Seabassius wrote:
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 used flash for years in the film days doing events and portraits, quite simply because I could get predictable results every time by sticking to a manual flash formula with Kodak 160 VPS 120mm and my Pentax 645, and when it came to important stuff, you didn't want to gamble. Nowadays on the rare occasion I need to, I've switched to constant light sources, and with digital it's a piece of cake. There are a ton of very portable, easy to carry and setup options. In the old days, lugging umbrellas and large soft flash boxes, and using cords etc was a royal pain. I probably still have my Quantum belt clip remote battery and potato masher flash around here somewhere... probably in a deep storage box, untouched for several years. Heh.
I did grab a Godox V100 and it is a great flash, and the flash modifier kit option is pretty cool, I like the snout and barn doors for some dramatic lighting, and the dome when used with colored gel's using the magnetic stacking ability gives some creative options too. But to be honest, as good as it is, I still prefer natural light or a mix of natural light and constant light sources for fill when I can.
I recently purchased some infrared and ultraviolet flash modifiers, so that I could do more things outside of full spectrum.
I’ve also used it to good effect in the studio and with macro subjects.
Interestingly, at the moment most of what I shoot right now is events, and I never use flash at them, for the simple reason that I don’t want to disrupt people’s experience there, I want them focused on what’s engaging their attention not on some guy taking pictures.
But if I had to choose between flash and continuous lighting I’d go for continuous because I also do some video, and so they can do double duty there, and they can help with macro or studio work because it’s easier to pre visualize, focus, etc if all the light is there the whole time. But they do produce more heat and can’t generate the same quantity of light or freeze action in the same way that flash can (at equivalent size/ wattage) so each system has its benefits.
There’s something really cool about the’ Magic’ of flash giving you an image that is quite different from how it looked to the naked eye.
A lot of the use case depends on what you shoot. Do you happen upon your photographs or do you make them? Controlling the lighting is pretty essential if you’re building a photo from the ground up rather than using a discerning eye to notice something artistic in the world around you.
I've recently dived into the world of flash photography as a hobbyist. I've absolutely loved the harsh learning curve that I'm in currently. I don't get to use it as often as I'd like, and as others have said, it really slows everything down.
I primarily use it for product & portrait photography, I absolutely love what its done to portraits as I've always struggled to be happy with balancing background & light with multiple people.
I used studio strobes and Canikon flashes with the trusty A7ii, but finally decided to invest in native flashes for my new A1. The Sony hot shoe is not ISO-compliant and is quite hostile to other brands of flash and triggers. The MIS contacts, however, support flash features like 1/400s X-sync which I wanted on tap. I looked into the Godox world (universal radio support is impressive) but played it safe with the Sony F28RMA and F46RM which have metal feet and are radio-capable. I now have on- and off-camera portable lighting that is actually easy to operate.
A1, Canon TS-E 135/4L @ f/5.6, remote F46RM bounced off white pizza box, no fill
Only with global shutter for really dark events which I rarely do anymore. Everything else I almost never use since the light mapping AI stuff is so amazing now.
To me flash photography is almost its own genre. I go through phases alternating between heavy usage, and having my strobes, umbrellas and reflectors in storage for years. IMO the primary advantage of artificial light is being in control, especially in control of your time: no need to wait for good weather, waking up ahead of sunrise, etc. When someone complains to me of having no/little time for quality photography, I often recommend a starter strobe kit. It removes this painful and inefficient dependency on external factors. If you have a camera and strobes, just add your creativity and let's go!
I reject the idea of a "flash look". Sure, we all remember the deer-in-the-headlights images caused by built-in flashes on point&shoots. But the entire point of flash photography is creating (or recreating) any light you want, including mimicking various flavors of sun.
I usually go for something more dramatic though, always been a huge fan of film noir / chiaroscuro:
I don’t even currently own a flash. Don’t really do any portrait photography so I don’t need one. I owned one in the past but I sold it since I never used it.
Using flash gives you control but it has it's own limitations too as it can be slow. Flash isn't the right tool for every situation.
I used to use flash almost all the time when I shot cars for a living, in a past life. I carried about 6 strobes at any one time and generally used most of them, whether shooting people or their cars (or more accurately, cars with their owners).
I don't shoot cars any more, or any pro work for that matter, so these days I might use a flash a couple of times a year, and reluctantly at that. Flash is definitely nice for products and people.
I don't have a decent setup for high speed sync, to enable shooting F1.2 on sunny days, otherwise I'd use flash far more often. But that's a stylistic choice, not a requirement, and I think most (not all) strobe use falls into that category when you are shooting for fun. It can cramp your style to carry flash gear, so I tend not to.
hiepphotog wrote:
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.
old-gregg wrote:
To me flash photography is almost its own genre.
Totally agree. I rarely use flash or do 'photoshoots' but I got into it briefly a few years ago. The ability to control and manipulate light is very exciting, and it's surprising what can be achieved with fairly basic low end equipment. (Such as a couple of old fully manual flashes and some stands and brollies).
I shoot portraits all the time and use multiple light (Godox) set ups outdoors and in the studio. The control over the light, the ability to use gels and transform a blah site into something beautiful and using fill flash to blend in with the sun can't be beat for me. Glass Wall-03 by Bill Dyke, on Flickr
