Hummer with flash

[nancy hazen]

I am using my new lens 70-200 with an external flash. Still learning, and this was the best of the first try.
Canon 7D
70-200
1/250
AP 2.8
200MM
ISO 640
Some adustments of sharpening, highlights and midtones in PSE and cropping.
Thanks for looking.
I didn't run any noise reduction. It may need it.
C&C welcome
Nancy

[Tom Redd]

Nancy, this is a very nice shot, especially at that shutter speed when you consider how fast these guys can move. I just bought an external flash and am just learning to use it, but I believe there is a way to use faster shutter speeds with the external flash. Maybe someone more knowledgeable than me can tell me how. TFS.

[George Cottay]

Very nice. After several hundred flashed hummingbird shots I would still consider this one a keeper.

Right now I'm making myself a bit crazy trying eek out max DOF while stopping wings with 1/64 flash power.

[Bill Stubbs]

Nancy,
I think that's a nice capture.These little guys make fascinating subjects, but they can be quite challenging to photograph.

[Levina de Ruijter]

I think you did very well, Nancy, especially considering the low shutter speed and I like the image a lot: it is sharp and in focus and that's not easy with these little ones. It also has pleasing colours. And is that his tongue I'm seeing?
However, if it were mine I would crop it to move the bird up a bit into the upper right regions of the image (ROT). Also the bird is looking down and that would give him a bit more space, or rather depth, to actually look into. I would also remove one of the catch lights as two of them give away the flash. I also find the white blob in the background a bit distracting and would try to either clone that out or burn it? I think these things would make this pretty image even better.

[Julie Kenward]

Nancy, nice try here! I only have an oncamera flash and don't have much opportunity to use it for more than fill flash so I'm going to leave that issue to one of the others to help you with.

What I do see is a short DOF - you nailed the head area (and that's the most important) but there's a lot of fall off between his feet and the back of the tail. I'd definitely take it up to at least 5.6 for future trials. (Looking back on some of the other inflight hummer images I see that most of them are even stopped down further than that.)

You've done many things right here so pat yourself on the back - but keep working on getting a clearer wing and a little more DOF. I would run a little NR on the BG or you might try surface blur - it blurs everything but hard edges.

[nancy hazen]

Nancy, this is a very nice shot, especially at that shutter speed when you consider how fast these guys can move. I just bought an external flash and am just learning to use it, but I believe there is a way to use faster shutter speeds with the external flash. Maybe someone more knowledgeable than me can tell me how. TFS.

Thanks Tom. My husband came out to help me, and between the two of us and the instructions we got both flashes to fire. The light was rapidly leaving us. This was taken with only one flash (I think). I would love to get the shutter higher. So, back to the books
Nancy

[nancy hazen]

Very nice. After several hundred flashed hummingbird shots I would still consider this one a keeper.

Right now I'm making myself a bit crazy trying eek out max DOF while stopping wings with 1/64 flash power.

Thanks George. My husband helped me get the flashes set up. We used to have a 550EX flash (borrowed), so this new one is quite different. We need to look at some UTUBE tutorials and read more. I'm also trying to learn how to best use the 70-200 lens.

Thanks for looking. Happy shooting.
Nancy

[nancy hazen]

Nancy,
I think that's a nice capture.These little guys make fascinating subjects, but they can be quite challenging to photograph.

Bill, you are so right! One minute they're in you sight the next minute they are gone.
Thanks for looking.
Nancy

[nancy hazen]

I think you did very well, Nancy, especially considering the low shutter speed and I like the image a lot: it is sharp and in focus and that's not easy with these little ones. It also has pleasing colours. And is that his tongue I'm seeing?
However, if it were mine I would crop it to move the bird up a bit into the upper right regions of the image (ROT). Also the bird is looking down and that would give him a bit more space, or rather depth, to actually look into. I would also remove one of the catch lights as two of them give away the flash. I also find the white blob in the background a bit distracting and would try to either clone that out or burn it? I think these things would make this pretty image even better.

Great suggestions Levina, thank you! The BG was a rose bush which I thought would work, but I agree that pink blossom is distracting. I cloned out a leaf on the right. This is really not an image I plan to keep, but an experiment. I am trying to learn the 70-200 with a flash, actually using two flashes. But I appreciate the help with the cropping ideas too. I have trouble in that area. Thanks for your help.
Nancy

[nancy hazen]

Nancy, nice try here! I only have an oncamera flash and don't have much opportunity to use it for more than fill flash so I'm going to leave that issue to one of the others to help you with.

What I do see is a short DOF - you nailed the head area (and that's the most important) but there's a lot of fall off between his feet and the back of the tail. I'd definitely take it up to at least 5.6 for future trials. (Looking back on some of the other inflight hummer images I see that most of them are even stopped down further than that.)

You've done many things right here so pat yourself on the back - but keep working on getting a clearer wing and a little more DOF. I would run a little NR on the BG or you might try surface blur - it blurs everything but hard edges.

Thanks Jules. I went to a workshop that used a five flash set up and was trying to use some of those techniques. But it is clear that the extra flashes used there made all the difference. I am learning how to use the 70-200 when it comes to DOF and your suggestion of raising it helps.

Also, I have been using the zone focal points on these, and I'm wondering if I should go back to single focal point? So many of the shots focussed a different part of the hummer.

Thanks for the encouragement and suggestions.
Nancy