Flash in the Sun

David Hobby's post was an inspiration for my next shoot.  Sun was used as a rim light, D90 built-in flash (fill) driving hand-held bare SB600 (key) through Nikon CLS.
What worked well:

• Camera in full manual with preset ISO, aperture and exposure with 50mm f/1.4 AF-D lens (continuous 3D focus tracking) gave sharp images.
• Fill flash blended well with sun with no color temperature issues.
• I underexposed background by too much (more than one stop) but somewhat recovered it in  Lightroom - cudos to RAW.

What did not work:

• Bare flash gives harsh shadows - duh
• Chasing Daniel is fruitless.  Too many images had wrong light as a result.  I should wait for him to come to me.
• As stated above - I am slow to change camera/flash settings which in this case resulted in underexposure.  I should pay more attention to histogram.
• Fill (on camera flash) was of the same intensity as  key (hand-held SB600 to camera left).  Should have either turned it off completely or set to something really small.  I do not like two small specs reflected in the eyes.

Physteh Reunion Shoot

It was great to reconnect with fellow alumnus of Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology or Physteh as they call it.  This was my first event shoot done with a hand-held SB-600 flash optically slaved into the D90 camera.

What worked well:

• Good vibe, communication
• Fill flash worked great, even though is was used bare.  It livens the eyes and opens up shadows.
• 85mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor lens
• Tried and true Lowepro Off Trail bag allowed for intermittent shooting and schmoozing

What did not work

• My choice of ISO below 200.  As a result few photos were blurry because of a short exposure.
• Not aggressive enough use of exposure compensation, possibly flash compensation to account for a strong sun.
• Need a contact card