Flash on, Flash off

Answers From a Song

I shot the above picture (of Rachel) while documenting the department's last road show at the St. Dominic Savio School in Cordova. The crowds and the changing ambient light conditions always make it a challenge to shoot pictures during the event.

I was making pictures of the demonstrations in the Forensic Chemistry room and found myself wracking my brain on how best to balance ambient light with flash (which was necessary in the darkened room).  There was blue cellophane over the fluorescent lamps to create a believable atmosphere of a TV crime lab. The classroom designated for the exhibit had bright pink curtains with the afternoon sun shining right behind them. And every time I bounced my flash off the low white ceiling, the mint green color of the walls would dominate the scene.

What to do?

__________

Enter Katy Perry's Hot n Cold.

I should probably explain myself before I continue. When ruminating, I am very much inclined to play songs in my head. It's usually just a small sample of the entire song (my brain tends to create mash-ups with other songs on the fly). I find that the repeating internal soundtrack helps me focus my thoughts more.

Okay, so in this particular scenario the looping sample was – 'Cause you're hot then you're cold...

And then it struck me, warm pink and cool blue. 

Rachel was in between demos and she was right where the two light sources mixed. So, it was just a matter of adjusting my settings and asking her for a quick picture. Two quick clicks and I had my personal pick for picture of the day.

The internal 'audio player' doesn't remember as many songs as it used to nor does it update its playlist more frequently. But as Bert Lance once said, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it. "