Ring Flash

[Guest stanjan0]

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My Granddaughter came for a visit and my wife and I took her to a restaurant for dinner. I took a few pictures of her with my M9, when I perused at home I discovered dark rings around her eyes. What ring flash can be used on a Leica M9? I didn't want to bring the Leica flash so is it advisable to buy a ring flash for the future?

[jaapv]

I have looked into this and the short answer is : None. The flash will block the viewfinder.

You can use a double flash on a bracket. Look at the Novoflex website for inspiration.

http://www.novoflex.com/de/produkte/makrofotografie--blitztechnik/blitzhaltesysteme/

 

A much simplier solution is the SF24D and either bounce it using a Nikon cable or with the Leicagoodies SFILL softbox

[bocaburger]

Am I reading correctly that you did not use any flash at all? If so, might I suggest the SF24D with a layer of tissue sandwiched under the wide-angle attachment. I find the technique very useful at close distance to soften the harshness of direct flash.

 

The thing about ringlights is they put a circular catch-light in the eyes, and double-flash-on-a-bracket setups put 2 catchlights in the eyes. Since we live on a planet with only one sun, strange shaped or multiple catchlights tend to trigger our subconscious to think "something's unnatural".

[Guest stanjan0]

Jaap and Boca B, thanks for your info I'll try it.

[Guest #12]

I have looked into this and the short answer is : None. The flash will block the viewfinder.

You can use a double flash on a bracket. Look at the Novoflex website for inspiration.

Novoflex - Blitzhaltesysteme

 

A much simplier solution is the SF24D and either bounce it using a Nikon cable or with the Leicagoodies SFILL softbox

 

well you will have to make a diagram or cut some cardboard to see which ring flashes block the finder, the focusing patch, or the focusing patch in a particular range.

[jaapv]

There are not many ring flashes on the market, and all of them block the viewfinder.

[leicashot]

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I don't think the OP is actually understanding what went wrong, and the solution he is suggesting is not quite correct. If I am not mistaken the OP is asking when there are shadows under the eyes in a dark environment where the lighting is falling from above. A ringflash would kill the mood, unless turned down very low.

 

The best solution is either a flash, either on camera or off. Or a video light, just a small one. Even holding a napkin under the subjects can 'sometimes' reflect a decent amount of light to help reduce the shadows. Or using a combination of either shooting a flash through, or bouncing a flash off the napkin can also be nice and more natural. Another method is to bounce the flash of the inside of your hand, warming the flash and reducing the harshness.

 

Hope this helps.

[Guest #12]

There are not many ring flashes on the market, and all of them block the viewfinder.

 

which ring flashes have you tried?

[jaapv]

Generic ones like Starflash and Vivitar, an old Minolta one, I've been fiddling around for decades. Now I am using the original Olympus one on the Digilux3 professionally, and that is by far the best one of the lot.

Dedicated ones like the one for tha Medical Nikkor are obviously useless for generic use. The problem is that all ring flashes need to surround the lens and are made for SL Rs, so not only will the hole for the lens be at least 60 mm diameter with step-down rings, they will extend 10 to 15 mm beyond that to hold the flash tube or flash tubes depending on the construction, resulting in total viewfinder blockage.

From your questions I gain the impression that you are not quite clear about what a ring flash is:rolleyes:

[Guest stanjan0]

I want to thank all the above posters for there comments and solutions but, I should have included the image I was talking about. The image taken right out of the camera, I must apologize to my wife for cutting her head in half, sorry dear.

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[jaapv]

So here the problem is indeed shadows, and a reflection screen or mild (fill) flash would have overwhelmed the excessive dark parts. A ring flash would not have been of any specific benefit imo.

 

It is not easy to correct a web JPG in Photoshop with any degree of precision, but a minute playing around with dodge tool and healing brush got me here. You should be able to get a virtually unnoticeable correction on the raw image. Lovely daughter btw

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[leicashot]

Stan, I think to be realistic, unless you're doing a photoshoot, this kind of lighting is something you may have to put up with, unless you're willing to put in much effort to avoid such results.

 

Most flashes you use, whether ring or direct will destroy the ambient feel of the picture. This borders on studio lighting somewhat but even bouncing won't entirely correct this problem you're facing. Using a reflective material like a small reflector can help, but not with large groups, only small close up pictures such as this one. A reflector will allow you to shoot predictable results with confidence as you are seeing what is happening as you shoot. Also a small portable LED video light can also be a tremendous help in these situations. You can eve bounce the flash or light into a napkin or hand to diffuse the light.

 

If you do go the flash/light route, make sure you put a CTO/tungsten gel on the front of your flash if shooting in a tungsten lit room, so that your background color matches your flash color.

 

Otherwise, if it's all too much trouble you're going to just have to accept that this is nothing more than an imperfect snapshot, and appreciate it for what it is.

[Guest #12]

...From your questions I gain the impression that you are not quite clear about what a ring flash is:rolleyes:

 

that's rich, considering you don't know what a "softbox" is.

 

Don't use a step-down ring, use a bracket.

[pico]

A little better here.

[lars_bergquist]

My impression is that a SF24D, hand-held with the aid of a Nikon cable and turned down to very low power, would have solved the problem. Or even bounced from a napkin ...

 

The old man from the Age of Flashpowder

[jaapv]

that's rich, considering you don't know what a "softbox" is.

 

Don't use a step-down ring, use a bracket.

 

That is a novel concept, using a flash designed to produce shadowless light by surrounding the lens and thus putting the light in the optical axis, on a bracket:rolleyes:

The ring flash was invented that way by a Mr. Dine for dental use as a flash around the lens.

try the Wikipedia article that, for once, gets it completely right.

 

 

As for softbox, in what way does the SFILL differ from for instance these?

 

http://www.micnova.com/EN/product/light_diffuser_systerm/universal_soft_box_flash_diffuser.html

[erl]

Frankly, I don't see a problem. The straight shot with shadows shows the girl has a 3D face. That is what shadows are for, in 2D media, eg. photos!

 

Jaap's quick 'fix' did eliminate the shadows OK, but now here eyes look smaller! To really optimize the image, I would have spent more time on composition and angles, rather than flashing etc. which would flatten her face unless creatively controlled. But now I am getting into 'taste' which was not the point of the question. My tastes are not to everyone's liking so I guess I am out of order.

[masjah]

The problem is that the more complex and sophisticated the flash you use, the more you destroy the essence of "M style" photography. To my mind, even carrying around an off camera lead, and holding a small flash in one of your hands, with the camera in the other, is too much of a faff. I'd tend to go for a small flash, even mounted on the camera, with the power well turned down, just to give the smallest bit of fill-in. (I hasten to add that I don't have an M camera, but would use my CM to similar effect, with my SF20.)

[Guest stanjan0]

Guys thanks, I'm overwhelmed by your responses, next time I'll take those suggestions and use a bounce flash with the flash aimed straight up and the white reflector tab pulled up and see what happens. Wow I didn't expect so much help and I thank each of you for your input. :)

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[Michael Geschlecht]

Hello stan,

 

You also might consider a small, solid table tripod w/ a large ballhead & a cable release w/ nice soft non-marking cushion feet on the tripod. Either against your chest which gives me 2 stops or against a wall, table, etc which gives you as many stops as you need. Collapsed it might fit in less space than many of the things people here have been writing about. It would certainly be less bother. For those who use flash but think a tripod is somehow un-Leica like: A flash is in reality an electronic tripod.

 

Best Regards,

 

Michael