Master flash photography in these 5 simple steps

To take good photographs, you need to learn how to find good light and then make it do what you want it to do. Of course, natural or available light is fine in many circumstances, but in some circumstances, you can’t rely on it. Learning how to create your own lighting with flash or strobes is important if you want to progress.

But it doesn’t have to be difficult. In this video from Westcott, Steven Mark walks us through everything you need to know to get started in artificial light. He proves that you can master flash without it being intimidating.

The 5 essential components of flash photography

To master flash photography, you need to understand five key components: aperture, shutter speed, ISO, flash power, and flash-to-subject distance. While it might sound like a lot, mastering just two—aperture and shutter speed—will already set you ahead of most photographers. Let’s break down each component.

Aperture

Aperture is the opening in your lens that allows light to reach the camera’s sensor. It’s like your eye’s pupil, expanding to let in more light and shrinking to let in less. Adjusting your aperture affects both the brightness of your subject and the depth of field, which determines how much of your scene is in focus.

In flash photography, aperture directly controls flash exposure on your subject. For example, opening up your aperture (using a smaller f-stop number) allows more light in, brightening your subject. Closing it down does the opposite.

Shutter speed

Shutter speed is like a curtain that opens and closes in front of your camera sensor. A faster shutter speed lets in less light, while a slower shutter speed allows more light to hit the sensor.

However, when using flash, shutter speed primarily controls the ambient light in your photo, not the flash exposure. The longer your shutter remains open, the more ambient light gets recorded. A faster shutter speed results in a darker background, which is ideal if you want to isolate your subject.

ISO

ISO determines how sensitive your camera’s sensor is to light. Raising your ISO increases sensitivity, brightening your image, while lowering it reduces sensitivity, darkening your image. ISO affects both ambient light and flash exposure simultaneously. Each time you double your ISO (e.g., from 100 to 200), you gain one stop of light. Modern cameras handle high ISO settings well, so don’t be afraid to raise your ISO to get the exposure you need.

Flash power

Flash power is simply the intensity of the light output from your flash. Increasing the power gives you more light while decreasing it gives less light. Don’t always set your flash to full power, as this limits your creative flexibility, and the recycle time of the flash will slow you down.

Sometimes, controlling exposure through flash power adjustments, rather than camera settings, is necessary to achieve a specific depth of field or other artistic effects.

Flash-to-subject distance

The distance between your flash and your subject greatly impacts the light intensity. According to the Inverse Square Law, doubling the distance between the flash and the subject results in a two-stop decrease in light, while halving the distance increases the light by two stops. Understanding this relationship allows you to adjust your lighting creatively without changing camera settings.

Mastering flash photography is about learning how to balance these five components. For example, if your subject is underexposed, you have several options: open your aperture, increase your flash power, move the flash closer, raise your ISO, or adjust your shutter speed. The right choice depends on the specific look you’re trying to achieve. By understanding how each component affects your image, you’ll have more creative control and be able to adapt to any situation.

Flash photography doesn’t have to be intimidating, and it can open up creative possibilities that would be almost impossible to achieve with natural light. Play around and don’t be afraid to experiment, you may just love the results!

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