As we move into the 2010 wedding season, I thought I would try my hat at a little educational piece about flash photography. Quite simply, I think flash has been getting a bad rap lately. With today's high-ISO cameras and fancy Photoshop actions, it's easy to get lazy and let the camera and computer do all the work for you. So this past year, I made a conscious effort to buck the trend and work on more complex lighting techniques to pull into my wedding and portrait work.
The fact is that most available light work is flat by definition. A properly used flash brings dimension back to an image. Plus, I can control, shape and modify my light source to create exactly the kind of image I desire.
Take this image, for example - one of my favorites. It was taken in a dark cove with a bright back lit lake. I used a portable studio strobe so that I could get a nice, rich exposure on the background while also properly exposing my subject. I also got gorgeous shadowing and depth on her face (which also serves to provide shape and detail). Shooting without the flash would have resulted in a flat image with a blown out background.
Here's more of a side-by-side comparison to illustrate what I mean by flat images versus images with depth and shadow.
Here's an image with a light positioned camera left. This angle and addition of the light allowed me to get rich shadow detail on the stonework and a nice blue sky in the background.
This image is shot with available light only. While I like it, notice how flat it is compared to the other one. Nothing sets this image apart. There are hundreds just like it. The background sky is white, not blue and there is little pulling the subject away from my background.
Likewise, using a flash allows me to make the sun a more flexible lighting tool. In these senior portraits, I used the sun as a effective back light. Using the mobile studio light as a key light, I was able to get rich, detailed foregrounds without blowing out the backdrop. Notice the added shadow areas that outline the subjects and pull them away from the background, giving life to the image.
So if you're in the market for a photographer, make sure you ask some questions about flash photography. Make sure that even if they are an available light shooter by trade that they know how to whip out a flash if they need one and can use it properly. You never know when it may be needed. Make sure to ask your photographer if they could take you out for a portrait at 1 or 2pm in the middle of summertime and get detailed shots with rich and balanced exposure. After all, aren't a lot of summer wedding formals taking place at that time? And what about the romantic but dark reception hall you booked with the high ceilings? Something to think about...
Oh, and while you're at it, ask how many flashes they will bring to your wedding...and cameras...and other backup equipment. More about that in a future post.
-D.
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