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Message: <blockquote data-quote="WayneF" data-source="post: 377269" data-attributes="member: 12496">Re: Can 2 AF assist lamps be used at the same time? (on camera & off camera ext' flasHistogram normally should be more than half full.  It depends of course what the scene is, black cat in a coal mine, or polar bear on the snow are different.  But most average scenes have a mix, some bright colors and some dark colors. The bright colors should be towards right edge, and the dark colors towards left edge. But that mix is hard for us to judge, and this is not the plan.  The histogram is NOT a light meter. Virtually 100% of the point of looking at it is to make sure we are not overexposing and clipping at the right edge (we cannot fix clipping in post processing).  Close to right edge is good, but touching it is bad (exceptions always exist).   Short of using an incident flash meter, the better guide is how bright the scene looks on the rear LCD.  Adjust compensation to make it look like you want it to look. All scenes don't have to reach the right edge.  What matters is how it looks.There are complications in everything. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" />  LCD monitors come set too d*** bright, which causes us to misjudge our photos, to adjust the photos for it, with the result that they look darker when they print properly on paper, or on other calibrated monitors. A calibrator for the monitor is a good thing.  And then, I also set the Nikon camera LCD to -1 brightness to better match the calibrated monitor. Then I adjust compensation to look like I want it to look.  Zooming in on that camera LCD preview can be a big help too, to see the important faces, etc.All scenes do NOT necessarily require flash compensation.  It is NOT about calibrating the hardware, it is only about metering the specific scene in front of the camera at this instant. We might think similar indoor scenes often need some certain amount, but fill flash in bright sun will be something different. It is about the scene, which we can simply see in advance, and with a bit of experience, can easily make certain predictions about compensation needed (white wall background, white bridal dress, black tuxedo, black direct flash background, etc).But basically, we just watch results, and simply do what we see we need to do.  Often a little compensation can help, but there are occasions needing  none, or more.  This becomes easy fast.  It is necessary to pay  attention to our work.Complications, which I think are probably not a factor here, but ...If your ISO is too high (Auto ISO normally is), or if your indoor lights too bright, Nikon is doing TTL BL mode, which becomes lesser strength fill flash in bright ambient (and of course, Auto ISO can make it be bright).  A test picture indoors with the same 1/60 second ISO 400, but with the flash turned off, ought to be BLACK, and then the flash will behave.  If that test picture is closer to normal exposure (which Auto ISO strives to do), then you are doing fill flash instead.  Bounce may need a little more ISO, but Auto ISO is NOT a good thing with indoor flash.  We can use camera M mode (Manual) which allows us to set any shutter speed, to be faster, 1/200 second Maximum flash sync speed. This keeps out the ambient better than 1/60 can. The TTL flash is always automatic in any camera mode.Flash does fall off fast with distance. All lights do.   Portrait faces are closer than the background, and inverse square law does apply.  We don't realize this outdoors.   The Sun in daylight is many millions of miles distant, so a few more feet (or miles) behind the subject is nothing.  But the flash is quite close, and we certainly do realize the falloff behind.   In an umbrella situation, we would provide another manual flash just for the background for that reason and purpose.For direct flash, the background behind subject will necessarily be darker. Seeing that dark affects TTL metering too, direct flash does tend to overexpose the subject (trying to help the dark background it sees).  Complications in that too, D-lens distance on TTL BL direct flash, etc. However, short of adding that light on the background, bounce flash can be your best friend. One, it is much better softer light on the subject, but two, bounce also tends to illuminate the whole room more evenly.  Because most of the (normal size) room is more equal distance from that bright spot on the ceiling. The background simply lights up back there with bounce.  The higher the ceiling, the more true this is, but the more flash power is needed.Bounce is definitely the good stuff for a hot shoe flash.  But, it does require a bigger flash, with more power to do the job.</blockquote>

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