Using fill flash outdoors with T2i

[davideglasgow]

Shooting with a T2i and 270ex flash. Want to use fill flash for outdoor shadow prevention.


In Av mode, the shutter is limited to 1/200 second. Usually this means if I want to shoot f/2.8 for background blur, the image is blown-out. Is there some way to prevent this or do I simply have to close the aperature to compensate?



Thanks in advance!

[Daniel Browning]

You can either enable the flash "high speed sync" (HSS), which will use a lot of flash battery power, or you can get an ND. (Or, use a cheap no-name flash that will let you attempt sync at shorter exposure durations, risking a varied amount of frame coverage.)

[MikeG2012]

I

[jks_photo]

You can either enable the flash "high speed sync" (HSS), which will use a lot of flash battery power, or you can get an ND. (Or, use a cheap no-name flash that will let you attempt sync at shorter exposure durations, risking a varied amount of frame coverage.)

@ Daniel.... hi, i am interested in getting an ND filter. I haven't used them before so I would not know which "density" ND filter to get. Which do you suggest would be most useful?? mostly plan to use it on clear sky days under direct sunlight maybe... Or do you suggest I go for the VARI - ND filters??

[neuroanatomist]

I find that a 3-stop ND filter does the job for overcoming sunlight with flash at f/2.8 (or allowing a wide open shot with an f/1.2 or f/1.4 lens in bright light). Sean Setters, our resident strobism expert, uses a variable ND filter. As long as you're using a lens longer than 15mm on your T2i, you'll be fine with a variND (they have an image artifact at ultrawide angles).

[Sean Setters]

I indeed own and use a B&W 2 stop ND filter, a B&W circular polarizer, and a Genus Fader [Variable] ND filter for the purpose of using wide apertures at my max flash sync speed (1/250 sec) in bright conditions. Sometimes I'll stack the two B&W filters, giving roughly 3.5-4 stops of density to the end of my lens (while giving saturated colors); else, I'll use the variable ND filter to dial in the exact amount of density I need for a given look.

The most current shot where I used an ND filter for the purpose of limiting DOF in bright conditions is this one:

[MrGreenBug]

Great shot Sean and thanks for the tips! This will come in handy in the future.