While using flash photography seems like a very basic skill, a variety of people from all ability levels seem to have trouble with it. Photographs seem to come out overly bright, dark and shadowy, or an unattractive blend of the two, and there is no real way to learn how to adjust flash because it comes and goes literally in the blink of the eye. Learning to use flash effectively can help you get the natural well lit photographs that you seek.

Identify the Problem

As with most issues, the first step to solving a problem with flash is to figure out exactly what the problem is.  Do your photos have deep and unattractive shadows? This is likely due to direct flash combined with not enough natural light. A stark, flat image can be caused by the same situation, just at a slightly different angle. Red eye can be caused by the subject looking directly into the camera, although this is a more easily corrected problem.

Flash is not a pain—or at least it isn’t supposed to be—but a tool for getting well lit photographs where other sources of light are lacking. Here are a few ways to make it work for you.

Remember the Rule

“The rule” when it comes to flash is easy: shutter speed adjusts daylight and aperture adjusts flash. Remembering this rule when you are setting up your photograph will allow you to get the right balance between ambient light and flash.

Use Flash as a Tool

Sometimes the quick, bright effect of flash can be desirable, such in sports. Flash light only occurs for a second, so it has a tendency to stop the action. This can make it easier to get unblurred shots of moving objects and people. Using flash to stop action can lead to even better photographs than a well lit, non-flash photograph of the same situation might yield.

Consider Ambient Light

Taking flash pictures tends to work better in situations when there is already a fair amount of light in the room. If there is no light, you should first look for a way to introduce light into the environment. This can be accomplished by adding an artificial light or even by opening a curtain. In some cases, this is impractical or impossible. If this is the case, consider indirect flash. In this technique, you simply aim your flash at a piece of white paper or other reflective surface so that it bounces onto your subject. This gives a more natural, glowing type of light rather than the harsh burst that direct flash can create.

Keep Back

Flash usually looks harshest in close-ups, where there is no space to filter and diffuse the light. This isn’t due to bad flash, but due to a poor use of distance. Flash works best from farther back, at least several meters. If you need to get closer and the ambient light isn’t enough, choose an area with better lighting or simply use your zoom. No one looks good with a flash bulb going off in their face—not only will this overexpose your subject and bring out every flaw, it will make them involuntarily wince or blink, ruining the shot completely.

Catch the Catchlights

Have you ever wondered how some photographers seem to capture a certain sparkle in their subjects? While talent is certainly a factor, there is also a flash effect in which lights are used to give eyes that well lit gleam. You can get these by positioning your subject directly in front of a direct light source or simply by using a strobe flash. A popup flash is particularly good for this purpose. You may want to dial down your flash a little so your subject isn’t blinded by their own ‘sparkle’.

Consider Fill Flash

This is one area where flash is your friend! It requires turning your camera settings to manual. It fills in shadows and other unpleasant effects that occur when the sun is high or when your subject is lit from behind. Your camera will register the brightness and automatically create settings that compensate for bright light. Anything that the light doesn’t hit will be overly dark—but fill flash corrects this. If you have a lot of photos where dark shadows and unpleasant silhouettes dominate, your problem probably isn’t flash as much as a lack of it.

Learn About Your Camera’s Sync Speed

In many cameras, the shutter and the flash both have limitations. This means that they can only synchronize up to a certain point—1/250 and 1/180 are two common ones. This can have an effect during daylight hours, when you may be tempted to use a shutter speed that is too high for your flash. Shutter speed should always be lower than your sync speed or your flash will do no good whatsoever.

Build Your Background

One common error that many people make with flash is having a background that allows for deep and unattractive shadows. This can come from having a light background that is immediately behind your subject. Avoid this by using either a dark background where a shadow won’t show or by having the background placed far behind the subject.

Don’t Be Afraid of Processing

Some problems with flash, such as mild shadowing and red eye, can be easily fixed in a photo editing program. Unlike many photography issues, using this type of software is usually easier than preventing the flash problem in the first place. Photo editing software won’t cure all of your flash problems, but it will certainly help with most of them. Experiment with your favorite program and see what you can easily fix.

As you can see, flash definitely has its drawbacks and its advantages. However, you should look at it as just another tool. Learn when to use flash and when to let it be, and how it should be used in the situations you encounter most. This will help you to be a better prepared photographer and to get the best possible shots no matter what the light.

Photo Credit

Why learn how to take portraits in low light? There are several reasons, but the first and most compelling is that life happens regardless of the time of day. In fact, many of our most exciting and memorable occasions occur in the evening or at night, when good light can be elusive. Many notable and photo-worthy moments occur at night, and learning to work in these conditions can be a huge advantage whether you are an amateur or a professional. Here are a few tips to getting started with shooting portraits in the dark or near dark and understand professional quality lighting.

Start with the basics.

If you are familiar with your camera’s settings, you have likely seen a ‘night portrait’ mode that has a combination of initial flash to illuminate the subject and a longer exposure to capture background details. This is usually a good place to start. However, there are other variables to consider. Using high ISO settings can be a good idea as they will allow you to shoot in low light without an oppressively long exposure time. In fact, a high enough ISO may allow you to turn off the flash altogether and use only ambient light. If you are using film, you will need a faster speed, such as 800 or 1600 speed.

In some cameras, a high ISO comes with graininess, which depending on your perspective can create a mood or ruin the photo. You will have to experiment to see how your camera handles this setting and how you personally feel about it.

Beware of overdoing flash.

Many people think that if a little flash is good, a lot is better. However, this is certainly not the case, even in night shots where every bit of light helps. If you are getting washed out subjects, try manually turning the flash down just a bit. You can also put a piece of wax paper over the flash or point it upward and bounce it off a piece of white paper.

Take advantage of ambient light.

The best dark photos are actually taken when there are sources of light besides the flash. For example, shooting just after sunset can give the effect of a night photo even though there is plenty of light still. Shooting under street lights can also give a good source of ambient light.

Let the character shine.

One of the reasons that low light photography is so popular despite the extra work involved is that it allows for a wider variety of moods and lets unique aspects of the subject’s personality to shine through. Leaving out the personality will result in a portrait that is boring and/or unprofessional, so be sure you don’t neglect this.

Keep the background simple.

Night and low light photographs are more prone to looking cluttered. In addition, you never know what elements of the background will capture what little light there is or how this will affect the portrait. An easy solution is to use a wide aperture, which blurs the background of your picture while allowing your subject to stay in clear focus. This can be stunning in many low-lit night scenes, such as a street with a row of lights, because the background takes on a rich, flattering glow that adds interest without detracting from the subject.

Consider movement.

If you are a well prepared photographer, you are using a tripod to accommodate the slower shutter speeds that are a necessity in low light. If you want a clear, traditional portrait shot, your subject has to hold still for several seconds as well. This can be harder than it sounds, as most people have been trained to break their pose as soon as they see flash. When using night exposure settings, the shutter is usually still open at this point, leading to blurry, unusable pictures.

However, it should be noted that movement in night photography can produce interesting effects when used purposefully and thoughtfully. Light trails, ghost images, and interesting colors all can come from moving either your camera or your subject while taking a low light photo. Playing around with movement can be very rewarding—just make sure you get several traditional still shots in case none of your experiments work out.

Experiment with color.

One of the real benefits of low light photography is that the color can be modified to produce unusual and eye catching effects. For instance, the average camera’s night setting changes the white balance so that indoor pictures take on very warm tones. However, this white balance can be manually modified for other results. A tungsten setting gives pictures a blue undertone, while a daylight setting adds a yellow cast. Play around and get to know how your camera works in different lights and different settings. Even more color effects can be added with photo editing software for a variety of stunning effects.

Use shaped apertures to create shaped lights in the background.

It isn’t unusual for low light or night photographs to have lights in the background, whether from street lights, stars, or another source. Few photographers realize that creating a homemade lens hood with a shaped aperture can change the shape of these lights. That’s right: unfocused light sources in a picture appear to be the shape of the aperture. With a few fun hole punches or even a pair of scissors, you can create portraits with background lights in the shape of hearts, stars, diamonds, or even ghosts. This is an easy way to create unique backgrounds for a low light portrait and to add that elusive ‘wow factor’.

You already had the motivation to work in challenging low light situations; now you have the tools you need as well! With ‘good’ light occurring only a few hours every day, every photographer should know how to work with lighting challenges. Although there will definitely be a learning curve, most photographers find that this is an easy setting to master, and one that yields incredible results.

Often, the difference between a professional photograph and an amateur one is in the lighting. Your choice of lighting type and placement can create drama, create beauty, and bring out the features of your subject, but only if you understand how to choose and arrange lights in an effective manner. The following ten tips can help beginners and professionals alike create lighting that accentuates their subject and creates the intended emotion in the viewer.

1. Choose type of lightbulb carefully.

Professional photography lights are definitely nice, but normal lighting found around your home can also create a professional effect. Fluorescent lights and ones with tints, especially yellow tints, tend to create harsh and unpleasant features and require hours in color correction. Halogen lights or standard desk lights can be ideal, on the other hand, because they bathe the subject in natural, non-glaring light. One major advantage to using small lights from around your home is that they are cheaper and easier to move.

2. Light at an angle.

Working at an angle keeps the light from shining directly into your subject’s eyes, which can create both squinting and red-eye. If you are lighting from several angles, it will reduce heavy shadows while also creating subtle, unnoticeable shadowing that brings out the subject’s features. Lighting from angles creates a soft, well-balanced effect that is smooth and portrait-like.

3. Create a neutral backdrop.

Backdrops are essential to the lighting of your photograph. Many people believe falsely that black is a good backdrop color, but unfortunately it tends to be too dark and also to show a lot of lint and imperfection in the material itself. White, on the other hand, interferes with the shot itself. It can reflect too much light and create a washed-out photograph. If your camera has an auto-exposure detector, a white backdrop will give a false reading and make it almost impossible to get an attractive photograph. Grays, tans, and other neutral colors, on the other hand, create an excellent backdrop and tend to make the subject “pop”. For a more dramatic effect, you can choose a color that contrasts highly with the subject itself.

4. Clear clutter.

Clutter in the background of a photo draws the eye away from the subject. One way of reducing the visibility of clutter in situations where you can’t simply remove it is to cover it with neutral drapes or even trays. It is easy to blur these later with your favorite photo editing software and create a smooth background; it is certainly easier than eliminating the clutter altogether or reducing its effect on the photograph.

5. Triangulate your lights.

If you want an indoor, professional portrait quality photo, using three light sources is ideal. There should be one light source on either side of the camera, each pointing in at the angle mentioned above. A third light should be positioned behind the subject, hidden and angled to prevent glare. This creates a sense of smooth, even light that we are used to seeing in portrait-type photographs. It is best to have the backlighting coming either from above the subject or below it, to reduce the chances of it blurring the subject’s features. Experiment with having the backlight shine on the subject or onto the backdrop; both create distinctive and often attractive effects.

6. Choose amount of shadowing carefully.

For photographing people, shadows create a dramatic effect and may add years or even decades to the perceived age of the subject. For this reason, most photographers prefer to photograph their human subjects in either diffused indoor light or soft outdoor light. You can create dramatic effects in a portrait by lighting only half of the subject’s face, plunging the rest into shadows. However, even this is best done with softer light. If you are filming nature shots, such as a cliff, shadows can create a sense of depth and danger that can enhance the emotional quality of the photograph immensely. Direct, bright daytime light is perfect for this.

7. Diffuse light to prevent glare or shadows.

You don’t need a professional diffuser to accomplish this; it can be as simple as placing a piece of white film or veil over your lights and even your flash. You can also diffuse the light hitting your subject by placing reflective surfaces around them and bouncing your light off the surfaces and onto the subject. This can create a very soft, dreamy effect that is very attractive in portraits. Because white plastic, paper, and cloth may catch on fire if held in close contact to hot lights for an extended period of time, you may want to consider hanging the diffusing material from the ceiling so that it hangs in front of the lights without actually making contact.

8. Think carefully about the time of day when shooting in natural light.

Natural sunlight during midday tends to create harsh shadows and even ‘raccoon eyes’. However, many photographers have great luck taking pictures during the ‘golden hour’, one hour after sunrise and one hour before sunset. At these times, the light is coming straight at the subject from the horizon and tends to be naturally diffused by particles in the air. Sunset shots are particularly beautiful and provide a natural scenic backdrop for the photograph.

9. Never shoot into light.

Shotting into light creates unpleasant glare. Even if this can be overcome, you will never get more than a silhouette of your subject. For the highest level of detail, shoot outdoor photos with the sun at your back.

10. Practice makes perfect.

The best way to get a feeling for what light placement creates the effects that you desire is to practice taking photos with different light arrangements and different effects. Try taking the same picture repeatedly with the lights in different strengths and positions. Add different variables, such as flash, diffusers, and backlighting. Just remember to write down which photos are using each configuration; there is nothing more frustrating than finding the ‘perfect’ lighting set-up only to realize that you can’t remember which shot that was.