Do it yourself tip: The Flash

So I get it. In this economic climate, when it comes to choosing a wedding photographer, you may well choose Uncle Joe instead of the pricey professional.  After all, Uncle Joe's got a nice new digital SLR camera and he's taken some good shots recently.  And he's free! 

If you choose to go this route, my "Do it yourself" blogs will become very important for you - and Uncle Joe!  They're designed with the novice in mind and will help your family member or friend photographer understand how to work his/her new camera under various conditions.  I'll be bringing to bear all my years shooting Bay Area wedding photography and distilling my techniques down to simple steps.  In this post, it's all about the flash.

The flash is a tricky thing.  When done correctly, it can make your photos look natural.  When done incorrectly, it can make your photos look simply horrendous.  Here's a few techniques for different times of day:

• Daylight (back lit subjects):  In this case, you'll want to power down the flash by about 1 to 1.3 EVs (read up on EVs here).  By doing this, you'll create softly lit subjects against a nicely lit backgrounds, as so:

• Dusk (back lit subjects):  In this case, you'll want to power your flash down even more than when shooting during the brightest part of the day.  My reco, turn the flash down to about 2 - 2.3 EVs.  That way you'll again get some softly lit subjects with barely any perception that you used an on-camera flash.  Here's an example:

• Night:  The best approach to shooting at night is to make sure your non-flash exposure is set to pick up some of the ambient light.  So shoot around a little bit without the flash on and adjust your exposure so you can pick up candles, chandeliers, dance floors lights, etc.  Then turn on your flash with your camera set at that setting.  I recommend using the TTL setting on your flash and adjusting your EVs so that your subjects don't appear blown out.  Here's a recommended setting:
  • ISO:  400
  • TV:  1/60th
  • AV:  2.8
  • Flash:  +1 EV (if using a diffuser)

Doing that should result in something like this below:

Best of luck to you in this!  And if you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to comment below.

About Lucky Shot Studios:
Lucky Shot Studios specializes in Napa Valley wedding photography with a photo journalistic style.  If you're in the process of choosing a wedding photographer, Lucky Shot Studios would love be considered.