Do you need a flash ?

21/02/2017

If you ask yourself the question, you probably don't. Gears can't fix everything. Think about it this way, gears are tools, will you buy a new tool if you don't know what your work is going to be ? Probably not. In my opinion, it's a 3 steps process.

1- Use only your camera and learn how to use the available light and by that I don't only mean the sun, I mean every lights available. Street lamps, sun, moon, ect... Understand how to use whats there, as it is.

2 - Modify the available lights. S you know where to look and use the available lights, it's time to modify it. A reflector will be your best friend. And don't forget it goes both way, you can add or substract light with a reflector. Play with the angle, create soft light, change the color. Now you can find light and modify it.

3 - Create lights. Here we are talking about adding source of lights, wichi means flashlights, a torch lamp, a fire, LED panel, anything bright really. It should come third in the process as it will come to maximizing the effect of the picture. Use the ambient things, set the mood then add lights to enhance the subject. This way you will not only try to kill the ambient and only rely on the flashlight, especially on location. Start with one source of light, then 2, then 3... One step at a time.

I hope it helped you, I know that most of the people prefer to have a direct answer but I think that having and understanding the process of using lights is more important than an answer that will serve you only to copy instead of create.

Go out and shoot !