We’re continuing our adventures in flash this week, perhaps a little reversedly (that’s a word, right?) by getting into the basics of on and off-camera flash techniques. I touched on some flash ideas last week with Light Painting and have mentioned it in other prompts like Document What’s Important, Bridal Portraits, Ready Set Get Wet and Throw Stuff. If you’ve ever shot an evening event and hated how your flash photos turned out (blinded deer in the headlights, anyone?) then these tips will help you.

Get flashy: basics of on and off-camera flash for events, weddings and lifestyle portraits

I used to be afraid of flash photography, and resisted even getting a flash for many years after an early attempt (with a cheap and nasty flash) went poorly. I didn’t know what I was doing and couldn’t see the value in buying a quality flash for a few hundred dollars. I then booked my first solo full-day wedding, and I knew I had no choice: I needed to learn how to use a flash or I was going to be crippled as soon as the sun set. I did this CreativeLive course and it made a huge difference: now I love night photography and always offer it to clients as an option during their wedding reception.

Let’s go through some of those basics now: all those tips I wish I’d known years ago!

How to use this photo pose prompt

There are three basic ways that you can use a flash in your photography:

1. A single on-camera flash.
2. An on-camera flash and one or more off-camera flashes.
3. One or more off-camera flashes.

I personally shoot wedding receptions with configuration 1 (occasionally 2 or 3, but much more often 1), and indoor shoots (for branding, families, newborn, etc) or outdoor creative stuff at night with configuration 3.

I’ve listed this before but for reference, this is the gear I use for my flash photography:

• Two speedlights, the Canon 580EX II and the 430EX II.
• Godox X2T-C wireless transmitter on camera, and one Godox X1R-C receiver on each speedlight. I thoroughly recommend this Godox configuration (note that the C in the model numbers above just refer to it being the Canon version: you can also get Nikon, Sony etc). I’ve also tried the Yongnuo equivalent system (YN622C and YN622C-TX) and they had so many problems I returned them. I also tried the Godox XPro trigger and it was hit-and-miss getting it to work consistently with my cameras. The X2T triggers and X1R receivers are brilliant—just switch them on and they are ready to go, every time, plus everything (sync mode, flash compensation, etc) is controlled on-camera using the Godox X2T trigger. I also own a PocketWizard FlexTT5 and pair of MiniTT1 (which I bought as a backup), but I prefer the Godox system.
• Gary Fong Lightsphere (I have the Fashion and Commercial Lighting Kit version) and Rogue XL Pro2 Flash Bender to diffuse direct flash.
• Two flash umbrellas, umbrella flash bracket and lighting stands.
• Tripods as an alternative to a lighting stand if umbrellas are not being used. Human tripods work really well at a fast-moving wedding, too.
• Flash gels for matching ambient light temperature, and coloring light for creative effects.
• Photography smoke in a can for cool effects.

I don’t own a softbox: the Rogue Flash Bender serves this purpose for me. It’s more portable and has more ways it can be used, too.

If all this gear is making your wallet hurt just thinking about it, don’t worry. A single on-camera flash is completely sufficient for a lot of situations.

Getting your flash off-camera is as simple as:

1. Mount the transmitter (e.g. Godox X2T) on your camera flash hot-shoe.
2. Mount the flash on the receiver hot-shoe (e.g. Godox X1R).
3. Switch everything on.
4. Point and shoot!

It’s possible to set up an off-camera flash system with slaves and masters using the built-in infrared triggers that some models of camera have, but I found this impossible to use in practice because they rely on line-of-sight between camera and the IR receiver on the flash. I spent (wasted) so much time trying to get it to work, and it was never reliable, especially when modifiers (e.g. an umbrella) are in the mix. A radio trigger system is infinitely easier and it just works.

Principle 1: Mode it

• Flashes have different modes, the two main ones being Manual (you tell the flash how much to output, as a fraction of it’s max power) and ETTL (aka Evaluative Through The Lens metering, whereby the flash sends out a test burst to judge how much flash is needed to expose the scene properly, then actually takes the photo). In ETTL you won’t notice the test flash unless you are using Rear Curtain Sync and a long exposure time (e.g. ½ sec or longer).
• ETTL sets the output automatically. I personally find it perfect for almost every situation, except for light painting where I don’t want the subject exposed “properly” (e.g. if I want it darker, or want the flash firing to create a starburst). You adjust the ETTL output relative to the “proper” exposure by using flash exposure compensation. When using two or more flashes each can be adjusted relative to each other, e.g. Flash A on zero, Flash B on -1/3 means A fires with no flash compensation, B fires 1/3 stop less than A.
• Manual flash can be set with a light meter or by eye (take test shots and adjust). Use manual when you don’t want the flash output changing from shot to shot (ETTL will evaluate every shot and set the power accordingly). With two or more flashes each power is adjusted in absolute terms, e.g. Flash A on 1 and Flash B on 1/3 means A fires on its full power and B on 1/3 of its full power.

Principle 2: Sync it

• Flashes fire on the front curtain (when the shutter first opens) or the rear curtain (before the shutter closes).
• For slow shutter speeds (i.e. dark event settings, night photography): put your flash on Rear Curtain Sync (RCS). The camera gathers ambient light then “stamps” the subject onto the background (illuminated by the flash) right before the shutter closes. If you do this on front curtain sync, you will get ambient light glow over the top of your flash-illuminated subject (not what you want). Generally the default setting for a flash is Front Curtain Sync (FCS). Personally I always have RCS turned on because it works better for slow shutter speeds, and makes no difference for fast shutter speeds. If anyone knows of a situation where FCS works better than RCS, I’d love to hear it.
• For high shutter speeds (usually above 1/250 second; or whatever the “native” sync of your camera is), turn on High Speed Sync (HSS). If you have a flash on your camera and find your shutter speed won’t increase past 1/250 sec, it’s because your flash isn’t switched on to use HSS. This site gives a great explanation of what exactly High Speed Sync is. It’s useful for daytime photography where you want to use flash as a fill while also having a wide aperture the background, and also for freezing fast moving things like sports players, animals and vehicles.
• Look at your flash manual and/or your trigger system manual to find where to enable these settings. It could be in any one of: 1) the camera’s settings, 2) the flash’s settings, or 3) the trigger’s settings, depending on brand and what you’re mixing-and-matching.

Principle 3: Expose for it

• When using a flash, you expose for ambient light with your camera exposure triangle, and for subject light with your flash exposure triangle. ISO and Aperture affect both exposures, shutter speed affects the ambient exposure, and flash power affects the subject exposure.

• Think of it as taking two photos in one: get the background how you like it with the camera settings, and then the subject exposed how you like it with flash settings.
• Basic settings for evening events (e.g. wedding reception): ISO 800, 1/40 or 1/60, f2.8, flash on ETTL with RCS. The slow shutter captures the ambiance of the room and is countered by the flash burst that freezes subjects (no blur).

Principle 3: Bounce it

• Rarely, if ever, use bare direct flash on someone, if you want to take a flattering photo!
• Ideally, bounce your flash off a large white wall (glass is also fine). This gives beautiful soft lighting (it acts like a giant soft box). Turn your on-camera flash head towards a side wall, or point it backwards over your own head to bounce off the wall behind you. This is by far the easiest and most versatile way of using a flash to create beautiful soft lighting. All you need is one on-camera flash and the only thing that will thwart you is walls painted dark red, green, blue etc.
• You can also bounce an on-camera flash off the ceiling. However you’ll then get shadows beneath eyes that are unflattering. To fix this and still bounce off the ceiling (e.g. if the walls are painted), use two off-camera flashes positioned at either ends of a room (e.g. in a bedroom for a newborn photoshoot).

Principle 4: Modify it

• If you are going to use direct flash, modify it to soften the light.
• The bigger the light source, the softer the light.
• The closer the flash is to the subject, the bigger it is relative to the subject, and the softer the light. Move it as close to the subject as you can.
• You can use diffusers to soften the light. A rectangular plastic diffuser will do this a bit, a Gary Fong Lightsphere will do this better, and Rogue Flash Bender, a soft box, or an umbrella will do it best. The larger the diffuser, the larger the light source, and the softer the light. The Lightsphere is my pick as the best portable, not-too-ridiculous-looking option for on-camera flash (e.g. for a wedding reception in a great big old barn with no walls to bounce flash off); the Rogue is better at creating softer light but looks a bit insane on top of your on-camera flash. A soft box or umbrella is really only an option for off-camera flash.

• When shooting at wide focal lengths, use the built-in wide panel of your flash (the little plastic pull-out flippy thing above the flash head) to spread out your flash to cover the whole scene.
• To focus the flash on one specific area in your scene, use a grid. The Rogue Flash Bender comes with a grid as does the Gary Fong Lightsphere Fashion and Commercial Lighting Kit.

Principle 5: Colour it

• When your flash is connected, your camera will probably default to using flash white balance. Similar to ETTL setting the power, this means the camera auto-sets the white balance based on the results of the test flash.
• Use gels to match the temperature of ambient light, if you don’t want different color casts in your photo (e.g. orange of tungsten lights with the white of the flash).
• Use gels to create interesting color effects, e.g. blue rim lighting, purple fill lighting, etc.

Creative extension

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• Use photography smoke in a can to create a hazy atmosphere, or in the rain! Put the flash behind the smoke or the rain to catch the light of your flash.
• Use flash subtly to highlight atmosphere and the feeling of being in the space. Use it just enough to highlight the subject.

• Play with the balance of shutter speed and flash to capture the movement of the action.
• Use flash to hide everything but the subject: set the camera settings such that no ambient light is captured (low ISO, very fast shutter speed), then put the flash on High Speed Sync and shoot for a low key look.

Do you love or hate flash photography? Tag me @promptographerguide and use the hashtag #promptographerguide to share your experience.

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Want this prompt in your Field Cards set?

All the info in this prompt post is summarized onto a single card in the Promptographer Guide Field Cards, with the details given in the accompanying Guidebook. All the ideas are given on the one card so you have a rich, comprehensive tool for sparking ideas. I’ve designed it this way so you only need five to ten cards to build a whole photoshoot.

If you want this prompt in your set, make sure you include Set 2: Creative Essentials in your Field Cards.

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Field Card Reference

Prompt #017 from Set 2: Creative Essentials.