What You Should Know About Flashes

Without any doubt, the main graphic instrument of the photographer is light, therefore photographers try to become fully independent from natural lighting.

Today there are lots of options for that.

·        Among the widely used electronic flashes one may use studio flashes with modeling light, cooling and other accessories.

·        Also, halogen lamps are quite simple and easy to use, for example, when shooting an interior. They are very compact and you can always see a lighting picture when using such lamps in your work.

·        An experienced photographer may even use simple electric lamps or local lighting sources, but we should still remember that all of the artificial lighting sources have their own color temperature.

The most popular types of flashes are electronic flashes. Despite of the fact that almost all of the modern cameras have their own built-in flashes, usually they have limited possibilities. The photographer would rather keep an electronic flash as a separate device that may increase a camera work range.

When buying an additional photo flash, find out whether it meets the following minimum requirements:

-         the flash should be powerful enough;

-         it should have a rotatable head;

-         there should be at least several working modes: A (automatic), TTL (Through The Lens), M (manual);

-         automatic zoom should trace any change of focus length;

-         possibility of synchronization at the back shutter blind;

-         stroboscope mode (it is desirable to have it);

-         possibility of wireless control (so as to use several devices).

The key characteristics of compact flashes are their guide number. The higher the number is the more powerful flash you have, and the more distance you allow to shoot from. The impulse color of all flashes is balanced to the color of sunlight and does not require additional correction; the color temperature of the flash is 5500K. Modern compact electronic flashes are always synchronized with the camera.

Also you need to remember, that different producers name TTL mode (Through The Lens) differently, for example: balanced mode, filling mode etc. It depends on the type of cameras, lens and metering mode, that is why it is always recommended to study thoroughly the manual of the flash so as to understand how the settings can be changed in your device.

1. Straight flash lighting?

It is the simplest and the most casual method of flash lighting. The flash is triggered in the forced mode, so the camera does not “see” any other light apart from the short impulse of the flash. The impulse is about 1/1000 sec. But sometimes in the shot you may see faces with red eyes, and your picture would be just spoiled. Red-eye effect is caused by the close location of the flash to the optical axis of the lens. The flashing light, reflected by the blood vessels of  eye retina, is coming back to the camera being painted in red – this is the typical work of cameras with the built-in flashes without any possibility of settings’ control. In order to get rid of such an effect, you may try to switch on the red-eye reduction mode (if available) or, if the flash can be separated from the camera, try to shift it a bit to the side from the axis of the lens. You may use special cable and holder for that.

red-eye effect because of straight flash light

If you shoot people or interior with the straight flash lighting, it is quite difficult to expect a good result in the end, but if you don’t have any alternative to built-in camera flashes, try at least to avoid mirrors, glass or flat polished surfaces in front of you or in the background. Reflected flash may also change the auto exposure of the shot by its bright lighting spot.

2. Illuminate the subject!

When the sun is bright in the sky we don’t usually think of shooting with the camera flash. But in fact the sunlight is too sharp, leaving bright colors with dark shadows in the shot. In this case it is better to illuminate the motif, using a flash (not to change the general lighting picture). Such a technique with flash illumination is useful when you shoot portraits in the bright sun or backlight your model. It helps to avoid high contrast or to highlight black shadows.

You can use flash during the night or evening photo sessions (at sunset, for example): using flash we can both illuminate a model and preserve natural lighting. When the photographed object is illuminated by a fill flash, while slow shutter speed ensures receiving a complete and clear picture in the background, the result is correct exposure. For that you need to set up your camera flash into the A or TTL mode and adjust flash correction at minus 1-3 steps. It’s possible to shoot without a tripod in the day time, while most probably you’ll need it shooting in the evening (not to spoil the background).

3. Reflected light

The best way to improve your image quality (when shooting with the camera flash) is to direct the light from your flash into the ceiling. In this case instead of the contrasting and flat illumination you’ll receive a calm, almost scattered light. When the light is reflected from the ceiling, the shadows become soft and lighting picture is more natural. The only drawback of this lighting may be the shadows from eyebrows and nose. In some flashes, such as Nikon Speedlight SB-800DX, there’s a possibility to use a light-dispersing card: it slides out from the flash. If you don’t have this one, don’t get upset – it may be replaced by a simple business card attached to a flash (white-colored from inside). 

If you make vertical pictures, it’s quite handy to direct the flash light into the wall. The color of  the walls should be white or soft enough. Being reflected from the surface, the flash light is painted in the colors of the ceiling or the wall and thus is changing the chromatic level of an image. Usually the photographers use special attachments on the flash to reduce the light contrast. These are small plastic boxes and light dispersers, such as Nikon Diffusion Dome, for example (they are named differently among producers), or Photoflex or Lumiquest caps. When shooting with such attachments, part of the flash light disappears, so you need to adjust correction on the flash starting from +0,3 steps and up to the required level. The exact figure depends on the ceiling height and the distance to a model. Even the precise TTL-measuring cameras may be wrong. And remember, that it’s almost useless to direct the flash into the ceiling if it’s black, or if you shoot in a large hall and audience, such as sport halls or indoor stadiums.

Camera, cable and flash

Sometimes you may find it necessary to shift the flash from the camera aside a bit. For example, if you’re shooting reproductions through the glass or paintings in the frames it’s better to illuminate the subjects from aside in order to avoid reflections. If you’re taking pictures of the fashion sessions, or ballroom dances, or shooting portraits, - in other words almost in every shot, where the vertical format is often used, it is also recommended to put the flash above the camera. In case the flash is installed in its original position, turning your camera vertically again you may see unpleasant and sharp contours of the shadows. In such cases it is very convenient to use a TTL-cable that connects the camera with the flash.

There’s also an extension cable with automatic and TTL modes that allows you to shift the flash for the cable length to any side and illuminate a model from all the angles. The question is who will keep the flash during the session. Well, you can fix your flash (or a set of flashes) on a rack, or ask somebody to be your assistant.

If you have any questions you are welcome to ask them on our photoforum!