Quick OCF Tutorial: Expose for Ambient, then Add Flash (w/ examples)

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Had to make another video explaining how I use off camera flash and this time with more examples from past shoots. Remember, expose for the ambient first THEN add flash!😊
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#godox #offcameraflash #sonymirrorless

[@fjhphoto]

The first 1,000 people to use this link will get a 1 month free trial of Skillshare: skl.sh/franciscojoelhernandez07211

[@GilbertTV]

this is so simple in principle , but its taken me 2 years to master the art , my original inspiration to make my images to pop was watching guys like you , so thanks

[@jamescabrera3655]

Wow! Great, informative video! I have it locked in my head and now I just need to practice it. Thank you FJH. You rock!

[@vickystelzer3936]

!YOU ARE FANTASTIC! You actually explain in detail how to correctly use off camera flash! Greatly appreciated!

[@leslienelson7016]

thanks for adding the 'instructions' to the photo.

[@jeoffreyvillanueva5431]

This is one of the best " off camera flash tutorial".

[@gilbertcarrillophotography2377]

Thank you! I have learned and continue to learn so much for your videos. Your examples are key to understand what you're trying to get across.

[@darlingtoncd]

Another good reminder of the methods you use👍

[@aristabooyse3685]

you have helped me a lot. I just bought my first flash and this has saved me so much time and frustration. Thank you

[@markglenday7291]

its amazing when it is explained like that how easy it becomes, thanks for sharing the video. I like seeing BTS.

[@AYIII1000]

Thank you for always bringing value!

[@lisawilliams1750]

I'm new to off and/or on camera lighting. I am learning and watching as many of your lighting tutorials that I can to gain more knowledge. Thank you for such great content.

[@GauravSharmaIN]

you explained it with perfection! thank you :)

[@MIshaHaijtema]

Very well explained!

[@Kiwalabyetimothyshsh]

Extremely nyc. Thanks for teaching

[@robertlawson1292]

Great work boss

[@lkfxfotografiavideo177]

Very detailed and super well explained, thanks 🙌

[@TiffinboxTV]

Awesome explanation!! Keep these coming!!

[@BAYWATOFFICIAL]

The best easy way to use off camera flash just follow your step cool...

[@migueltrujillofotografia2969]

you are my inspiration

[@radharathore8669]

Thank you soo much man your videos help me a lot please upload behind the scene more or shooting day.💖🤟

[@nathanialgarymedia]

Really apprecated this video! Far too many off camera flash photographers will show you the ambient without flash shot, and then show you the shoted after editing. I was really interested in seeing the photos with no procressing being done to them so I truly appreciate that you did that!

[@smalltalk.productions9977]

thanks for the effort and the sharing. very helpful. i look forward to watching your other YT flash vids. thumbs up.

[@StylezDj23]

Amazing video

[@CurtCamronStudios]

Great video!!!

[@mukeshartz]

Outstanding

[@brionsantiagoflowyo]

And I thought that I was the only one playing main/key light roulette. The results are amazing.

[@jojuanwinfrey3702]

Great video . I was not in a rush to upgrade cameras but seeing that a lot of the bright sunny shots were over 1/4000 shutter, I will upgrade to get the extra underexposure of light . As for now the best shots for apsc cameras are in the shade .

[@shedrickDuval904]

Great tutorial 👌🏽 Very detailed it truly help me better understand on how to balance ambient light

[@kongwengseng3735]

Great tutorial. Thanks for your efforts.

[@pangphoakannam5754]

Thank you

[@cottojn]

Well done thank you

[@andresgarciaherrera56]

Great video THANKS

[@alfonsovelasco9627]

Fabuloso ! Gracias hermano !!

[@SteveTPhotography]

I love your videos

[@showmethefacts4061]

I don’t know why this concept is hard for me to grasp but easy to accomplish.

[@maunumantyla]

Thanks 🤩

[@Ikstudio007]

Very well explained 👍🌷

[@aldrianalfonso5638]

You always have some useful tutorials. Are you going to do videos of critiquing photographers photos? I'd like to send a photo to you and you can critique it

[@fjhphoto]

I do want to critique other photos very soon. Just trying to figure out a format for that. I had done a livestream in the past but there's pros and cons.

[@thewhiteroom2032]

💪🏿💪🏿💪🏿💪🏿 Great work and really thoughtful content

[@shaunvilleswartz7658]

Dope content

[@ared18t]

Damn these 3 letter thingamabons.

[@HaiTomVlog]

Great tutorial, thanks!

[@Caradonia]

👌 Thank you.

[@nexttvc]

Hi, I love your all video excellent guide. I am very nice in Still Photography and I just bought the Godox AD400 Pro. today was my first day to Used the strob. I want to ask how you stop the strob not to fire. when both your transmitter and your light on? when I was trying to on the tranmitter my Panasonic G9 got stuck at 250 shutter speed. can't more further. also I was very disapointed at night when I try to shot outside with my strob light I was trying to focus the road lights at the background of the model. but when I click strob light was too bright and background was too dard. can't see anything from back but only model with too much light. Please can you help?

[@thehumanityoflife6460]

You need two strobe lights. One for background, and one for the main subject in the front. Set the camera on MANUAL MODE. Set Shutter speed on 1/125 and your preferred ISO setting. Do a test shot on your BACKGROUND LIGHT and adjust its power higher or lower to brighten/darken the background. Then turn that off and do a test shot with your MAIN LIGHT for your model using a hand-held incident flash meter with setting same as the shutter speed and ISO of your camera. Then turn on both strobe lights and take your final photo. Make sure you have a wireless transmitter on your camera hot shoe that will trigger a wireless flash receiver on each of your strobe lights.

[@nexttvc]

@@thehumanityoflife6460 Thank you so much I will sure will try this and let you know the result.

[@josediazh3890]

Muchas gracias.

[@cizcalodiablopanzon]

hey francisco I really admire your job. i am learning a lot with your tutorials. if you had to pick a time for the best OCF results, what hour would you pick?

[@thehumanityoflife6460]

I don't think it matters on what time you should take photos using OFF CAMERA FLASH for best results.

[@davidsogamoso9175]

Amaría este canal en español

[@AllSortsOfScripts]

Whats up buddy, I’ve been learning a lot from your videos so far. One question. At this point, are you using your flash in the manual mode? If I understand correctly, to use shutter speeds greater than 1/200 you need to be on HSS or TTL? I just bought Godox ad300 pro and I can’t go faster than 1/200. I’m new at flash photography so pardon my question. I appreciate your response.

[@ChoicesHabitsAttitudeLuck]

Light placement video please

[@emirchan6516]

Can you do a video on where to correctly place the OCF for Portraits?

[@fjhphoto]

I can do that.

[@ryanalejos9557]

Nice vid

[@fjhphoto]

Thanks, sir!😁

[@flitsstudiosgh5983]

Great video sir. What White Balance do you typically use in outdoor shoots?

[@fjhphoto]

Always auto white balance. I believe it's always around 5800k.

[@ElReySupr3me]

Do you happen to have a video on what settings flash need to be once you expose for the ambient? I just bought a Godox v1, and I’m really trying to use it for portraits and car photography.

[@scotboy1297]

And you did it so succinctly, not going into the inverse square law. That’s what intimidates new users thinking of adding flash, that you have to be complicated in math. Will you also be demo the new,larger Mag Box in your work?

[@fjhphoto]

Thanks! I already made a review on the new MagBox modifiers but do want to use it more on future shoots.

[@gamkagan]

Hey Francisco, as usual, your examples are great, and I learn from you. I'd like to know what strobe you use, or would recommend.

[@kasperz2583]

It would help to see photos side by side

[@usernamemykel]

I've seen other vids which specify to expose for the background (the ambient light in the background), then add flash for the subject, which means to me that when one is exposing for the background, the subject is not in the foreground, but you INCLUDE your subject while exposing for the ambient (background) light - please explain. Many thanks!

[@fjhphoto]

When the subject is in the foreground while I expose for the background I can see how the ambient light is falling on them and I find that beneficial so I can adjust my flash position accordingly.

[@usernamemykel]

@@fjhphoto Thank you!

[@Marcus_77]

Hi😊, How do you rate your picture as to whether it was correctly exposed by the flash? if my camera screen is set too bright or too dark I get wrong exposures of my portrait! do you use the histogram? Best regards

[@kimberlyb7]

It’s not simple, lol.. so, I appreciate your instruction on this very topic! When you say expose for the background first, what exactly are you meaning, like it should be under exposed ? a darker image exposure before we use the OCF ? Thank you ! I hope I’m making sense ;)

[@fjhphoto]

Yeah you make sense. I just mean to adjust your settings til you personally like how the background is exposed. I tend to underexpose the background a little to make it slightly dark and make the subject the brightest part. Other people tend to expose the background brighter to have a more natural looking light.

[@kimberlyb7]

@@fjhphoto Thank you !!! I’ll keep trying. Your vids are so very appreciated!! 👍🏼👍🏼🆙

[@rahulskhairnarphotography4562]

you are amazing sir i have a question + what about whiteballance in this all shots . auto or manual whiteballance set ?????

[@fjhphoto]

All auto white balance. When I take multiple photos in one specific spot then I match the white balance for those photos.

[@mikestewart4733]

Do you break down all your equipment between locations and how do you move it from place to place? (can this be done without an assistant or not recommended?)

[@fjhphoto]

I use my cart to carry gear but usually use one light as it's easier. If I'm using multiple lights I won't move around too much.

[@ericliebe3023]

How often do you use an ND filter? Is it a go to for you? I have yet to ever use one and I have shot in some pretty bright scenarios. I am thinking of buying a less expensive one just to try.

[@fjhphoto]

I use it at every shoot now. It wouldn't be necessary if I brought out my Godox AD600 Pro for every shoot but what the ND filter allows me to do is use much smaller lights to get the same results. If you didn't know, using HSS causes a huge drop in power. So this can make a 600W strobe into around 250W of power. Not using HSS avoids the power loss altogether so I use my small AD300 Pro now with a ND filter and it's enough power for my needs. Hope that makes sense.

[@ericliebe3023]

@@fjhphoto that makes sense. Never thought of it that way. I am shooting with AD600 Pros mostly. I do have a 400 that I use for back/edge lighting but have never used it as a key.

[@pulsarjune72]

Superb and we'll explained. Kickstarter for a noob like me. Yet to invest in an OCF, but how well could an on-camera flash be used. I've tried bouncing off the roof, but it made little change. Any tips, to use on-camera for portraits. I use a A6000, and 50f18.

[@fjhphoto]

For portraits I personally wouldn't use the flash on camera. At least not directly aimed to the subject. When I used to take photos at events I would bounce all the time. Lots of people think just aimed up is fine but that can make unflattering shadows under the eyes. I suggest aiming it up and slightly to the back of you plus to the left or right. What that does is basically "move" the light around like if you had a softbox with you. I should make a video on this soon. Been meaning to for a while.

[@pulsarjune72]

@@fjhphoto That was a golden tip. I should try that way out. I'd love a tutorial on on-camera flash. 😊

[@EditorJatinSharma]

Gr8 video again Francisco. I am getting confidence in OCF photography watching your example videos. I have GODOX OCTA 120CM UMBRELLA but im not getting the painted soft light like you. Any recommendation for good first modifier to go with.

[@fjhphoto]

Definitely a softbox. If you need a really affordable one the 60x60cm one is great. I use it all the time when I travel. Don't forget to place the softbox as close as possible without being in the frame of the shot.

[@EditorJatinSharma]

@@fjhphoto Thanks for your reply. Can you also let me know which brand of soft box (60X60cm) to buy

[@fjhphoto]

@@EditorJatinSharma I think any brand of that size will be fine. I have one by Adorama and their Glow brand but it's the exact same product by other companies like Neewer and Godox.

[@EditorJatinSharma]

@FJH Photography Thanks for the guidance. Love from India 🇮🇳❤️

[@jlproductions8911]

Hey question. Is there a big difference with using strobes. I use Westscott strobe but with photix soft box. I see you use Godox and get excellent results

[@fjhphoto]

There will be differences but nothing too different that will drastically affect the outcome. It just depends on how you use the lighting. You can get good results with Westcott. I just prefer Godox.😊

[@Martinwhynot]

I was taught light is light. Where you point it and diffuse it makes the difference?

[@marclabro]

super tuto. any order of magnitude if we used a lightmeter for ambiant, for rim and for main light ?

[@eduardo.mallmann]

Damn, what a great video! Thanks for sharing this with so many details man! Quick question, for the unedited pictures were you using jpeg? If so, which picture style do you usually go with? Custom per session?

[@fjhphoto]

I always shoot raw so the picture style doesn't affect the image. It only changes the preview of the image I see on the back of the screen. On important in lightroom I think it uses Adobe 1998 color space. I'll check though.

[@eduardo.mallmann]

I shoot raw too, but those sample images from instagram you posted do look great in contrast and color (more than I’d expect for raw), that’s why I thought it was a straight jpeg from the camera… Thanks for replying!

[@fjhphoto]

@@eduardo.mallmann no problem, man.😊

[@CAPTURING_SOULS]

Why I'm here?? Ans: Your Insta page. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@mathruraman1346]

Hi, nice tutorials! quick question - in a small room, the flash that fires might change the lighting in the background of the subject. In those cases, exposing for the background first and then adding flash will not actually work, right? What steps should I follow in that situation?

[@thehumanityoflife6460]

Use a hand-held incident flash meter. Set the ISO and SHUTTER SPEED on the flash meter with the same reading that you got with the meter reading of your camera for ambient light. Then do a test fire with your flash on manual mode. The light meter will tell you what aperture setting you will set. Adjust your flash power until the flash meter gives you an aperture setting the same as your aperture setting on your ambient light.

[@thehumanityoflife6460]

At 04:29, instead of brightening her eyes using editing software, can't you just put a silver reflector underneath in front of her to brighten it during picture taking?

[@aleksey7386]

👍👍👍👍👍

[@brendadelorespoole565]

Why did you raise the shutter speed to 1/5000 or 1/8000 without first explaining the need to go into high speed sync when exposing for your ambient when you were darkening your background?

[@solidsammy7]

Thank you Francisco! I had one question.. What time of day did you take the first one? Also do you have a preferred time of day to shoot photos?

[@solidsammy7]

2*

[@josenadesan]

Did you shoot at 1/8000 without HSS? I love how you break down ocf!

[@fjhphoto]

Thanks! When I use anything above 1/250th then that's gonna be HSS.😊

[@cuulview]

@@fjhphoto hey bro, i observed what he said also, with the first model..you shot with 1/8000 and you said "after i took this shot (with 1/8000) then i added flash" which means you didnt shoot with flash when your shutter speed was at 1/8000th, or was it a mistake?.. Time stamp 3:25

[@thehumanityoflife6460]

@@cuulview He wanted to darken the background on his AMBIENT LIGHT by lowering ISO, or using smaller aperture on the camera lens, or increasing the shutter speed (1/8000). Then he added his flash that has High Speed Synchronization (H.S.S.)capability that can match the 1/8000 shutter speed of the camera. The flash flashes several times in H.S.S., lowering its power and draining the battery quicker.

[@smahesan]

Would like to know if you gel your lights with CTO gels to give that warm look.

[@itssofietheme9649]

Hi when you say exposing to the ambience what do you mean please, can you give us an example with numbers. TIA

[@JohnVuongnow]

How come you always use such a low F-Stop, I under stand that it put focus on the subject, but dont' you think its too much background blur?

[@kashgaming8457]

I love the instructions it's more detailed now in my head. But, I have a Canon M50 mark II capped at 1/4000th sec (that I'll upgrade to maybe the canon eos R or the sony A7III), I have also a GODOX AD200 paired with a 120cm softbox and a Godox MS300 300watts LIGHT with the same softbox. So, to expose for the ambient what the common settings or the advice in my case ? and second, how should I adjust my main light settings to have a right exposed picture?

[@thehumanityoflife6460]

Follow his examples, then tweak it to your desired effects.

[@UliSeng]

Great tutorial. I had a question while watching it that’s a bit off topic. When you reduce the ambient light so that it is almost gone how do you focus your camera?

[@kushagrasingh7731]

Use modeling light

[@viezure10]

No need to focus on anything, just take a pic without flash and see if it's black. If it is, proceed to next step, which is to turn the flash on and adjust that.

[@crazyoscarmatta]

saludos brothert as video en español ejej

[@Oxtailgraavy2023]

Informative video however I think it could have been more effective if you enlarged the examples full screen... Couldn't really see the details in what you were explaining

[@paulby88able]

Do your use manual setting if you set the shuttle speed to 1000 or 2000 you have to use high speed syn

[@thehumanityoflife6460]

Yes, on your camera. But your strobe/flash must have a H.S.S. feature.

[@patriciasweeting8523]

Hello, its really hard lol I didn't have a ND Filter.

[@timecapsulefoto]

Why do you use the ND filter though? Vs just increasing the settings??

[@EditorJatinSharma]

He is using ND filters to get shallow depth of field in bright light conditions.

[@timecapsulefoto]

@@EditorJatinSharma thanks for the response! This isn't the correct answer though. He answered my question directly on FB.

[@fjhphoto]

@@EditorJatinSharma for that effect I could simply use a faster shutter speed like the first example in this video. However, lately for the last 2 years I've been primarily using ND filters to get the same effect because with HSS there's a huge drop in power. I avoid that power loss with ND filters. With HSS a 600W strobes becomes around 240W. A 200W strobe becomes around 65W.

[@EditorJatinSharma]

@@fjhphoto yes agree with you. I didn't included power loss in the comment. Happy that you replied on my comment. Thanks and love😍

[@fjhphoto]

@@EditorJatinSharma no problem and appreciate you wanting to help out.😊

[@johnpaulalquisola4240]

how do you expose for this skin? guessing?

[@armandochan3019]

can i achive that ambient if i use my flash like godox tt600?

[@hugobeto2127]

could you make content in spanish?

[@fjhphoto]

I wish I knew Spanish so I could make videos in that language.

[@alexandreclement7291]

For expose background and model ? Mode ttl ? Flashmeter ?

[@fjhphoto]

For background you can use the camera's meter. I use highlight metering but screen metering for -1 is a safer bet. For the flash I just meter by eye. No actual light meter.

[@amribraheam8861]

man such a Great video , but there's problem in the voice

[@anthonypaladino1006]

This is 100% WRONG ! First and foremost ALL cameras have a MAX shutter speed when using flash, whether on camera OR OCF, normally 1/250 sec. so i will explain the correct way. All cameras also have a ( scenes dynamic range) of 6 EV'S. So, outside sunny, take a few meter readings, usually its all around 1/1250 sec. PROBLEM-its impossible to use your flash and U R beyond the dynamic range. SOLUTION - ND FILTER attached to lens. That 1/1250 sec. now becomes 1/160 sec. ( 2 stop ND filter) Perfect ; now U can use your flash and U R within the dynamic range. Typically i'll shoot f/4 - ISO 100 at 1/200 sec. OCF 1/8 Power set about 7 feet from subject.

[@EvaldoMaciel]

P