# pipe tobacco



## camera obscura (Jul 25, 2009)

I've been experimenting with higher apertures f/11-f/13 as suggested. Wow, it makes a big difference for getting the background in focus!

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## manaheim (Jul 25, 2009)

Ooof... that light is HARSH.  Are you pointing a flash directly at your subject?  I would advise against it.  Looks focused, though.


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## camera obscura (Jul 25, 2009)

Yeah, it's the built-in flash on my Nikon. It's the only flash I have at the moment. I set it to "fill." Seems to be the best setting for macros. Too much light huh? Would a strobe like the SB-400 help in this situation?


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## manaheim (Jul 25, 2009)

camera obscura said:


> Yeah, it's the built-in flash on my Nikon. It's the only flash I have at the moment. I set it to "fill." Seems to be the best setting for macros. Too much light huh? Would a strobe like the SB-400 help in this situation?


 
The on-camera flash is evil incarnate.  Avoid it at all costs.  Seriously.

In short, yes, absolutely ... an external flash that you can bounce off a ceiling/put a diffuser on/etc. is absolutely the way to go.

In lieu of that, there are also some other tricks you can try with the on-cam flash.

One is this:

Photojojo » Reduce, Reuse, Diffuse: Make Your Own Flash Diffuser from an Old Film Container

You can also put a small mirror or even a white business card directly in front of the flash and have it bounce off the ceiling.  It's a little clunky, but it works reasonably well sometimes.


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## mooimeisie (Jul 25, 2009)

I sometimes also like to use f/11 on macros.  When I need to use fill flash on my camera I always set the flash to underexpose by 2 stops.


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