here is what I would do:

    Set the camera to 1/125sec @ F8 (your max sync speed for the 6D is 1/180sec)
    Set the ISO to provide 1 stop underexposed to ambient light
    Set flash for 1 stop overexposed.

    That should provide correct lighting for flash and those areas not covered will be one stop underexposed.

    If you can get to the venue earlier, take some some test shots.
    If you can bounce flash off the ceiling, that would probably be better.

    Hope it goes well for you. Balancing flash with ambient light is much better than just blasting everything with the flash gun.
    Colin

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      #3
      Re: Best settings please?

      What he said

      Sent from my Mate 10 Pro using Tapatalk

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        #4
        Re: Best settings please?

        Thank you Colin & Supergeeman

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          #5
          Re: Best settings please?

          Glad I could help [emoji16]

          Sent from my Mate 10 Pro using Tapatalk

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            #6
            Re: Best settings please?

            Just to throw a spanner in the works, I never use a flash gun and get an image that is so much more appealing in my eyes, the pics I get of my grandkids are pretty good and everyone seems happy with the results. I use ambient light and a slightly higher iso setting, if your lens is the f4 version you should get good results with it.
            Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way

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              #7
              Re: Best settings please?

              Originally posted by tigerburnie View Post
              I use ambient light and a slightly higher iso setting, if your lens is the f4 version you should get good results with it.
              Thank you for that; I think I'll try both ways and see what transpires.

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                #8
                Re: Best settings please?

                I am not what you might call traditionalist when taking portraits, sometimes images can look over lit and bleached out, when I used a medium format film camera, if any flash was used at all it would be bounced either from a reflector or the ceiling. Modern off camera units can give nice diffused effects from the side and behind a subject. Shadows can really add to an image I think. Settings really are a case of practice on the day, indeed if the sun goes in or comes out mid shoot, you have to adjust as you go.
                Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way

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                  #9
                  Re: Best settings please?

                  If your group members are positioned at different distances from you then a good depth of field is needed....so set f11 or smaller, see what shutter speed and ISO settings are needed by metering with the camera to get a good exposure of the background and set these in manual mode...it may well be ISO800 at 1/30th....take a test shot with manual flash at 1/4 power bounced off the ceiling and adjust to suit for correct exposure of your subjects.
                  This should provide a balanced well exposed background and subject.

                  Don’t worry if the shutter speed is low as the flash duration is very short and will freeze the subject.

                  I would practice with a mock up at home first.
                  Brian Vickers LRPS

                  brianvickersphotography.com

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                    #10
                    Re: Best settings please?

                    There is really no "setting" per se that would be best. It would be based on the lighting. If the group is in two rows and you meter your TTL on the members in the back, the TTL will over expose the members in the front. If you meter on the front row members, those in the back will be underexposed. Increasing ISO and bouncing flash would resolve that but if you have no flash directed forward, you will get top-down shadows (noses and eye sockets). I prefer to use a Gary Fong Light Sphere for that in opaque with the cap removed. It provides the perfect balance of bounce and forward flash for a shoot such as this. But that would hinge on what is overhead. Anything overhead can cause unwanted shadows on your subject. You would have to pay close attention to obstructions. I usually shoot ISO 400 with the Light Sphere and my aperture choice would depend on the lens and ambient light. 1/60 is my preferred shutter speed in most portrait photography with strobe use of any kind.
                    Last edited by H2OJunkie; 01-03-2019, 11:57.
                    https://www.flickr.com/photos/23748789@N02/

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