Since the introduction of automatic flash fill on camera, photographers have been jumping for joy with the results. Well, sometimes not for joy but in anger.
While photographing the Brainerd Jaycees Ice Fishing tourney on Gull Lake, I realized how important it was to use flash fill but with a modification.
Remember it is cold outside so you have keep your batteries in tip top form for the key photos of the day. I prefer to set my camera on center weighted metering for the flash fill. The reason for this is somewhat simple. Most of your action happens in the center of your viewfinder.
Now let's throw in a twist, the sun bursting behind the subject. At the moment it became official that Andrew Schultz had won the grand prize of a truck, he started reacting but the sun was right over his shoulder.
The sun will definitely throw the metering off even for the best camera system. So lets think ahead. If you are watching him on the sidelines, take a reading, shoot a photo and check. If it is to dark go to the exposure compensation dial and plus up the image.
At the moment of reaction, you should be calibrated just right for that particular image. Remember to reset your camera and flash as you move onto more subjects
