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A Flash In The Night
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Create dramatic evening images with a touch of artificial
light
By Ibarionex R. Perello
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To create exciting
images at night, a flash is an indispensable tool. Stunning
results are possible by simply using a camera’s built-in
or auxiliary flash unit. Yet there’s so much more that
you can do with a flash beyond merely turning it on.
There’s no reason to be intimidated about using flash.
Today’s TTL (through-the-lens) metering systems make it
incredibly simple to get well-exposed flash images automatically.
Just because it’s automatic, however, doesn’t mean
that the images have to be boring. Flash pictures can be just
as compelling as any photo shot under the sun. |
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Flash
Fundamentals
To make the most of your flash, it’s best to understand
how a flash exposure is achieved in a TTL system. In traditional
TTL systems, the flash is discharged and the light reflected
off the subject returns to the camera through the lens and hits
a sensor within the camera body. Based on the ISO sensitivity,
the camera quenches the flash as soon as it has determined that
sufficient light has hit the subject, all of this occurring
within thousandths of a second.
For even more precise flash exposures, many of today’s
cameras utilize a series of pre-flashes which, when combined
with the subject’s distance from the camera, create an
accurate flash exposure. The distance data provided by the lens-focusing
system, along with the low-powered pre-flashes, compensate for
subjects that are very dark or very light. Because the camera’s
software knows what a normal flash output would be at a given
distance for a neutral subject, extremes such as white or black
subjects that reflect dramatically more or less light, respectively,
can be adjusted for. Since most of this is handled invisibly,
you don’t have to worry much about it. The only thing that’s
important when using an auxiliary flash unit is to make sure
that it’s set for TTL mode.
Improving Background Exposure
If you’ve been shooting images for any period of time,
you know what a standard flash photograph looks like: bright
foreground and dark background. There’s nothing bad about
this; often, it’s all that you need for photographs taken
at an event like a birthday party or an awards ceremony. Yet
to reveal more of your background, you don’t need a more
powerful flash, but rather a slower shutter speed.
This is because the flash exposure is only affected by the aperture
when the camera is set for the sync speed or slower. Due to
the incredibly short duration of the flash, a shutter speed
that’s comparatively much slower will have no impact on
the accuracy of the flash exposure. By choosing a wider aperture,
however, you’ll increase the effective range of your flash.
But if you want to get an accurate exposure for a cityscape,
your flash won’t be powerful enough.
Instead, choose a slower shutter speed so that your camera registers
more of the ambient light. The easiest way to do this is to
select the Slow Sync flash or Night flash mode. Often represented
by a lightning bolt symbol and the word “slow,” the
camera automatically chooses a slower shutter speed to register
the ambient light. The result is a balanced image with a good
flash exposure and a well-detailed background.
Rear Curtain Sync
Similar to Slow Sync, Rear Curtain Sync takes advantage of shutter
speeds that are slower than the flash sync speed. The difference
is that the flash is fired at the end of the shutter duration
rather than at the beginning. The difference is readily apparent
when shooting moving subjects.
A standard flash exposure with a moving subject will result
in a photo where the subject is frozen by the flash, but a streak
will appear where the subject continued moving into the frame,
usually making the blur appear unnaturally in front of the subject.
Rear Sync delays the firing of the flash until the end, which
results in the streak appearing more naturally behind the subject.
This can produce striking images, especially when panning, resulting
in bright, backgrounds full of almost surreal hues.
With either sync mode, you can handhold the camera, but if you
wish to render the background with full detail and sharpness,
use a tripod. Handholding can give wild, edgy effects, but they
aren’t for everyone.
Flash Exposure Compensation
Even with TTL flash metering producing accurate flash exposure,
it still may not result in an image you want. If you have a
preference for a more subtle or more pronounced flash look,
either can be achieved easily by using the flash exposure compensation
mode. By reducing the flash output, you can make a more subtle
flash look. By overexposing the flash, you create a fashion-style
look, where skin tones can be slightly overexposed, reducing
the appearance of blemishes. The flash compensation mode allows
you to increase or decrease the output of the flash in as small
as one-third increments by as much as ±2 ƒ-stops.
Again, you’re only increasing or decreasing the duration
of the flash. So if the flash has already reached its maximum
output, this feature won’t produce anymore light (this
would be better achieved by decreasing the distance between
the flash and your subject).
Off-Camera Flash
One of the most dramatic ways of making your nighttime flash
images look distinctive is by taking the flash off the camera.
Whether it’s tethered to your camera by a dedicated cable
or a wireless slave system, the off-camera flash gives directional
light that illuminates subjects in ways that reveal depth, rather
than the flat look that’s common with most flash photographs.
Position the flash at an angle, either handheld or mounted on
a light stand, and it can produce a sidelight that allows the
opposing side to fall into the shadow, creating a sense of depth.
It’s also an effective way of eliminating shadows on the
background created by the subject when the flash is coming directly
from the camera’s position. By situating the flash higher
than the camera, the shadow will be cast lower, behind the subject,
and won’t likely appear in the final photograph.
Bounced And Diffused Flash
Another way to change the quality of the light emitted by the
flash is by bouncing or diffusing the light. For example, by
using a diffuser over the flash head, you can soften the appearance
of the light when working with close-up subjects. The harsh
look of flash can be markedly reduced.
Bouncing the flash into an umbrella, a white ceiling or a wall
emits a diffused source of illumination. When bounced off a
reflective surface, the light is diffused and produces a softer,
more even illumination, which can be particularly flattering
for portrait subjects. However, the diffusion that improves
the quality of the light also reduces its effective range, so
your subject may need to be closer to the reflective surface
than it might have been if you had used the flash straight on.
Also, be careful that the wall isn’t tinted, as that will
produce a color cast in your final image. When utilized off-camera,
the flash can be directed to bounce more easily off some surfaces,
providing you much greater control.
As you experiment with each of these techniques, you’ll
discover the variety of ways flash can produce distinctive looks
in your nighttime images. Especially when used in combination
with each other, these techniques will result in unique and
outstanding photographs. |
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A Flash In The Night
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Create dramatic evening images with a touch of artificial
light
By Ibarionex R. Perello
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
To create exciting
images at night, a flash is an indispensable tool. Stunning
results are possible by simply using a camera’s built-in
or auxiliary flash unit. Yet there’s so much more that
you can do with a flash beyond merely turning it on.
There’s no reason to be intimidated about using flash.
Today’s TTL (through-the-lens) metering systems make it
incredibly simple to get well-exposed flash images automatically.
Just because it’s automatic, however, doesn’t mean
that the images have to be boring. Flash pictures can be just
as compelling as any photo shot under the sun. |
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Flash
Fundamentals
To make the most of your flash, it’s best to understand
how a flash exposure is achieved in a TTL system. In traditional
TTL systems, the flash is discharged and the light reflected
off the subject returns to the camera through the lens and hits
a sensor within the camera body. Based on the ISO sensitivity,
the camera quenches the flash as soon as it has determined that
sufficient light has hit the subject, all of this occurring
within thousandths of a second.
For even more precise flash exposures, many of today’s
cameras utilize a series of pre-flashes which, when combined
with the subject’s distance from the camera, create an
accurate flash exposure. The distance data provided by the lens-focusing
system, along with the low-powered pre-flashes, compensate for
subjects that are very dark or very light. Because the camera’s
software knows what a normal flash output would be at a given
distance for a neutral subject, extremes such as white or black
subjects that reflect dramatically more or less light, respectively,
can be adjusted for. Since most of this is handled invisibly,
you don’t have to worry much about it. The only thing that’s
important when using an auxiliary flash unit is to make sure
that it’s set for TTL mode.
Improving Background Exposure
If you’ve been shooting images for any period of time,
you know what a standard flash photograph looks like: bright
foreground and dark background. There’s nothing bad about
this; often, it’s all that you need for photographs taken
at an event like a birthday party or an awards ceremony. Yet
to reveal more of your background, you don’t need a more
powerful flash, but rather a slower shutter speed.
This is because the flash exposure is only affected by the aperture
when the camera is set for the sync speed or slower. Due to
the incredibly short duration of the flash, a shutter speed
that’s comparatively much slower will have no impact on
the accuracy of the flash exposure. By choosing a wider aperture,
however, you’ll increase the effective range of your flash.
But if you want to get an accurate exposure for a cityscape,
your flash won’t be powerful enough.
Instead, choose a slower shutter speed so that your camera registers
more of the ambient light. The easiest way to do this is to
select the Slow Sync flash or Night flash mode. Often represented
by a lightning bolt symbol and the word “slow,” the
camera automatically chooses a slower shutter speed to register
the ambient light. The result is a balanced image with a good
flash exposure and a well-detailed background.
Rear Curtain Sync
Similar to Slow Sync, Rear Curtain Sync takes advantage of shutter
speeds that are slower than the flash sync speed. The difference
is that the flash is fired at the end of the shutter duration
rather than at the beginning. The difference is readily apparent
when shooting moving subjects.
A standard flash exposure with a moving subject will result
in a photo where the subject is frozen by the flash, but a streak
will appear where the subject continued moving into the frame,
usually making the blur appear unnaturally in front of the subject.
Rear Sync delays the firing of the flash until the end, which
results in the streak appearing more naturally behind the subject.
This can produce striking images, especially when panning, resulting
in bright, backgrounds full of almost surreal hues.
With either sync mode, you can handhold the camera, but if you
wish to render the background with full detail and sharpness,
use a tripod. Handholding can give wild, edgy effects, but they
aren’t for everyone.
Flash Exposure Compensation
Even with TTL flash metering producing accurate flash exposure,
it still may not result in an image you want. If you have a
preference for a more subtle or more pronounced flash look,
either can be achieved easily by using the flash exposure compensation
mode. By reducing the flash output, you can make a more subtle
flash look. By overexposing the flash, you create a fashion-style
look, where skin tones can be slightly overexposed, reducing
the appearance of blemishes. The flash compensation mode allows
you to increase or decrease the output of the flash in as small
as one-third increments by as much as ±2 ƒ-stops.
Again, you’re only increasing or decreasing the duration
of the flash. So if the flash has already reached its maximum
output, this feature won’t produce anymore light (this
would be better achieved by decreasing the distance between
the flash and your subject).
Off-Camera Flash
One of the most dramatic ways of making your nighttime flash
images look distinctive is by taking the flash off the camera.
Whether it’s tethered to your camera by a dedicated cable
or a wireless slave system, the off-camera flash gives directional
light that illuminates subjects in ways that reveal depth, rather
than the flat look that’s common with most flash photographs.
Position the flash at an angle, either handheld or mounted on
a light stand, and it can produce a sidelight that allows the
opposing side to fall into the shadow, creating a sense of depth.
It’s also an effective way of eliminating shadows on the
background created by the subject when the flash is coming directly
from the camera’s position. By situating the flash higher
than the camera, the shadow will be cast lower, behind the subject,
and won’t likely appear in the final photograph.
Bounced And Diffused Flash
Another way to change the quality of the light emitted by the
flash is by bouncing or diffusing the light. For example, by
using a diffuser over the flash head, you can soften the appearance
of the light when working with close-up subjects. The harsh
look of flash can be markedly reduced.
Bouncing the flash into an umbrella, a white ceiling or a wall
emits a diffused source of illumination. When bounced off a
reflective surface, the light is diffused and produces a softer,
more even illumination, which can be particularly flattering
for portrait subjects. However, the diffusion that improves
the quality of the light also reduces its effective range, so
your subject may need to be closer to the reflective surface
than it might have been if you had used the flash straight on.
Also, be careful that the wall isn’t tinted, as that will
produce a color cast in your final image. When utilized off-camera,
the flash can be directed to bounce more easily off some surfaces,
providing you much greater control.
As you experiment with each of these techniques, you’ll
discover the variety of ways flash can produce distinctive looks
in your nighttime images. Especially when used in combination
with each other, these techniques will result in unique and
outstanding photographs. |
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