Flash Photography For Portraits With An ND Filter | Complete Tutorial

[@errole]

Thank you for showing your power levels. Everyone talk about the camera but flash power is also important

[@ankioomustapha7838]

You are a wonderful professional who knows how to choose true beauty to polish your photos. Yes, I love this information. Thank you

[@isoawe1888]

I’ve had my Singh Ray for about 30 years. Love the neutral color and the 2-8 stop range.

[@razerone49]

At 9.0 she looks like she was pasted into that background. At some point there is TOO much exposure difference between the model and the background. The 9.0 shot is a prime example of this

[@hamishmctiaigh4363]

Happened to me the other day, the whole shoot looks like bad Photoshop

[@auomi8762]

I was about 10 minutes in and realized how fire your shirt is! Great video as always!

[@MiguelQuilesJr]

Thank you! 😂🙏

[@MetaTrixx]

this video and demonstration is actually amazing and very well done. I love the fact that this was a true process and almost a science experiment. It shows new photographers like myself that its going to take time to get the perfect settings and not not get frustrated when it isnt perfect right away. great stuff!

[@DocMatthews0311]

Learned so much in such a short concise video. Thk you much

[@MiguelQuilesJr]

Happy to hear it! That's the goal with my videos, pack them with a bunch of info that's easily digestible. :)

[@JeffreyJDavis]

Great explanation and I actually ended up buying the NiSi a few months back after first watching this video. I just wanna make a minor correction. When you push on the 4stop ND on top of the VND I'm pretty sure you now have a 5 - 9 stop ND, not a 1-9 stop as you said a couple of times. Still a very useful kit and I agree that NiSi quality is worth it if you are earning from your shoots.

[@iLLSinceProductions]

That shirt gives me life

[@loveiam4us]

This was great! Thank you so much!

[@616universe3]

Expose for the ambient light first.

[@criticalshotstudios]

I almost always do this anyways because of the way flash works in harsh light. The filter does a great job in diffusing residual light that I would have to otherwise edit and creates a more saturation rich image you can then make better by playing with exposure and vibrance

[@CarlosCaceres-ig2kf]

esaelf lgs ir

[@CarlosCaceres-ig2kf]

uett kztslsnit

[@NCPhotography]

Thank you so much! I lost my old Polar Pro ND and needed a new one to replace it!

[@Bob4golf1]

This is why I use Medium Format cameras (Hasselblad) - no need to restrict shutter speeds (they don't have a focal plane shutter - in fact my X1D2 doesn't have a shutter at all) so you can take you shutter speed anywhere you want with or without flash.

[@MiguelQuilesJr]

It's definitely an advantage on the MF side of things, but there are so many other advantages on the full frame side of the table that it would be hard to make a camera like that my daily shooter. It would be nice if they can continue to push FF cameras to work at higher shutter speeds.

[@Bob4golf1]

@@MiguelQuilesJr You are correct! I use Nikon as my 35mm system and have for 40 years. Particularly for sports, wildlife and anything that requires a quick response time and fast frame rate. Still you can't beat the dynamic range of the larger sensor and the color response is palpable.

[@wildone106]

Yea for $32,000 it should be able to. Geezuzkrist.

[@MaricelaToledo]

@@MiguelQuilesJr si 7400

[@UnderratedJatt]

great job ❤ very informative thank you

[@PeteySmoothJazz5059]

Per usual, GREAT INSTRUCTIONS! ❤❤

[@Z_EOS]

I am using an adapter with variable nd filter for canon R6. Best thing ever. No artifacts, no glare or reflection as it is between body and lens. Still using old canon EF lenses on mirrorless.

[@vinodp195]

Your photography learning contents are really great !!!!!! Thank you very much.

[@MiguelQuilesJr]

Thank you so much! Lots more to come 📸

[@spiscione]

very clever trick!

[@strippedlist]

Nice video as usual "DAD" :)) I'M SO HAPPY FOR YOU

[@RyoHazuki224]

Love the results for sure. But man, I can never ever justify spending that much on a filter. I mean you can get a cheap prime lens for the cost of one of those ND's! I'd love to see a true comparison between using cheap filters vs using these expensive ones, and compare to ones in-between too. Like how much a difference could there be? Sure I don't wanna go with a dirt cheap one, they can end up looking soft or casting unwanted color tones in your image. But a good mid-range filter should produce results just as good as a $300 filter.

[@MiguelQuilesJr]

Sounds like a great idea for a video! Having purchased many VND filters, I can tell you the mid range ones almost always shift colors. I'll make sure to show it in a video 😁👍

[@RyoHazuki224]

@@MiguelQuilesJr That would be awesome! I am sure there are some ND manufacturers out there that make quality filters at a decent price for more budget conscious photographers!

[@MiguelQuilesJr]

@@RyoHazuki224 I've tried a ton of them, all the usual suspects, and nearly all of them either have that X pattern over the video, bad vignetting, or they shift colors. These are by far the best ones (for the money), but if you're okay compromising a bit there are some midrange options for around $100 that might be alright.

[@llamarvasquez1803]

Awesome photos and video! Question can I stack a NISI cpl true color filter on this system?? Thank you

[@arminbaldon5347]

Great video! Would you recommend getting the FJ-X3 M or the FJ-X3 S for the Sony, since the universal trigger specifies that the Sony only works in manual mode?

[@MiguelQuilesJr]

Thank you! If you're using a Sony camera I recommend going with the Sony trigger. I only use the M trigger on my old digicams.

[@arminbaldon5347]

@@MiguelQuilesJr Thank you

[@ladmanstudiosphotography]

Great video. Been looking at trying to use ND filters with OCF. I have seen that there are now also Sensor ND filters. have you ever tried those?

[@MiguelQuilesJr]

Thank you! I've tried those filters by Kase and wasn't a fan. More often than not you need a variable ND filter which they don't make in that style (yet).

[@ladmanstudiosphotography]

@@MiguelQuilesJr ah gotcha. Thank you.

[@deangelogardner1]

mannnn thank you so much

[@beverlybasden2648]

Thank you!

[@KenOja]

With R5 and Godox flash I can do crazy sync speeds, but the power of the flash unit goes down in high sync modes. Using NDs can be helpful with high sync capable systems too :)

[@KenOja]

I think the capacitors in high shutter speeds (1/800 and so on) just dont have time to get fully charged.

[@MartinV.]

Great video

[@MiguelQuilesJr]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@vvassall28]

Great video. Have you tried the Kase Clip ND filter. It goes directly over the Sony sensor?

[@MiguelQuilesJr]

Thank you! I've tried them, but not a fan. They aren't variable, so you can't make adjustments on the fly like you could with this one. For that I'd just use HSS.

[@datflixx5869]

Great vid!! Did you have to change any settings on your cam to allow the FJ trigger to work with your sony A7IV?

[@MiguelQuilesJr]

Thank you! No setting changes needed, other than to enable wireless flash on the camera. Works right out of the box!

[@dmamplifier2509]

video show, does the filter influence the sharpness?

[@hudsoncaceres6820]

Can I ask what the reason you want to avoid High Speed Sync is?

[@iKeto_gal]

battery of flash drains more quickly

[@minuteman2006]

@@iKeto_gal seems to me like investing in a few more batteries would be much cheaper than a quality ND. Plus, the more glass you put Infront of that expensive prime, it begins to defeat the purpose at some point.

[@kifley19]

@@minuteman2006you also lose flash power when using hss.

[@ryansalasphotography]

@@minuteman2006 if you used a cheap ND then yes it can affect the image quality but NISI has a premium glass that even using it at night your photos are still sharp. you can utilize your flash power output by using ND filter or if you don’t mind losing power then HSS is for you. keep in mind that not all HSS flash are created equal and had lots of limitations like banding, draining battery fast, overheating, combating the sun with lower watts is impossible (ND can fix that), higher watts are expensive, etc. so if you only want to used a HSS i suggest to buy a 400-600 watts flash.

[@haytijr5823]

Great video

[@MiguelQuilesJr]

Thank you!!

[@haytijr5823]

What lens are you using in this video?

[@MiguelQuilesJr]

To take the photos? Or do you mean the one filming me?

[@haytijr5823]

@@MiguelQuilesJr to take the photo

[@MiguelQuilesJr]

I linked everything I used in the description of the video 📸

[@thesupport4963]

great vid! But I definitely use high speed and so far my pic game is crazy! Sony A7r4\ Tamron 35-150mm f2-2.8\ Godox AD300 \ GLOW 36 inch beauty dish.

[@amerginbard]

Hello, Just thinking, it may not be an issue considering the kind of photo, but the vignette stacking two ND's here could turn out being very noticeable, even with good quality filters. Couldn't it be a viable idea closing up to 2.8 or 3.2 even if this would reduce blur by a bit? You're close enough for a good bokeh anyway.

[@ryansalasphotography]

get a bigger ND and step up ring to fix that vignetting or used a matte box with square ND. problem solved

[@amerginbard]

Sure, that's what I do, I don't use CPL'S, just saying since those are instead used in the video 😉

[@looseshoulderssumali7311]

What white balance did you set your camera at? A specific color temperature? or something else?

[@MiguelQuilesJr]

I had it set to 5600k to roughly match the temp of the strobe. 📸

[@looseshoulderssumali7311]

@@MiguelQuilesJr Thank you! That's important info to produce consistent images from the session, IMO

[@RobertMagnussen]

what filter did you use before you got the Nisi Filters?

[@MiguelQuilesJr]

I used a drop in set made by LEE Filters, as well as a VND from Syrp. I've used many others but usually end up returning them when I see they mess with my colors.

[@RobertMagnussen]

@@MiguelQuilesJr i haven't found filters that i found ok for my work so i end up shooting HHS. I will take a look at this Nisi filters.

[@faizhernando9185]

9.0 is same with 1/ how power ?

[@BokushingusKendoTV]

I wanted to ask you, “do you have any A. focus issues with your ND?” Been having some lately.

[@MiguelQuilesJr]

On my A7IV and A7RV it's worked great. I think it all depends on what camera body you use. I had a lot more trouble with ND filters when I used a DSLR, so I found a different workaround that I'll probably share in a different video.

[@BokushingusKendoTV]

@@MiguelQuilesJr oh ok thank, Miguel. Also, another great video! Just completed it. Love the structure and focus of your videos. Btw, I just finished my first Spider-Man photoshoot. The video you made years ago about a spider man shoot was the first video of yours I watched… of course mine can’t compete, but I used a lot of the techniques you displayed in that video.

[@andersonboy620]

What about closing more the aperture in the camera? Isnt it easier? On top, the aperture wide open like you are shooting will never be the sharpest picture anyway.

[@MiguelQuilesJr]

I agree, that's how I would shoot my personal work. This is just another way of doing it if you want that blurry background look.

[@edwardhartman2408]

Do you have trouble with autofocus when the ND filter is on, especially that high?

[@MiguelQuilesJr]

Nope, no issues. On older bodies (DSLR) it can be a problem.

[@edfx5]

@@MiguelQuilesJr Good. I'm having an issue and I'm afraid it's because my ND filter is just cheap.

[@dionportraits5580]

I got one ND filter for my sigma arts 85mm but gotten a blurry images

[@thumpertorque_]

I only have a Sony A6500, is the FJ400 compatible with it?

[@MiguelQuilesJr]

Absolutely! Works great with any of the modern Alpha cameras. Just make sure you get the trigger they make for Sony. I have the link in the description of the video.

[@hankypanky4u]

The whole point of the ND filter is so you don’t use your flash at high power so why did you need to have your power so high?

[@MiguelQuilesJr]

That isn't quite right. You need more power to expose beyond the correction made by the ND filter. I've got a few more videos on my channel that explain it further. 👍

[@SalCincotta1]

well done!!

[@Mclovingclownz]

Is there a cheaper option? For the lens

[@MiguelQuilesJr]

If you want an f/1.2 lens in the Sony system, this is the only one that offers auto focus. Do you shoot with manual lenses? You could always look at the 50mm f/1.4 from Sony which is about $600 less.

[@bigmojones]

😍

[@michaelbell75]

Or just stop down to like f/2.2 or even f/2.8 😃 1.2 lens wide open fad is kind of over for awhile now. The blur just looks messy, smeary and distracting anyways. Just looks like a greenish brown mushy blob on the side of her head and surrounding her at 9:13. Not pleasing to the eye at all, which is why you never see this obliterate the background with meh 1.2 lens look in any fashion magazine or a very skilled portrait shooters portfolio. Would rather see a little background.

[@MiguelQuilesJr]

I agree, the wide open look isn't my favorite but I teach it for those who are interested. Plenty more lighting videos to come! 📸

[@michaelbell75]

@@MiguelQuilesJr True, and I apologize if it sounded like I was personally attacking you. I do enjoy your videos. Thanks

[@hyprz]

your final result looks like a FJH Photography youtuber image lol

[@suikhuathang6480]

No HSS great

[@MiguelQuilesJr]

It's all about having options 📸

[@BelenRocha-rv6jg]

@@MiguelQuilesJr rrrrrrrrrrrrr

[@ElisabetPuma-wh2us]

@@MiguelQuilesJr . 🏉🎈

[@monicarecalde6932]

​@@MiguelQuilesJrd.8p0 0

[@Ignacio28013]

e