Nikon SB-50DX - Manual (Page 30)

59 58
Speedlight Placement
• Eliminating shadows cast by the subject
To eliminate unattractive shadows from the background when taking portraits,
you can use one or more slave flash units to illuminate the background.
• Set the slave flash unit to Manual flash mode
(Manual Slave Flash mode with the SB-50DX,
p. 52). Calculate and determine aperture by
using the guide number and distance from the
slave flash unit to the background with the
equation (p. 33). Use an aperture value obtained
with the equation or 1/3 to one step smaller
(larger f-number).
You can also choose a higher flash output
setting (by two to three steps) for the slave flash
unit to overexpose the background and
completely eliminate it.
• When using a camera in Group I, II or III (p. 28),
compensate flash output level to the + side
(p. 35).
Background (wall)
Subject
Single flash (built-in
Speedlight)
Camera: F80D (Manual exposure mode,
Front-Curtain Sync flash mode)
Lens: AF Zoom-Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.3-
5.6G
Master flash unit (built-in Speedlight):
Standard TTL Flash
Slave flash unit (SB-50DX): Manual Slave
Flash mode
Effective Speedlight Placement
• Bounce-flash operation to produce more natural-looking pictures
Bounce the light off the ceiling or walls to produce more natural-looking
portraits where the entire frame is properly exposed.
• See "Bounce-Flash Photography" on p. 40 to 42.
• For using the camera’s built-in Speedlight, see
"Bounce-flash operation with double flash
(SB-50DX and camera’s built-in Speedlight)" on
p. 42.
• If the light from the master flash unit is too strong,
bounce-flash operation is not effective. In this case,
use the diffuser (p. 42) or wide-flash adapter (p. 17)
to reduce the brightness of the master flash unit.
Single flash (built-in
Speedlight)
Camera: F80D (Aperture-Priority Auto exposure mode,
Front-Curtain Sync flash mode)
Lens: AF Zoom-Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.3-5.6G
Master flash unit (built-in Speedlight): Standard TTL
Flash
Slave flash unit (SB-50DX): Standard TTL Flash
Reflective surface (ceiling)
SB-50DX (E) 02.12.9 2:33 PM Page 58