More on Flash

18/02/10

Someone was asking the other day about the best way to use on camera flash for capturing portraits. Well the short answer is there isn't one.... a best way that is, there are many ways, each suiting it's situation. Regardless of if you use ring-flash, bounced-flash, flash-brackets, diffusers, bounce-cards or any other method for deploying and modifying on camera flash, there are pitfalls, advantages and better/worse situations for each. All I can really tell you is what I do and why: my methods are nothing groundbreaking or particularly individual, so you will find more on these in a thousand and one other places - probably with better explanations and examples. But hey, you're here reading this, so I guess you have some interest in what I have to say on the subject.

First of all let me dismiss the commonly held belief that "all on-camera flash is bad flash". I've heard this a thousand times - often from far more accomplished photographers than myself and each time I hear it I can only draw the conclusion that those saying it, even the very learned ones, gave up without really giving it a go. If there's one thing I've learned from my years as a photographer it is very simply that the tools themselves are utterly benign in every way and that the only thing that makes them useful or otherwise is practice or lack of it. The fact is that there are times and places where even with modern sensors and their stratospheric ISO capabilities, the only way you're gonna get your shot is by using on-camera flash.

As you may have read in my other entries I don't tend to use flash a great deal indoors - particularly during ceremonies as this can all but ruin the atmosphere of a solemn occasion. In fact most wedding venues/officials simply won't allow flash during the ceremony anyway so there's no point in even asking. During the indoor stages of a reception however on-camera flash can come into it's own provided it's used sensibly - more later. Outdoors I find that using on-camera flash to balance harsh daylight (I'm thinking of those 2.00pm July weddings when the bright sun can turn everyone into squinting helio-phobes if you're shooting with the light, or dimly lit silhouettes if shooting into the light. OK I know I know - spot meter for the faces and they'll be beautifully exposed even when backlit. The problem here however is that everything else, including the surroundings, which the bride and groom have presumably taken time and hard earned cash to enjoy are bleached out in a milky mess. The answer - a little fill from your friendly speedlight. I always find that balancing outdoor shots in bright daylight is far more challenging than many other location scenarios and that a flash is invaluable.

So what's my preferred method for deploying on-camera flash?

Firstly, as you may have read in my equipment section, I kind of gave up on most of the plethora of modifiers and diffusers that are now being marketed, having tried many and found few that are ergonomically suited to my methods - the rest, effective as some undoubtedly are, just get in the way so much. These days I use a Stofen dome diffuser (mostly) and a home-made bounce card (foam board and elastic hair bands nicked when my other half isn't looking).

My methods are quite simple for both outdoor or indoor use of on-camera flash: For straight wedding portrait shots (99% of ,my on-camera flash scenarios) I set my camera to Manual, then select a suitable ISO/shutter speed/aperture setting for the ambient light and required depth of field (shutter speed must be within your speedlight's sync range - see instructions for your unit). This will give me a good exposure for the background indoors or out and will provide me with a suitably stable backdrop for my portrait (automatic settings can be a nightmare in this situation as they will constantly be altering exposure values as I re-compose). Next I set my flash to auto (WHAT????) - yes auto, this way the flashes light sensor will automatically shut down the light burst when the exposure reaches optimum for the subject. Next meter for the faces of your subjects - this passes on the appropriate exposure info to the flash (now do you see why I'm in auto). Finally shoot! Check results on the LCD screen, if adjustment is required then I simply do so via the FEC (flash exposure compensation) control on my camera. I could set my flash to manual, but I find this tends to increase the setup time and the number of shots necessary to get the exposure correctly balanced - not good in a fast moving situation like a wedding reception. I also find that shooting entirely in programme mode (usually the default and only setting for many on-camera flash users) also leads to considerably more grief when attempting to balance exposure.