Do the eyes give it away

[Ollie]

That these photographs were taken using flash.

Just to explain I have recently purchased a Canon 580 EX 11 Speedlite flash for my 400D. Also purchased a Better Beamer flash extender, a Sroboframe mounting stand to raise the flash well above the camera and an off shoe cord to connect the flash to the camera although I am still waiting for the Better Beamer and flash cord to arrive.

Anyway in the meantime as it's a very dull day here I decided to try the flash unit without the Better Beamer and the Stroboframe, (just mounted the flash on the camera hotshoe) more out of curiosity to see what sort of results I got.

I set the flash to high speed sync mode and the zoom on the flash to 50mm as I was quite close to the subjects shooting out the bedroom window.

The camera was set to AV mode and ISO 400, Aperture values used were between f5.6 and f7.1 which in turn gave shutter speeds of 1/60sec and 1/50sec.

I am happy enough with the detail, colour and sharpness, but I can't decide about those eyes. Do they look natural or not. I could have altered the eyes in Photoshop but I wanted to see what people thought of them as they are. Do you think they look unnatural?.

I know nothing really about flash photography, probably taken half a dozen shots using the cameras built in flash in the past so any comments criticism or advice would be welcomed.

Roger

[mh68]

They look okay to me Roger. The catchlights arent too extreme,and look fairly natural.On images where the catchlight seems a bit severe you can always use the dodge/burn tool in photoshop to sort the problem. Good exposure on the backgrounds too.

Mark H

[Words]

I agree, these look fine to me. I've not taken many photos of birds with flash but often use it (at night) on wood mice. The main problem is eyeshine, which you've avoided on these. At a pinch I'll re-touch the eye on some night photos to deal with eyeshine (more of a problem if photographing from a distance).

[The Black Rabbit]

I'm only just commencing a (life-long I hope) voyage into wildlife photography Roger, so I'm afraid I can't be of any real use.
They look superb to me though!

That Goldfinch looks a bit peeved though!
It was probably only just about to er... "lose some weight, at toilet" and there you are, lighting him up like a christmas tree!

Were these photographs taken from a short distance away then?
Or do you have a very rangey flash?

Doug

[glsammy]

I can't see much wrong with them Roger.
One point comes to mind, only minor though, you had it set to high speed sync, but the camera wouldn't recognise this if you set your shutter speed to less than 1/250sec..I think!
I'm not sure about your flash, but on mine, I can only use High speed sync on TV or manual mode. No doubt the Canon is different.

That makes two of us who's followed Matt so far! Although I've not yet ordered the Beamer or the bracket. I can't decide which one to go for..

[PMG]

Hi Roger - I've had a little play with a couple of your pics if you'll forgive me

There are plenty of published pics with double-catchlights in the eyes giving the game away that flash has been used. I don;t know how you feel about it but for me - because pics are digital and its possible to tweak them into their best possible format - then that is what I prefer to do! It all comes down to a personal prefference - some folks don't mind flash and some folks hate it and most of us fall somewhere down the middle - as it depends on what and how much!!!

What I did to your goldfinch (in Paint Shop Pro) was clone out the catchlights whilst still trying to keep an impression of a pupil but also the pale daylight type curve at the top of the eye - which digital in ambient dull light does so perfectly (thinks of Jeffs kingfishers for instance!) On the goldfinch I also cloned out the blown highlight reflection of its clean beak! Finally I hit the Fade Correct which has brightened it and I hope fooled the viewers into thinking your bird is sat in fairly bright light!! I've done exactly the same steps with the blue tit and at the finish sharpened both pics just a touch. Again some folks hate sharpening - I happen to like crisp pics.

I think its worth the little bit of effort - but I would almost definitely remove one of the catchlights if there were two on any of my own pics

Pauline

[HowlinWolf]

It's always a good idea to have catch lights in the eyes of a subject, as it gives the eyes life. The two catch lights in the Goldfinch's eyes is a no-no, as that really does give the game away (only one sun, the last time I looked). I don't use flash in my photography, so I try to position myself to capture natural highlights in the eyes, but a blip of flash helps in most cases. A tip from the world of fashion/glamour photography: try to position the catch light at the one o'clock position in the subjects eye. It's like the hands of a clock when photographed (10 past 10). It's the most attractive position to the viewer.

HW

[Ollie]

Thanks for looking and commenting everyone and it will all be taken on board.

Doug, these were taken from short range out the bedroom window with the camera mounted on a hide clamp on the windowsill. Distance I would guess at no more than 18 feet away. I have ordered the better Beamer to increase the flash range of the unit.

Graham, You are probably right about the the camera not recognising high speed sync mode on the flash at lower than 1/250 shutter speed. I haven't even read the manual properly, first day off since before Christmas. I just popped the flash onto the camera and set it to high sync flash with a zoom of 50mm. I think I need to thoroughly read both camera and flash manual books.

Pauline. No problem at all with you playing with the pics, and I can see an improvement in getting rid of the extra catch light.

HW, thanks for the tip it's one to remember.

Roger

[big bill]

Roger nothing wrong with the pics only point as mentioned above is the double catch light which can be rectified in your imaging software by cloning one out otherwise they are great nice and clear and in focus the catchlight adds to the pics well done

[matt_xyz]

Hi Roger,

I would tend to remove the 2nd catchlight from the eye where this occurs. The shots with a single catchlight are fine, although the fact it is in the centre of the eye is a bit of a giveaway as obviously natural catchlights would tend to be in the upper part of the eye (although not always e.g. if the sun is very low in the sky or the bird has its head at an angle). The flash bracket will help this to an extent, but won't remove the problem entirely. I don't think it's a major issue though. I would still prefer a central catchlight to no catchlight at all. And the flash provides the added benefits of greater feather detail, better colours etc.

Regarding the high speed flash issue, it's not a problem. When in high speed mode the Canon flash automatically reverts to normal flash if the shutter speed drops below 1/250.

have fun experimenting!

Matt