I've never really used it other than to dabble about 15 years ago and haven't touched it since, but wondering for hobbyist uses how often do you use it ?
I frequently use flash when shooting portraits of friends at home (with a softbox) or a product showcase for my socials (on-flash diffuser). Always have the flash set up off-camera.
I want to try using flash for macro photography sometime.
I've had a big, ancient flash on my camera most of the time in recent years.
I don't like the weight, and haven't used it in recent months, for another reason. But its really handy especially if you can bounce, horizontal and vertical
Sure, when it's necessary. For my personal stuff, that's mostly macro, either with a ring flash or a small LED rig. The ring's huge, so it gets limited to tripod-based shooting only. Also, the thickness does not play well with my Sony A 50/2.8 or the macro setting on my Canon 24-70/4L, so it's limited to 100 and up.
I like flash photography, but I always had tough time learning the technique and settings. That's why I always keep a built in flash compact camera handy, because using external flash frightens me lol.
I actually don't, but I am curious about it to enhance some of the flower macro shots in the garden I tend to do. It just seems to be a bit hard to pick a nice 'starter' product that you don't have to update all the time either.
I always plan to use artificial light in my shots so I’m not limited by the available light. Although I own a wide range of modifiers, I’ve been moving toward a more minimalist, run-and-gun setup. This keeps my lighting kit compact and lightweight, making it easy to carry alongside my camera gear. Thanks to global shutter, Godox, and current lighting technologies, even a tiny kit can deliver excellent results. Lately, I’ve been selling off some of my smaller Godox strobes and transitioning to Sony speedlights for outdoor work. Sony’s TTL system is nearly foolproof, much like their AF system, and with global shutter it can rival the output of the AD100 and AD200. The latest Godox iT30 Pro is also great.
I used flash extensively at one stage during the film era but eventually stopped because it was very difficult to achieve a natural result without a considerable further investment in time and equipment. I dropped to using fill flash as almost everyone did towards the end of the film era and in the early days of digital. Just very lightly applied.
Now I don't bother, even though the equipment today is much better, cheaper and easier to use. It is nearly always possible to gain similar results with judicious post processing. And particularly convenient for candid photos of people and places, where flash might be intrusive or distracting.
So -- no flash any more, is my answer to your question.
Flash in the studio, yes.
All Godox
Last one is the very small iT 30 pro, I think one of the smallest flashes you can use off camera, has TTL, Manual an Multi, like all the other flashes I use.
Together with the small X3 trigger it's very handy to take with you in your pocket.
In the studio I also use continuous lights, or a combination of both
Flash fired 51% of the time on shots that were ultimately flagged as picks in LR according to my metadata. I carry some kind of flash with me 99% of the time.
Yes, for event and portrait work, both on and off-camera depending on the situation.
I don't use flash more than I do use it, but the process of learning to use flash was one of the most valuable processes in learning about photography in general. It will change how you shoot, even when you're not using it.
Yes the learning process of flash photography is very helpfull, and it gives so many more possibilities!
I've long hesitated to use it, but since I use mirrorless I started with flash.
In the old days when you had to change the bulb everytime you flashed it really was a pain to use. And now we have even ajustable TTL, which when you have to be quick is a great help.
In the studio I prefer Manual though.
For them that are against flash..., just let someone show you the possibilities and see that it can be fun.
Always nice to try something new!
(I'm 78y, and the told me, that learning new things helps to keep Alzheimer out of the door!)
Alan Parker wrote:
I actually don't, but I am curious about it to enhance some of the flower macro shots in the garden I tend to do. It just seems to be a bit hard to pick a nice 'starter' product that you don't have to update all the time either.
Continuous boom lighting for tiny things! It's a really easy carry for outdoor use, lens shading is only an issue if you intentionally induce it (up to an adapted Canon 180L mac, anyway), the battery's rechargable and managed to keep up with a day of wildflower shooting with me (there are models that take AAAs, if that worries you), and between being able to position the lights and dim/brighten them, it's rare that I can't make it work. I do wish you could either adjust the color temperature or that they made it easier to add color correcting filters when necessary, but, for the money, I really don't have any complaints.
