I'm going to use this post to show how off camera flash can be so much more creative than leaving the flash on the camera. There will be images from weddings that I have covered as well as shots I've taken in my spare time. This shot above was taken in my kitchen whilst my two daughters, my partner and my son in law were playing frustration. A great traditional Xmas game.I placed my flash (off camera) on the table below the camera and facing up towards the subjects. the settings I used in manual mode was iso500 60th sec at f4.
These two images above and below show how natural the lightning looks when using the flash off camera.
If you look at the shadow cast of the glass on the boys face you can work out what direction the light is coming from.
I held the flash off camera with my left hand stretched out as far as I could and then took the image holding the camera with just my other hand. As you can see the light falls nicely on the boys face casting a soft shadow on the left hand side of his face (right as you look at the image). If this shot had been taken with the flash on the camera the image would have looked very harsh and flat.
Many people ask why they should hire a professional photographer when they have a digital camera of their own, sometimes even the same camera as the hired photographer might have. It's not just the camera/equipment that the pros use it's the creativity and techniques. This only comes with years of experience and practice and trying to come up with new and inspirational ideas all the time!!
The settings I used were iso 320 60th sec f5
