Using Nikon SB800 at weddings

[bryanpritchard]

How do you guys shoot with it in Manual reduced power? Outside wedding input please

Thanks

Bryan

[Jacco]

Page 47 of your SB800 manual, bryan.

Tip: read the other 131 pages of your SB800 manual too, as well as the 221 pages of your D200 User's Guide. That's what you got 'm for. It will answer 99% of your questions and after you've read it and practiced it all, it won't be too obvious to other people – here and at the wedding – that you really don't know your equipment yet or how to handle it.

[bryanpritchard]

Yeah OK LOL I knew I would get a post like this always one in the bunch LOL

[Bob Stothfang]

Check out the Strobist blog. Go to the Lighting 101 Series of tutorials. There are numerous tips there about balancing your flash with the ambient light.

Strobist: Lighting 101

The Strobist blog is a great resource for off camera flash stuff. It is a daily stop for me to check out.

[Eero Makela]

Originally Posted by bryanpritchard

How do you guys shoot with it in Manual reduced power? Outside wedding input please

Thanks

Bryan

I have not tried manual only iTTL. However I have wanted to try to balance the flash on out outside light using my light meter as it measures both flash and ambient light.

You can always do bracketing if you have time to take several shots at various settings.

NOTE in manual flash mode the shutter speed has little to no effect on the outcome. The aperture is the key. Shutter speed is used to allow more or less ambient light in. This is at least how it works in the studio with modeling lights and strobes. Think of the manual flash as a strobe since it is not being controlled by the camera in manual mode.

To all the Pro's If I am mistaken let me know.

[Songman45]

Originally Posted by ecto69

NOTE in manual flash mode the shutter speed has little to no effect on the outcome. The aperture is the key. Shutter speed is used to allow more or less ambient light in. This is at least how it works in the studio with modeling lights and strobes. Think of the manual flash as a strobe since it is not being controlled by the camera in manual mode.

To all the Pro's If I am mistaken let me know.

I don't know if you are mistaken but what you say is confusing.
In outdoor (daytime) photography shutter speed has the same effect on the outcome with or without flash. Shutter speed is inconsequential only in dim situations where the output of flash is the only recordable light. Outside slowing the shutter speed will allow not just the flash output to light the image but will also allow in the ambient light.

Setting up a portable flash in manual mode is going to require some sort of metering. The meter in todays cameras being good as it is, and handy is used by a lot. Hopefully your flash unit has a guide that applies to the power settings and how they generally relate to distance and f-stop. Like all things manual its a time consuming thing to set up a shot with both the camera and the flash in manual mode. If you aren't getting results from your TTL metering, perhaps your flash had an independent light meter built in which will suggest settings.

[hotrod4x5]

Originally Posted by bryanpritchard

How do you guys shoot with it in Manual reduced power? Outside wedding input please

Thanks

Bryan

I don't use manual. If I want to reduce power of the flash outside, I turn it to TTL (not TTL BL) and then use negative flash compensation as desired.