Before I had my own camera, I borrowed used camera gear from a photography shop near my place. As an amateur, I used to shoot with built-in camera flash. But over the years, I realized flash photography just doesn’t bring the effective result that most photos require. It is better to use an off-camera flash instead. If you are new and don’t own one, you can get a decent one used.
Having an off-camera flash has lots of benefits, and once you see what you can do with it, you won’t want to leave without it. We may think that flash is suitable for nighttime only, but you can use flash dramatically even during the daytime. So, let me share my personal experience with using flash and not using flash. Of course, I am talking about off-camera flash.
P.S.(I don’t own an off-camera flash, I borrow it from a shop or from friends)
Anyway, let’s find out what the opportunities are for using your flash to shoot wonderful photos.
Shooting With Flash
When we learn the effective use of flash, it allows us to see many possibilities where we can use it. Here are a few of the times when I use the off-camera flash for better photos:
- Use Flash Indoors – It is obvious that you would want to use flash when you are indoors. As indoor lights are not as bright as the natural lights or street lights, you have to use a flash. But don’t reflect the external flash directly on your subject as it will make the subject look unnatural. I would recommend you to bounce off the light on the ceiling or any nearby wall to have a natural look. When you fire the flash directly on your subject, it creates a dull tone to the image, which doesn’t speak much. But if you place the flash off from your camera and target a light-bouncing medium, it creates magic.
- Using Flash Outdoors During Daytime – You must be wondering why use a flash when you have natural light at your service during the day. It’s a good question. I also used to think that I didn’t need a flash to shoot under daylight. But I admit it, I was wrong. Sometimes, you may want a composition where you are shooting during golden hour. Now the golden backlight is creating a dark silhouette of your subject without any prominence from the front. If you capture the photos like that and want to fix them later with Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Lightroom, it’s fairly difficult. But if you use a diffuser on your flash and direct it towards your subject, it will create a dramatic effect. During the daytime, I use the flash as the secondary light source. It helps me to fill the underexposed areas of a frame with the right amount of light. The images look lush when the use of flash is done right.
- Capture Freeze Motion With Flash – Why not use an external flash to freeze a motion? The short burst of light in a dark place enables you to trigger a shot that looks frozen midway. It is recommended to use the trick in low light or around no light to witness its enigmatic effect. In such time, the shutter speed needs to be high but not too much. If you shoot the shutter speed too high, it may darken the whole image without giving you the right effect. I am personally using the off-camera flash in these ways till now. I may try out using the off-camera flash in other areas too. So, now let’s look at the places where you actually don’t need a flash at all.
When Not To Use Flash
Using flash gives us lots of edges to manipulate the light source. But what happens when it is completely no-no to use flash? Also, when using a flash leads to a sure-shot disaster for your photos?
- While Taking Candid Shots – When you are taking candid photos of people, you don’t have to use flash. After all, the flash automatically attracts the view of your subject, and it becomes less candid and more intentional photography. To take candid photos in a wedding, event, or anywhere, you wouldn’t want your subject to be aware of you taking the shots. It will ensure that your photos come up with natural expressions. If you are outdoors and in the daytime, taking candid shots becomes easy. When it’s after sunset or indoors, it becomes difficult to shoot. You can widen the aperture while spiking up the ISO for taking photos. No need for flash here.
- Big Events – Yes, I have been to big events with my friends, and I have seen people getting photos using a flash. I mean, seriously! It’s a concert, and whether you use an on-camera flash or an off-camera flash, it’s useless. During events, you should use the manual mode or priority mode of the camera to capture your masterpiece. If you master low light photography, you will be nailing each photo in big events; that too, without using a flash.
- Concert Photography – Just like in big events, you should not use a flash at the concert. Also, most concerts don’t allow people to use flash as it can distract the performers. At the concert, the lighting designer already put in lots of effort. Now, if one uses a flash, it completely ruins the experience for all. In order to take exceptional concert photos, you can lower the shutter speed and widen your aperture. When you adjust the camera settings, the camera can pick up the colors better. Apart from disturbance, the flash also gives away bad shadows at the concert. The reason is, you will be shooting the performance from a low angle as they perform upstage.
Conclusion
There’s no need to use a flash when the sun is above your head. It’s obvious as the sunlight will take care of the light source. So, most of the time, you won’t have to use a flash when it’s daytime.
Understanding about using the flash is necessary, as it will push you forward in your photography journey.
