Flash is a rainforest photographer’s best friend, particularly for action photography. We’re often dealing with very low light levels, meaning that shutter speeds, even when using higher ISOs, will be quite slow. And when we have bright sun, the light is usually too harsh to make for pleasing photos. For some subjects, such as hummingbirds, the action is so fast that using flash as the main source of light is our best option for obtaining consistently sharp and well-lit photos. But there’s a caveat — we don’t want our hummingbird photos to look like they’ve been taken with flash.
I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how to place my flashes for my multiple-flash hummingbird setups so that they look like they were taken with natural light. Even though those photos are in effect a little studio setup outside (all the light is from flash; no ambient light enters the picture at all), the goal is to capture images that don’t look like they were taken in a Sears portrait studio (not that there’s anything wrong with Sears portraits for people, mind you!).
So, I’ve decided to post a few images here to see how I’m doing. Check them out, and write a comment with your thoughts as to which you think were taken with natural light and which were taken at a multi-flash setup. If you look carefully, you’ll notice some technical cues as to which is which but my hope is that, in terms of the overall look of the photos, it won’t be too easy to tell the natural light shots from the multiple-flash pictures.
Good luck, and I hope you enjoy the challenge!
As always, thanks for visiting!
Cheers,
Greg
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Greg,
They are such beautiful pictures, so well exposed and PP that frankly it is impossible to tell for sure. But since I’m not known to be diffident or shy, I’ll give it a shot. I would say if any were done without flash, it would be 2,6,8, and 10.
Let me down gently,
John
Greg:
Very good use of flash, very hard to tell that all light was articifial. Excellent 3-D volume, clear separation of the bird againts the BG. The BGs are all credible and complimentary. The macro of the Green-fronted Brilliant is priceless. Superb use of photogenic flowers that not only enhance the picture but also do not compete with the main subject. I am very proud of you. I also like some of the hummers had a hint of motion on the tips of the wings. Keep up the excellent work.
Greg,
Excellent work, as usual! Very tough to tell on some. I’m thinking you must have gotten the new Canon Stealth Flash to field test. So, my scientific wild guesses are #’s 3,4,5,7, & 9 are without flash. Though, you may have gotten sneaky and shot them all with flash, but they are so good, we can’t tell. Some look as though the background may have been flashed, (very soft, even, pleasing lighting), but the not the birds. You wouldn’t try to pull a fast one like that on us, would you?
Anyway, it’s a gorgeous collection of H-bird shots. Looking forward to working with you again in June.
Jon Fuller
Moab Photo Tours, LLC
Hi, and thanks so much for the comments. John, you had some good guesses, but I expect you’ll do much better after our trip next month
Jon, well done. I fooled you on only one shot. I’ll tell you which one in June but then I’ll have to kill you.
And Juan, thanks so much for your kind words. Coming from a hummingbird photographer of your stature, it’s truly a great compliment for me.
Cheers,
Greg
Hi Greg: I’ll play. Tough to tell on many of the images. I think I may have been standing next to you when you captured number 5 ??
Anyway… Here’s my guesses. 2,6,8,9,10 were done with flash. The others were not. Do I get a free tour with you if I get at least one of them right
Hi, Keith. Thanks very much for your stopping by. I think you’re right about #5; this was from the trip a couple of years ago. On the others, very good but I still fooled you with one shot. Knowing this, I will tell you that you would have won a new Canon 800 mm lens. Luckily, I don’t have to pay up though
Cheers,
Greg
Hi, folks. Ok, here are the answers. Numbers 1, 2, 6, 8, 9, and 10 were taken at multiple-flash setups. While I am happy with the multi-flash lighting, if you look carefully at the catchlights and the degree of motion stopping, those will give you clues as to which are taken at the flash setups. On #9, though, I used a couple of tricks at the multi-flash setups to produce more wing blur and a different kind of catchlight.
Thanks for playing along!
Cheers,
Greg