# Which ND you recommend for portrait outdoor?



## MH_91 (May 27, 2012)

hey guys, 

i wanna buy a ND filters, and i use lot of flashes outdoor, so i wanted to know, which ND you guys recommend?? its for portrait and weddings uses only. 

2x = ND.3 (exposure adjustment = 1 stop, reduces ISO 1/2)
4x = ND.6 (exposure adjustment = 2 stops, reduces ISO 1/4)
8x = ND.9 (exposure adjustment = 3 stops, reduces ISO 1/8)


​Thanks in advance!


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## Buckster (May 27, 2012)

It doesn't make sense to me to use any of them for portrait or wedding work, so I really don't know.

What is your goal in using them for that sort of work?


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## MH_91 (May 27, 2012)

Buckster said:


> It doesn't make sense to me to use any of them for portrait or wedding work, so I really don't know.
> 
> What is your goal in using them for that sort of work?



i honestly new in this filter thing, i have seen couple of videos which shows the use of a ND filter while you wanna use your flashes. What it dose?? it will basically decrees the background exposure and shows more of the flash light on the object. i dont know if that make sense to you or not

i have attached a video, skip till 5:00 which basically shows what i mean behind the reason of using an ND filter for outdoor sessions. 

Also, what i meant for weddings, i meant for the formal pictures while we are doing some outdoor pictures.


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## Buckster (May 27, 2012)

Ahh, that was well explained.  I've never actually used them in that way, but it's perfectly valid if want or need to do that sort of thing.

Back to your question, it's going to depend on how much ambient light you need to fight against, and how much aperture control you need to get.  I would say get a full set of ND's or maybe a variable density ND.

Do you have the flash power to compensate?


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## MH_91 (May 27, 2012)

Buckster said:


> Ahh, that was well explained.  I've never actually used them in that way, but it's perfectly valid if want or need to do that sort of thing.
> 
> Back to your question, it's going to depend on how much ambient light you need to fight against, and how much aperture control you need to get.  I would say get a full set of ND's or maybe a variable density ND.
> 
> Do you have the flash power to compensate?



For now, i was thinking to use it with my 580 Ex attached to a softbox or without it. In the future, i was thinking to do that with the Elinchrom Ranger.


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## Rockadile (May 27, 2012)

The ND filter will also decrease flash exposure so you would probably need a stronger strobe. Are you trying to shoot with a wide aperture for shallow DoF during bright sunlight or overpowering the sun to decrease ambient exposure?


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## MH_91 (May 27, 2012)

Rockadile said:


> The ND filter will also decrease flash exposure so you would probably need a stronger strobe. Are you trying to shoot with a wide aperture for shallow DoF during bright sunlight or overpowering the sun to decrease ambient exposure?



yeah, most likely i will shoot with a wide Aperture 2.8, 4 maybe? So maybe i need  more then one layer of ND ? is that even possible? Once again, am a nooooooooooob about filter lol!


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## macpro88 (May 27, 2012)

This is relevant to my interests, thanks for bringing this up!

Per the video, you can stack them on top of each other, which is handy for sure.

I guess if you can afford it buy a set (the ones you listed in your OP) and just practice shooting and see what happens. granted you can't predict the sun light that day of the shoot but you can at least get a general feel for what's going to happen.

and based on the video, having a light meter would be very handy as well


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## MH_91 (May 27, 2012)

macpro88 said:


> This is relevant to my interests, thanks for bringing this up!
> 
> Per the video, you can stack them on top of each other, which is handy for sure.
> 
> ...



i didnt watch the full video, i was just fast forwarding hoping to see a picture prove of what am talking about lol.. 

i will get some ND tomorrow, and i have a session to do this upcoming weekend, hopefully it becomes handy. I will update you guys! 

cheers,


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## macpro88 (May 27, 2012)

MH_91 said:


> macpro88 said:
> 
> 
> > This is relevant to my interests, thanks for bringing this up!
> ...



take the time to watch it all lol, great video actually haha

and keep us posted! would love to see how it turns out


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## Village Idiot (May 29, 2012)

I have two of the three you mention, but I'm not sure which. I believe it's a 3 stop and a 9 stop. A speedlight will barely over power daylight unless you're shotting bare and extremely close, so anything over a 3 stop is most likely out of the equation. IIRC, it's the 9 stop I used with an 800w/s and 900w/s pack. The additional issue is that with the stronger NDs, it becomes increasingly difficult to see through the view finder and for the camera to focus.


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## ghache (May 29, 2012)

i usually use a 3 stops or a 4 stops.


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## ghache (May 29, 2012)

Buckster said:


> It doesn't make sense to me to use any of them for portrait or wedding work, so I really don't know.
> 
> What is your goal in using them for that sort of work?



it doesnt make sense? good lord.


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## Buckster (May 29, 2012)

ghache said:


> Buckster said:
> 
> 
> > It doesn't make sense to me to use any of them for portrait or wedding work, so I really don't know.
> ...


Keep reading the thread...


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## jaomul (May 29, 2012)

Before you buy them you can still try similar techniques without them. A normal sunny day is approx F11 @ 1/250th sec at iso 100. More often its a little duller than this. Meter for the ambient and drop your aperture 2 stops. This should be enough to darken up the sky. Use off camera flash for your subject. A bit of experimenting with this will tell you quickly what nd filters you will need for your goals


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## MH_91 (May 29, 2012)

Thanks for the feedback guys. I have a session to do this upcoming weekend. So I will try it and will see. 

Cheers.


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## Robin Usagani (May 29, 2012)

I use .9 ND. If it is not enough, I can always switch my ISO to 50 on my canon.  3 stops is typically good enough for me to shoot within my sync speed on a bright day and shoot pretty wide open.


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## MH_91 (May 29, 2012)

Schwettylens said:


> I use .9 ND. If it is not enough, I can always switch my ISO to 50 on my canon.  3 stops is typically good enough for me to shoot within my sync speed on a bright day and shoot pretty wide open.



Nice pictures you get there! 

So for the flash is it bare flash, or is it attached to a softbox in order to have this results?


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## Robin Usagani (May 29, 2012)

I used bareflash.  But  I believe I was only at 1/8.  I still had plenty of flash power if I modified it or if I wanted to darken the background even more.


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## Rodz (May 29, 2012)

Why not do this filtering in post processing? Light room has the ability to create presets at no additional cost and there is no limitation.


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## Robin Usagani (May 29, 2012)

Rodz said:


> Why not do this filtering in post processing? Light room has the ability to create presets at no additional cost and there is no limitation.



?


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## macpro88 (May 30, 2012)

Rodz said:


> Why not do this filtering in post processing? Light room has the ability to create presets at no additional cost and there is no limitation.



Because you risk over/under exposure when shooting wide open like the OP wants in bright sunlight... much much harder to correct in post process and takes tooooooo much time. Better spend the the little money now (generally speaking) than waste tooo much time in post process, remember, time is money!


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## 2WheelPhoto (May 30, 2012)

I haven't used my filter in quite some time. Do it right with pocketwizard hyper sync for uber-fast shutter sync speeds.

and no, thats not the cheesy TTL feature of a tiny strobe continuously firing at half power and draining battery like mad


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