Flash Photography
What Is Flash Photography?
Like the name implies, flash photography is photography using a flash. The primary purpose of flash photography is to illuminate a dark scene. It’s thus used when indoors or when ambient light outside is not enough. Although most people use flash photography for this reason, it has other uses as well.
A photographer can, for instance, use it when capturing moving subjects or changing the quality of the light. This can enhance photographs or give dramatic effect where it’s needed.
Flash photography is versatile and can be used in several forms of photography, from portraiture, fashion, real estat, and wildlife photography.
Types of Flashes
There are a large variety of flashes available on the market today. They are commonly built into the camera, but more advanced flashes are external units which fit to the hot shoe of the camera.
Most of these advanced flashes offer adjustable intensity and duration of the flash. This enables the photographer to adjust the flash according to their needs and the subject they’re working with. Many also have the choice of remote triggering where the flash can be triggered away from the camera.
Besides the flashes mentioned above, there are also many specialized flashes available. These include:
• Ring flashes which fit to the lens of the camera and reduces shadows in macro photography.
• High speed flashes that flashes many times in a short duration. These flashes are used in science or by engineers.
• Multi-flash systems that flash light from different directions and is used in technical or medical imagery.
• Standalone units such as strobe flashes that is used in studio photography.
There are also some techniques, with some accessories, that flash photographers use. Some ways are:
• Soft boxes, which diffuse the light, taking away the harshness and making it softer.
• Fill flash, which is used to supplement light in darker areas of the frame.
• Bounce flash where the photographer directs the flash at a reflective surface like an umbrella. In this way it can serve as a fill flash or to supply ambient lighting.
Besides these there are several other techniques and tools available like manually-triggered flash, colored gels, and strobing. With all the tools available, the possibilities with flash photography are endless.
In the articles below, read about Flash Photography tips, tutorials and news.

The Sunny 16 Rule Explained
With all the sophistication of modern metering system, it seems like the good ol’ Sunny 16 Rule can be dismissed as one of the old relics of the film era. But it is still a valid and useful rule nonetheless, and one that can teach growing photographers about the principles of metering. So if you haven’t heard about the Sunny 16 Rule or just need to brush up on it again, here’s a quick primer on this classic metering rule.

Softbox vs Umbrella | Comparing Two Common Lighting Modifiers
What is the difference between these two very important lighting modifiers? Every portrait photographer should know how to use both of them correctly...

Essential Tips for Incredible Groom Preparation Photos
Preparation is key in order to produce creative, journalistic imagery.

How to Create Window Light with Flash
See how simple it is to re-create natural window light with a single flash.

Flash Gel Photography for Creative and Corrective Effects
Gels can be very useful in correcting color in your image or adding a creative effect. We show you how in the following video.

An Unconventional TWO Light Studio Portrait Setup
In a previous tutorial, I walked through an unconventional one light portrait setup. In this video, I’ll be adding in ...

3 Subtle OCF Portrait Lighting Techniques with Profoto’s Clic Modifiers
If you ask me what my favorite light modifiers are, I’d tell you anything that helps me control the light. ...

An Unconventional One Light Studio Portrait Setup
If you had only one light for your portrait, where would you place it? Usually, we’d think of placing the ...

How to Balance Flash with Natural Light Using the Profoto A2
We’re at the beach to capture some golden hour portraits. In this video, I’ll walk through how to balance flash ...

How to Freeze Motion in Photography
In photography, some of the most compelling images are the ones that freeze motion, especially fast moving, dynamic motion. Whether ...

Profoto A2 Review | The Perfect On-Location Flash for Destination Portraits
The recently released Profoto A2 is a new tiny flash that packs a punch. Roughly the size of a soda ...

TTL vs Manual Flash | What is TTL and When to Use It
In the following video clip, Lindsay Adler demonstrates studio lighting with a speedlight and shows us the differences between TTL metering and manual light metering