Black and White Photography

with manual flash, you have to measure or estimate the increased distance and
do the calculations yourself. Whatever type of flash you use, you will probably
have to use a larger f-stop and/or faster film speed when bouncing flash,
because of the increased distance the light must travel.
Fill Flash. Even if you have a ceiling, wall, or other surface from which to bounce
your flash, it may not soften the light as much as you’d like. Perhaps the best
way to soften light is to use a technique called fill flash, which mixes flash with
the existing light to lighten shadow areas, thus lowering the overall picture
contrast. A typical fill-flash situation is a brightly lit portrait, usually in highcontrast
outdoor light, which produces dark shadows on the subject’s face; fill
flash can lighten the shadows without affecting the rest of the picture.
TTL autoflash accomplishes fill flash automatically. Just set the fill flash mode
on the unit, and the camera’s meter and flash work together to mix flash and
existing light for a seamless fill effect. If you have a non-TTL autoflash or use
manual mode or a manual flash, fill flash requires more complicated calculations.
Slowing your shutter speed provides a simple way to fill-in (brighten) indoor
backgrounds that would otherwise go dark. Using your flash on manual, set
the f-stop for the correct flash exposure—say, f/11. Then, set a shutter speed
that is slower than the synch speed of your camera. Let’s say your camera
synchs at 1/60; set the shutter at 1/8 instead. The longer shutter speed lets in
more light, thus brightening up the background without affecting the foreground
(which gets its exposure mostly from the flash). Any shutter speed
slower than 1/60 will brighten the background, but the slower the speed the
greater the effect. Try shutter speeds of 1/8 to 1/15 for average indoor situations,
but bracket, if you can, for best results. Use your camera on a tripod, if
possible, or the slow shutter speed may cause camera shake and a partially
blurred result; and, as always, be careful of moving subjects which also may create blur when you use a longer shutter speed.