Balance Ambient Light With a Flash | Mark Wallace | Exploring Photography

[@mannymota3442]

Once again you've demonstrated why I think you're one of the best educators and why I've been watching you for well over a decade. Thanks so much!

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

Wow, thank you!

[@jtinoco9859]

No one else teaches photography the way you do. Simple, to the point, and engaging. I’ve learned so much from watching your videos. Thank you!

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

Wow, thank you!

[@pritamaries]

As always , ❤ ur simple explanation which is very easy to understand. I am also happy to see the genuine excitement from the model when she finds the photos are so good

[@nancym.6514]

For so long, I was extremely intimated by the idea of using flash. This past winter, I bit the bullet and purchased one. I watched your class on Create Live, and suddenly, flash wasn't so daunting of a concept after all! You explain things so well and in a manner that it easy to understand. I'm so glad that you're creating videos like this and I can continue to expand my knowledge base. Many thanks, Mark!

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

That's great to hear!

[@TH-ds2yx]

You're a brilliant teacher. Engaging and enthusiastic. Ilba is a pleasure to watch too.

[@hectorespino3740]

Great explained! And what a beautiful model! ❤

[@PsychedelicChameleon]

This is an excellent explanation, and great way to think about these factors! Thank you Mark Wallace!

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

My pleasure! Please let me know if you have questions or suggestions for future videos. I'm here to help!

[@heshamaskar67]

That is a brilliant video, thank you so much 💐🙏

[@wowenkho]

Super thanks! For so many years you've been teaching photography topics so clearly! :) I like that you made it easy to understand with your graphics and your demonstrations! Been watching your photography tutorial videos for so many years! :)

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

Amazing! You're one of the OG crew. I can't believe I've been creating on KZbin for over 17 years. How is that possible? I'm not that old. haha

[@reganalbertson3210]

Being a gringo in the DR, I appreciate the way that you communicated with Gilda, por que mi español no es bien. Mark, you used the language that you have, and that's what I've done to get through many projects with non-English speakers, be it quinceneñeras, bodas or events, and they like their photos. I also always am learning from your technical instruction.

[@eoslove2022]

Nice one Mark! And thanks to Ms Moreno too.

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

Glad to help!

[@bernalphotography]

Amazing video. I sort of already knew this, but not quite understood it until I watched this video. Thank you so much for taking the time to put this together.

[@mor.6860]

Thank you very much. You always show something worth watching.

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

I appreciate that!

[@RavinderSingh-ft5dw]

Superb work dear

[@johnfranzenphotography]

If Mark hasn't copy written "Exposer Diamond" I will. Great tool for explaining this technique 😊

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

hahaha. Um, yeah. Of course I've got that locked down. hahaha hahaha

[@renewberry5658]

wonderful video as always. You make it easy to follow and understand.

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

Thank you!

[@Visionery1]

Excellent advice, Mark, as always.

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

Thanks so much! It was a fun video to create.

[@Visionery1]

@@MarkWallaceVideos you have a wealth of knowledge, do you have a 'handlanger' in the wings to take over the reigns when you are no longer able or willing. BTW, we miss your travel vlogs.

[@jorgebracero3614]

Mark, as usual very clear explanation.

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

Many thanks! That's always good to hear, it's hard to know if I'm connect while I edit in my little cave.

[@fountainvalley100]

Awesome video explaining the subject. This was the first time I saw the exposure diamond used. Great job explaining it.

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

Glad it was helpful!

[@michelvanryswyk8560]

So timely as I just bought some studio lights. Thank you, greetings from 🇨🇦

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

Greetings to the Great White North! I have lots of videos about studio lighting. I hope they help out. If you're a member I also have a full studio lighting class available on my channel. woot woot!

[@josephchan4198]

Another great video. Thanks!!

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

Thanks for watching!

[@MartinV.]

Great Video!

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

Thanks!

[@mamertobernal4460]

Thank you Mark.

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

You are very welcome

[@kennethnielsen3864]

Nice pictures, thanks for sharing.

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

Thanks for watching

[@wmshannahan]

Nicely done, this helps a lot. Thanks.

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

Glad it helped!

[@Lubo54]

👍👍👍 Mark...EXCELLENT

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

Many thanks!

[@Artistresearcher]

Brilliant, thanks. I feel like my brain struggles to take things in and your video made it really clear.

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

Glad it helped!

[@MarcusSortijas]

How you set the ISO at 3:30 was huge for me. I just defaulted to pointing my camera at the subject. But now I understand how that could throw off my light metering and make adjusting the camera settings harder. The camera is trying to expose for the subject, not the ambient/background. I would go crazy trying to figure out the right ISO setting. I feel dumb for never thinking of just pointing my camera at the background and ignoring the subject entirely. Then the light metering can read the ambient/ background accurately. I could bring up the histogram to dial in the camera settings even more precisely. That one tip just unlocked so much for me 🤯 I feel that will drastically cut down on how many test shots-bad shots lol-I have to take to dial in my camera settings and flash power. I went through your Speedlights 101 class on CreativeLive but it felt like a bachelor’s degree in flash photography ha ha. Tons of gold nuggets. Thank you so much for all your photography training and inspiration.

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

That's great! sometimes those "small" tricks can be a game changer. I'm glad the video helped out.

[@MarcusSortijas]

@@MarkWallaceVideosThis is great. I’ve been practicing today by using manual mode and auto ISO. I’ve been playing around with pointing the camera at a part of the scene and using Auto Exposure Lock (AE Lock) (* symbol) to quickly lock in the ISO. Rather than adjusting ISO myself. So much faster! If I’m not using a flash, I’ll point at a “midtone” part of the scene that’s not the brightest or the darkest, then hitting AE Lock. I’m noticing that AE Lock doesn’t work as well when my flash is on. So I’ll dial in camera settings and ISO with my flash off, then turn on my flash and shoot with TTL. Or just use auto ISO and TTL. Not use AE Lock. Yes! I’m nailing exposure with the first shot 🥳 This will be a big boost to my event photography. Is there a way to convert a TTL flash power to its manual flash equivalent as a kind of “flash power lock”? I know my Godox XPro flash trigger has a “TTL Convert to Manual” (TCM) feature. But not when the flash is on the camera. Although with full manual camera settings, the TTL is relatively consistent with flash power. Auto ISO does a decent job too.

[@TeddyCavachon]

In the last example outdoors by putting the flash at an opposite 45° angle as Fill from the Key lighting from the sky creates cross-shadow lighting. Fill coming from over the camera on the camera axis on and falling off front to back produces more natural (i.e. one sun / one shadow) and more flattering results. Learned that apprenticing and assisting Monte Zucker. Just try it and compare the results 😊

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

Great point! I didn't do that for two reasons: There was a wall in the way and if I put the light over there the video camera wouldn't see it and I couldn't teach the principle of balancing the light. Sometimes you have to make a compromise in the photo to do a better job of teaching the skills. It's the fun of making KZbin videos.

[@TeddyCavachon]

@@MarkWallaceVideos Monte back in the late 60s innovated the use of off-camera Key flash with centered Fill on bracket over lens to change scene range to match the shorter range of color prints when weddings changed from B&W. I worked with him in 1972-1974 and used the same Stroboframe camera - flip bracket on every digital camera I’ve owned single 2000 to always have centered fill for every flash shot I take. He didn’t use studio lights when I worked for him, instead doing all his posed portraits by the light of any available north facing window giving them the look of old master painting. His dual flash shots recreating ceremony action and at the reception looked like studio shot because of careful attention to lighting patterns and precise facial angles. He was an amazing guy to learn from.

[@elram2649]

Ilba was cool too. 😊😍

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

She’s great. Such a nice person.

[@nhai2011]

You are the best photography teacher...1 question to ask...white balance.... Go for flash or go for ambient light?....thanks

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

Put a gel on the flash so the color temperature matches the ambient light. I didn't need it in this situation because the daylight is about 5200K and the flash is about the same. Studio strobes are daylight balanced.

[@nhai2011]

@@MarkWallaceVideos thank you sir 😍😍😍

[@donbodat]

I totally concur with manny. Your Spanish is good enough to produce lovely images 😉

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

Gracias!

[@SusanneGeert]

Great video - very clear explanation 👌 I don't remember how it is with shutter speed when using flash. When you ude 1/60 it sounds like a slow shutter but is that only because you use flash you can have such a slow shutter? How slow can you go / what should you be aware of when setting shutter and using flash? Thanks a lot in advance ;-)

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

What a great question. I think I need to make a video to answer it! But - here are a few older videos that will help you understand what's going on with a flash and a slower shutter speed: kzbin.info/www/bejne/lavPp4l4ebCVnqssi=g-6BVXN9gt4l_yFL kzbin.info/www/bejne/hpa5YpmNlNxmhZI kzbin.info/www/bejne/n6SUe4CrlNCbmNUsi=OQ695hj2FmyfvWtc kzbin.info/www/bejne/qJzOh2SDis-hjZosi=RoLM96ao0q3Z7fW8

[@georgeanthony-n5b]

I hope this is not too crazy of a question. What pants are those you are wearing? I'm looking for durable pants for my outdoor photography sessions and field work. Those look interesting.

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

They are Fjallraven Vidda Pro pants. A bit pricey, but they fit my adventure lifestyle perfectly. www.fjallraven.com/uk/en-gb/men/trousers/trekking-trousers/vidda-pro-trousers-m/

[@georgeanthony-n5b]

@@MarkWallaceVideos Thank you. I thought so, but was curious. Are you happy with their durability, especially in the field?

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

They are fantastic. I got them after meeting Simon up in Canada. If they can survive his lifestyle, they can take anything. www.youtube.com/@forestyforest Madison also wears them. www.youtube.com/@MadisonClysdalee

[@gregedwards69]

For those of us with just a speedlite and no external light meter, how would you suggest going about determining the correct flash power?

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

Great question - I'm making a new video to answer this one. Short answer: use TTL and exposure compensation.

[@gregedwards69]

@@MarkWallaceVideos Thanks Mark. I looke forward to the new video. Quick question, is that Flash exposure compensation or camera exposure compensation? I can't understand how the latter would work in the all manual process in this video.

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

@@gregedwards69 If you have your flash in TTL mode then flash exposure compensation only changes the flash exposure. Exposure compensation changes the exposure for ambient light. With a Canon the exposure compensation only changes the ambient exposure, with a Nikon it changes both exposures. Fujifilm and Sony handle it differently as well. The best way (to be sure) is to shoot in manual mode (lock in your ambient exposure) and leave the flash in TTL (it will automatically fill). Then adjust your shutter to change the ambient light and use your flash exposure compensation to adjust the fill light. Or hang on for a few more days and I'll have a video explaining the whole thing. ;)

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

Greg- the video is ready for you! kzbin.info/www/bejne/kJLRgGCYit-nocU :)

[@gregedwards69]

@@MarkWallaceVideos fab. Thank you. I’ll check that out.

[@olympusfotograph]

Good Day Mr. Wallace, at 13:19 your Meter shows 50% Flash Contribution and your 💎shows 25%. Is the rest for your security😉😉 Stay safe and thx for your time. 🇦🇹🇦🇹

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

@@olympusfotograph The flash was set to 25% of full power. At that setting it is contributing 50% of light to the overall exposure. They are two different things. I think it might be a good topic for a new video! :)

[@olympusfotograph]

@@MarkWallaceVideos ok, Thank you Sir. A misunderstood of shown values. 😂😂thx for clarifying it. 😊😊🍻🍷🇦🇹🇦🇹

[@robertobedoya6664]

Huge fan of your videos, If you are here in my country we can try to meet💪🏼📸

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

@@robertobedoya6664 what is your country?

[@robertobedoya6664]

@@MarkWallaceVideos Colombia

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

@@robertobedoya6664 Where?? estoy en Medellín

[@robertobedoya6664]

@@MarkWallaceVideos in Cali

[@gerardbellouard9696]

cooking with gaz... i'm still learning 😅

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

You can do it!

[@Mr_phil_80]

Starting many sentences with a loud “So!” Is super distracting from the actual discussion.

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

Thanks for watching! 😁

[@bernalphotography]

You need a hug if you’re complaining about something so insignificant.

[@elram2649]

Mark's a great teacher. 🤓 And is also a very cool dude! 😎👌 Which one's better? 🤔 You decide. 🫡

[@MarkWallaceVideos]

Both!