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.
Stacking Two Lights to Create Depth in Your Portraits
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3 Lighting Techniques for Creative Effects
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5 One-Light Modifier Setups | Portrait Lighting in 10 Minutes
Here are five quick studio lighting setups you can use with one light to capture a variety of portraits in under 10 minutes.
Surreal vs Natural Lighting – How To Create Natural Looking Lighting
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Understanding Fill Vs. Negative Fill | Slice of Pye
We're going to show you how using fill or negative fill light can make a dramatic difference in your portraits, even in a simple scene.
How to Use Gels | From Ordinary to Extraordinary
We're going to cover simple gelling techniques to transform a portrait from ordinary to extraordinary.
How to Get Correct Exposures Without a Light Meter
Ever wonder how to get to the right exposure without using a light meter? Here some tools and a process for doing just that!
Day vs. Night Photography Technique | Slice of Pye Ep. 26
In this video, we'll show you from start to finish how we took an ordinary scene and turned it from day to night in one single exposure, in-camera.
Fujifilm Introduces the EF-60 Shoe Mount Flash and EF-W1 Wireless Commander for X Series and GFX System cameras
Fujifilm has announced the launch of the EF-60 Shoe Mount Flash (“EF-60”) and the EF-W1 Wireless Commander (“EF- W1”), expanding the lineup of accessories for the X Series and GFX System of digital cameras.
Build A Portrait Studio for $1,000
In this write up we’ll go over how you can create amazing portraits anywhere with a lighting kit that can fit into a suitcase, and costs just around $1000
Profoto Launches AirX Allowing Professional Strobes To Be Used With Mobile Devices
Smartphone photographers can now add a professional flash to their gear – an innovation that rewrites the rules of photography. And professional photographers, for the first time in history, to use the full power of their flashes no matter what the device!
5 Do’s and Don’ts for Buying Lighting Gear
Stuck on which piece of equipment belongs in your kit or if you should save up for upcoming lighting gear? Read this before you splurge.
