Digital or film – Learn to love available light

Want to make a huge leap in the quality of your images right now? Put
away the flash. Learn to use available light.

Yes, that means sometimes boosting the ISO, it may even (rarely) mean
spending a little bit on a faster lens, but your images will be the
better for it.

Direct flash is great when there’s no light around. It’s even nice
sometimes for fill, though rarely. But the problem is that it comes at
the subject in a straight line from the photographer. The flash
destroys all rendition of shape, creates harsh highlights, potentially
makes the background dark and even causes the dreaded red eyes.

So why is flash always recommended as a must-have accessory? Often
it’s because of the ability to bounce it. A built-in flash gives you
absolutely no control. But an accessory flash, even at the low end,
will have some ability to swivel or tilt, preferably both. This gives
you the ability to move the flash away form being a direct, harsh beam
and lets you use nearby walls and ceilings to diffuse the light for a
much more pleasing effect.

STEP 1 on the road to flash freedom: Use the swivel and bounce on your flash.

You’ll notice right away the diffused light is much nicer than the
deer-in-headlights/DMV look. But after a while, you’ll get tired of
this look as well. As nice as it is, unless you really creatively use
the ability to bounce, you’ll notice a lack of drama. Every shot will
have soft, even lighting. Much better than the DMV look, but still not
where it could be. You’ll start looking for more impact. And you’ll
start looking for a way to get it without the need to carry a ceiling
or wall around.

STEP 2 on the road to flash freedom: Move the flash off the camera.

For this you’ll need an off-camera flash cord. This is another money
spending step, but it’s one we all take. And honestly, it’s not wasted
money. The cord itself will not be used often, but when you need it,
you’ll be really glad you have it. To use it, attach the cord to the
camera’s hot shoe and the flash to the other end of the cord. Now you
can easily hold the flash anywhere for added modeling, fill, or
whatever other effect you can come up with. Suddenly shadows behind
the subject are no problem; just move the flash to avoid them. You
gain the ability to use a swiveling flash bracket as well, for the
same shadow elimination ability. You also gain control, although short
lived. At this point, you’ll begin to realize that handling the flash
with one hand and the camera with the other is a little bit of
trouble, and the technique starts being used sparingly. You get to a
point where all the gear is simply more trouble than it’s worth to use
on a regular basis. So how do you improve images from here?

STEP 3 on the road to flash freedom: You leave the cord and flash in
your bag and start using whatever light’s available.

Yes, that means shooting wide open and shooting at high ISOs. It means
potentially having to manually focus, and it definitely means having
to manually expose. What you lose is the ability to control every
facet of the shot, but what you gain is incredible freedom of
movement, which makes it much easier to be more open-minded to shot
possibilities. On top of that, you get the look of naturally lit
images, along with all the mystique, drama and emotion.

You still have to make the image. You’ll have to move to get the light
where you want it, but you’ll quickly realize it’s worth it. Your
subjects will seem less removed from their context, you’ll feel more
free and you’ll reach a new level of comfort in your ability to create
the image your mind envisions.

And in the end, you will gain one more tool that allows you to create
stunning images. Except that this tool is free and doesn’t take up any
space in your bag.