“Do you use flash for everything?”
I got this great message from reader Candace yesterday and thought it might be helpful to others to answer her questions on a blog post:
Do you use flash for everything? I have been using natural light for about a year and am no transitioning into flash photography using speedlights. Ive noticed that using flash gives the images a much professional look. Most of all of my portrait photo sessions are done outdoors and I want to start using flash every single time. So with that said, how many speedlights should I take with me on photoshoot? Should I only use only on speedlight on my camera? Im wanting a more editorial/modern look to all of my images with the help of speedlights. Do you think shooting most of the time with a f/8 will make my images more editorial than portrait since the background isnt shallow. I like shooting using 2.8 only when im focusing in on one or two things or if I have a bad background and dont want to show.”
Let’s tackle these one at a time:
Do you use flash for everything?”
Absolutely not. It took me a little while to come to the realisation that lighting equipment/camera gear are simply tools which should help you create the image you want to create, not define the sort of images you end up creating. I know that sounds a bit complicated, but here’s a really basic example:
Say you have been asked to shoot some outdoor portraits of an individual for a local magazine. You turn up at the location where it’s taking place and get to work, but you’re not really sure how to shoot the scene. It can go two ways:
Scenario 1: Letting your gear define your images
Before you’ve even turned on the camera, you get all of your lighting gear out, start setting up lightstands and softboxes, placing them in the standard positions for Rembrandt or loop lighting which you’ve read all about in the photography forums online. You more or less ignore what’s going on in the scene and the ambient light and are totally focussed on getting your light ratio correct between your key and your fill light. You set your camera to shoot at 1/250s at f/8 at ISO 200. It’s all very technical, and once it’s set up and shot the images look great.
Scenario 2: You decide what you want, and use the correct gear to get it
You don’t unpack any lighting gear until you’ve turned on the camera. The first thing you do is get your subject (or stand-in) in place. You notice that there are some distractions in the background so you choose an appropriate lens. You fire off a shot without any additional lighting, taking into account your ambient. You decide that it looks pretty good, but the background is a bit bright. You decide that you could do with underexposing the background a bit, and so you set up your main light to light the subject. You fire off another shot, checking it carefully. You decide that you could do with a bit more separation between your subject and the background and that a rim light would be good. You set it up, fire another, and you’re happy.
This may not be the best example (I came up with it as I wrote it), but the bottom line is that in the first scenario, your gear is setup first and the scene comes next. In the second scenario, we have done it backwards, checking and building upon the scene with additional lights as required.
So to answer Candace’s question: no, I don’t use flash for everything; only where I think it will help create the image which I want to create.
How many speedlights should I take with me on a photoshoot?”
I would say take as many as you own, but only use as many as you need.
It also depends on what you’re trying to do: if you’re only shooting indoors or at night/sunset/sunrise, then your power needs will be far lower. On the other hand, if you’re trying to crush the sun then you may need a bunch of speedlights ganged up or one or two large strobes.
Should I only use one speedlight on my camera?”
Again, it really depends on what you’re trying to do. If you are shooting a party or something indoors, then one speedlight on your camera bounced off nearby walls and ceilings can give you really great results. For portraiture I would say it’s not really the right tool for the job, unless you are using it as a fill light dialed way down.
Should I shoot most of the time at f/8 to make my photos look more editorial than portrait?”
This is entirely a matter of your own style and preference. I do not think there are any magazine editors who demand that the photographer shoots at f/8 and uses flash. If you find that you enjoy shooting at f/2.8 to get the blurry background look and eliminate distracting elements from the frame, then by all means you should continue to do so.
As for making your images look ‘more editorial’, that comes down to far more than simply the choice of lighting equipment that you use. In fact, I would say that if you follow scenario 2 above, you are more likely to put more thought into your composition than the lighting gear, and that alone should help you get the look you are after. Candace, if you (or anyone else) want to post images in the comments with styles that you are specifically looking to recreate please feel free and I’d be happy to offer my opinion on how it was done.
I guess the point of this post is that there is no set answer about how many lights you should use, what aperture to shoot at, or in fact whether you should be using flash at all. Once you decide the sort of image you want to create, use the right tools to get there.
Candace, I hope this helps!
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