We went to Pacific Park at the Santa Monica Pier. We got there mid-afternoon, and it was very sunny. To manage the wide dynamic range, I figured I would need a little fill-in flash to lift the shadows.
Ideally I would like to use a very soft light source as fill, but bounce under these conditions (bright, with no obvious bouncing surfaces) would not be easy. I decided to use the Propet handheld umbrella. I used the SB-600 as my slave and the SB-800 on-camera as master flash (i.e., both as commander and as additional flash).
More after the jump.
Why an SB-800 as opposed to the popup flash? At sync speed, I was shooting at ISO 200, f/10 or thereabouts. I didn't think the popup would be powerful enough for those conditions (didn't try though).
I was approached by security when I used the handheld umbrella. Commercial photography is prohibited. I assured them I was only taking photos of our toddler. The security guard went away.
I really like how the shots turned out:
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| This shot was from direct on-camera flash. Not too bad. |
A short while later, security showed up again. I again explained that I wasn't a commercial photographer. They acknowledged that I was taking personal photos but they said my handheld umbrella was "extra equipment" and that it's not allowed. For a moment, my wife thought she found a photography-free haven. I didn't bother arguing and I put the umbrella away. I continued to use the SB-600 for off-camera flash.
Have a great weekend!
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