why would you want to use a flash outdoors? course hero

How to use flash for outdoor nature and landscape photography?

Here are a few tips to help you get using flash for your outdoor nature and landscape photography. To get started, you’ll need a few things in your bag: A windmill stands in the garden of the Finca Santa Anita in Salta Province, Argentina. As with almost all flash use, for best results, you’ve got to get the light off your camera.

Why do I need More than one flash for photography?

Even one flash can give you the ability to have great control over the brightness of your background. As we know, increasing contrast increases the dramatic nature of an image and we can use this to create a whole new mood for an image. Let’s say, for example, that we have a couple standing on an open field with storm clouds behind.

How to use a fill flash outdoors?

How to use fill flash outdoors 1 First, set your aperture, shutter speed and ISO to expose the background to your liking. ... 2 Once the background looks like you want it to, turn on your flash. 3 Then take a picture with the flash firing and aimed at your subject. ... 4 Check your image on the LCD screen of your camera and see what you think. ...

Do you need a flash for your camera?

In the days of slow film, flashes were oftentimes necessary to simply get an exposure on film. However, the digital cameras we use now are so sensitive to light that we rarely, if ever, need to increase the quantity of light.

What does an orange gelled flash look like?

If your camera is set to daylight white balance, an orange-gelled flash will glow like a sunset. You can also then adjust the white balance to tungsten so that the orange-gelled flash will render as neutral white light, while the daylight background will shift more blue.

Is flash unflattering?

It’s not unflattering, but it’s nothing special and a little dark. If you want to control the illumination on the subject’s face, adding flash to the mix is the perfect approach. Plus, because you can control flash and ambience separately, you can give the scene more drama than an ambient-only exposure.

Does shutter speed affect flash exposure?

While shutter speed doesn’t impact flash exposure, ISO and aperture do. So if your flash exposure is too dark, for instance, you could up the ISO without changing any other settings and you’d see the flash exposure change. The only issue is, every other part of the exposure changes too—including the ambient light.

DIAL IN YOUR AMBIENT EXPOSURE FIRST

Look at the scene in which you’ll be shooting and think of how you want the background to look, without paying as much attention to how the subject will be exposed, again working within the parameters of your camera’s flash sync speed. Once you’ve got that look dialed in, we can go on to the next step – adding the flash.

NOW ADD FLASH

A quick primer for those who aren’t familiar – when working with flash, your aperture will determine how much of the flash gets to the sensor. This means that if you’ve chosen a wide aperture for your desired background look, you will need less flash power to get your ideal exposure.

LIGHT CONTROL

For these example images, we’ve used a reflector to bounce flash onto our subject, but whatever modifier you choose, make sure that you are paying attention to where it is aiming your flash.

Why should every photographer know how to use fill flash outdoors?

But for me, the best photographers know how to light any scene, even if it requires the use of flash. You might have a situation where you can’t control the time of your shoot like an event or wedding.

Why do we call it fill flash?

It uses a flash to supplement the existing light in a scene. We call it fill flash because the flash fills in the shadows or dark areas in a scene. The flash isn’t the primary light source.

How to make a popup flash work better?

But you can make the popup flash work better by adjusting the flash compensation. Flash compensation lets you manually turn the power of your popup flash up or down, depending on your needs. To use flash compensation, you will need to be shooting in manual or a mode like aperture priority or shutter priority.

How to take a picture with flash?

First, set your aperture, shutter speed and ISO to expose the background to your liking. Remember to use a shutter speed below the max sync speed for your camera. Once the background looks like you want it to, turn on your flash. Then take a picture with the flash firing and aimed at your subject.

How far does a popup flash go?

The popup flash on your camera isn’t very big and it’s not overly powerful. Most popup flashes have a range of around 2 to 12 feet. So if you’re trying to stand back from your subject, the light from the flash might not even hit your subject.

How to use fill flash?

Fill flash is really helpful in a few different situations: 1 When your subject is backlit (the background light is brighter than the light on your subject’s face). 2 To lighten shadows and add detail to darker areas without overexposing highlights. 3 Fill in shadows caused by hats, other people’s heads or facial features. 4 Add catchlights to your subject’s eyes. 5 You want to expose your subjects properly but still keep some color and texture to your sky. 6 To add some separation from your background and subject.

What to do if your flash is too bright?

If your flash is too bright on your subject, move your flash further away from your subject. You can also add a modifier like a softbox to diffuse the flash.

Why is flash important for wildlife photography?

Flash can also play an important role in wildlife photography. Birds in particular are often down low in dark forests, where natural sunlight is rarely found. The flat, boring light beneath the foliage can be replaced by the directional light of a flash.

What is the best light for night photography?

For night photography, a strong headlamp or hand-held flashlight is a good addition to the kit. A windmill stands in the garden of the Finca Santa Anita in Salta Province, Argentina. General Guidelines. As with almost all flash use, for best results, you’ve got to get the light off your camera.

Is artificial light good for photography?

Think through your shots, consider where extra light can be added, and what role it will play in the final image. Not every situation requires it , in fact, most don’t. But there are times when that extra pop of light can take a photo from mundane to extraordinary.

Why do we use flash in photography?

Even one flash can give you the ability to have great control over the brightness of your background. As we know, increasing contrast increases the dramatic nature of an image and we can use this to create a whole new mood for an image.

What is the best time to take portraits of people?

A cloudy day can be a fantastic time to shoot portraits of people. The soft, enveloping light offers a flattering space to place a person and focus solely on their expressions without having to worry about exactly how the light falls. Now take that same person and day, but move your subject next to a window.

Can flash freeze motion?

The burst of light that leaves the flash unit can be much faster than your shutter and allow you to freeze motion you couldn’t otherwise freeze.

Can you use flashes on top of a camera?

Of course, flashes are also used in studio and even on top of the camera, but here we’re specifically looking at using your lights on location to create dramatic effect. This can be extremely powerful and here are a few reasons why you may find it worthwhile.

Can you use all three flashes at once?

Sometimes it can be all three at once. When you get started, it can take a while to grasp how it all works. However, if there’s one thing that will improve your flash photography, it is knowing when and why to flash. Today we’ll be talking about using flash on location and why you might want to drag all that heavy equipment on location with you.

Can flash be faster than shutter?

The burst of light that leaves the flash unit can be much faster than your shutter and allow you to freeze motion you couldn’t otherwise freeze.