You Ask, We Answer: Flash Adjustments

Good Morning:
I am very interested in your product. Have been shooting weddings for 30 years and location lighting is always a boon. I was wondering on flash output adjustments. When at a wedding I don’t have time to dink around with different settings. Looking for a product with consistent results. Use a Nikon D300 w/SB800. What setting would I use on the flash and camera? M/Auto…I know there are unlimited variables in all situations. What about color balance? Please advise and Thank you in advance for your time.
With Regards, Dan

ALZO answers:

Hi Dan

I wish I could give you 1 simple setting that would do all! Basically I would choose an aperture no smaller than F5.6 and shoot no faster than 1/60th and some of the time 1/30 and even 1/15th; the reasoning here is that unless you like the look of the background going black and unnatural, you need to employ available light fill, hence a wide aperture and slow shutter speed. If the background is too dark, open the aperture further all the way to 2.8 or the widest your lens allows (the value of having fast lenses for this kind of assignment cannot be over-emphasized). If the background is still too dark I would change the ISO from 400 to 800.

Regarding setting on the camera I shoot Aperture priority , occasionally overriding the shutter speed (slowing or dragging the shutter). Regarding the color balance: if you want to be absolutely critically correct you need to filter the flash to make the light color equivalent to the ambient light; select that color temperature on the camera.

For a more detailed explanation please call us at 800-582-7009.
Regards

Joseph
Customer Support
Alzo Digital