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Night Portrait
Photography
When photographing a portrait at night,
remember that while the Speedlight is used
to illuminate your subject, it is not enough
to illuminate the background. In order to get
enough light to allow the background to be
properly exposed, you need to use a longer
shutter speed. Consumer level cameras,
such as the D50 and D70 have a Night
Portrait setting that adjusts the camera’s set-
tings in order achieve a longer shutter speed
than would normally be used when using
flash. This can also be accomplished manu-
ally by setting the camera to Slow Sync
mode. Slow Sync mode enables you to set a
slower shutter speed when the Speedlight is
attached to the camera.
When using the Speedlight in Slow Sync
mode to shoot night portraits, using a tripod
is almost always necessary in order to
reduce the blur that is caused by handhold-
ing the camera at slow shutter speeds.
Fortunately, the flash from the Speedlight is
quick enough and bright enough to freeze
the main subject, and so long as they don’t
move too much, they stay in focus with or
without the tripod.
Chapter 6 ✦ Real World Applications 145
✦ Seize an opportunity. Even if you
don’t have the “right” lens on your
camera for capturing wildlife, snap
a few shots anyhow. You can
always crop it later, if it isn’t per-
fect. It’s better to get the shot than
not.
✦ Adjust your flash exposure com-
pensation when using a long
lens. The SB-600 and SB-800
zoom range only goes up to
105mm. This doesn’t mean you
can’t use it with a lens longer than
that. Adjusting the flash exposure
compensation up can get more
range out of your Speedlight. Of
course, you may experience slower
recycling times and shorter battery
life.
✦ Be patient. It may take a few
hours, or even a few trips, to the
outdoors before you have the
chance to see any wild animals.
Keep the faith, it will happen
eventually.
6.26 Gerald, Austin, TX / Fuji S2Pro with
Nikon 24-120mm f/3.5-4.6. ISO 100, 0.7
sec. at f/3.5 with the SB-600 set to TTL BL.
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